{"id":14059,"date":"2020-04-06T12:18:07","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T16:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillyhistory.wpengine.com\/?p=14059"},"modified":"2020-04-07T08:14:45","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T12:14:45","slug":"before-center-city-won-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/2020\/04\/before-center-city-won-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Before \u201cCenter City\u201d Won Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

The start of a long-simmering naming debate for Center City can be traced to the waning years of the 19th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

\u201cBarber, first-class, wants situation in center city,\u201d reads a classified ad in the Inquirer<\/em> from 1898. But the next year, another ad reads \u201cErrand boy, about 14 years old, strong, active; center of city. And then in 1900 we see; \u201cBartender, age 30, good mixer; capable of taking charge: 7 years central city reference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which would it be? For the next half century, any of the three would suffice.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Center City – Aerial View June 6, 1966 (PhillyHistory.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cCentral City\u201d seemed to dominate for a few years. \u201cHousework \u2013an honest and respectable girl wants general housework in small, private family. Central city reference\u201d and \u201cBarber, first-class, wants situation in 10-cent shop. Married, young man, speaks German and English, central city\u201d and \u201cLicensed Saloon (Central City) \u2013 Handsomely equipped; running $800 weekly; sickness cause: great sacrifice; $17,000.”<\/p>\n

But then \u201ccenter of city\u201d seemed to make a comeback. In May 1906 we find a headline: \u201cHow Realty Rises In Center Of City.\u201d In 1910 we see another: \u201c1000 New Lamps Flood Center of City with Light \/ Mayor Turns Switch Inaugurating System of Illumination \/ Brilliance Extends River to River.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Our Philadelphia<\/a> <\/em>of 1914, Elizabeth Robbins Pennell likes the relatively clunky \u201ccentre of the town.\u201d One example: \u201cwith the Law Courts now in the centre of the town and the new Stock Exchange at Broad and Walnut, and stores everywhere, nobody could live in town; the noise of the trolleys is unbearable; the dirt of the city is unhealthy; soft coal has made Philadelphia grimier than London\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Classifieds support the usage of “of.” \u201cBartender \u2013 Young German for centre of city\u201d or \u201cShisler Built Homes $1900 to $3800\u201d only \u201c20 minutes to center of city.\u201d Or one of a dozen appearances, for houses in the Olney neighborhood promoting \u201cOne Fare to Center of City.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Philadelphia Tribune<\/em> headline from 1932 reads: \u201cManiac Slays 1, Wound Pair, Ends Own Life: Hundreds Dodge in Center of City As Bullets Sizzle By.\u201d (\u201cDeath and Destruction barked from a maniac\u2019s gun last Thursday night near Ninth and Market streets and hundreds of Philadelphia\u2019s citizens escaped death by dodging while sizzling hot lead whizzed through the air.\u201d)<\/p>\n

If Christopher Morley had been inclined, his Travels in Philadelphia<\/a><\/em>, published in 1920 would have mentioned Center City at least once. He was not so inclined.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say the usage of \u201cCenter City\u201d was nonexistent. We find one from 1916: \u201cSaloon Saloon \u2013 Near center city \/ Bar averages $450 weekly; old established. Selling account sickness.\u201d And in 1920 we see a mention of the\u201d YMCA building, 1421 Arch, \u201cin the Center City Building.\u201d In 1926, there are two more appearances: An ad for Greenwood Terrace near the Jenkintown Station: \u201cSuburban Charm with Center City Convenience\u201d and an ad for \u201dC.T. Electric Trucks. \u2026 which delivers the Inquirer<\/em> \u201cto the newsdealers of the center city area.\u201d And in 1929, the Philadelphia Gas Works put out the word for its \u201cCenter City Dump\u201d at 22nd and Market Streets. (\u201cSave time and expense by dumping conveniently instead of hauling to outskirts of the city. 50 cents per load…\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1937, \u201cCenter City\u201d gave way to \u201cCentral City\u201d in the Federal Writers’ Project’s Philadelphia, a Guide to the Nation’s Birthplace<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>\u201cThere was a time when the central city was dotted with abattoirs. Now, however, excepting two large slaughterhouses on Gray’s Ferry Avenue, and one at Third Street and Girard Avenue, all are far from the city center.\u201d And: \u201cThe central city section had already begun to take on the appearance of a metropolis. The main streets, such as Market, Chestnut, and Broad, were crowded with buildings and shops of substantial size.\u201d And \u201cBy 7:30 there is a lull in the central city as the sphere of activity shifts to the home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Aerial View of Center City, ca. 1991 (PhillyHistory.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Newspapers of 1930 put forth the headline: \u201c$50,000 in Jewels Stolen at Door of Central City Hotel\u201d and \u201cBoy Boot Blacks Banished From Mid-City Streets.\u201d The article suggests that the proposition, \u201cShine Mister?\u201d by \u201chundreds of juvenile bootblacks on central city streets, will be heard with diminishing frequency\u2026\u201d And a page-one headline: \u201cFederal padlocks for central city hotels, cafes and clubs may follow as a result of \u201cwet\u201d New Year\u2019s Eve and other parties staged on their premises\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCentral City\u201d appeared to be an almost uncontested choice in 1930. \u201c3 Central City Blazes Quelled Within Hour\u201d read a headline. When Strawbridge and Clothier opened its new store in Ardmore, an ad promised that its location \u201cwill offer special allurement to the motorists who do not wish to run the gauntlet of central-city traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Headline in February 1940: \u201cParking Meters Backed for Six Months\u2019 Tryout \u2013 Experts Favor Them for Central City.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStreet Widening Called Key to Mid-City Traffic\u201d read another headline that Spring. \u00a0\u201cThe ultimate solution of central city traffic congestion and its resulting high-accident rate must be major reconstruction of its traffic arteries\u2026\u201d And in December of the same year, \u201cYule Traffic Control Urged by Businessmen \u2013 Tow Squad Busy in Central City.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the Cushman\u2019s Sons bakery had many locations. \u201cThere\u2019s a store near you\u201d promised the ad, citing the Main Line as well as Logan, Tioga, West Philadelphia, Germantown, Chestnut Hill and no less than four shops in \u201cCentral City.\u201d<\/p>\n

As recently as 1969, the Inquirer<\/em> criticized \u201cStop-Gap Airport Transportation\u201d suggesting \u201cSEPTA\u2019s proposed bus line from central city to the airport\u201d was only a stop-gap measure.<\/p>\n

We know one thing for sure: \u201cCenter City\u201d would win out. In 1940, \u201cCenter City\u201d appeared in the Inquirer<\/em> less than 200 times compared with more than 1,200 for \u201cCentral City.\u201d In 1950, the imbalance grew even greater. More than 1,700 appearances of \u201cCenter City\u201d and more than 2,400 for \u201cCentral City.\u201d By 1960 the score would flip to more than 3,400 impressions of \u201cCenter City\u201d and less than 900 for \u201cCentral City.\u201d By 1980, \u201cCenter City\u201d would appear more than 10,000 times. By then, \u201cCentral City\u201d faded to just over 500 impressions.<\/p>\n

“Center City” had prevailed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The start of a long-simmering naming debate for Center City can be traced to the waning years of the 19th century. \u201cBarber, first-class, wants situation in center city,\u201d reads a classified ad in the Inquirer from 1898. But the next year, another ad reads \u201cErrand boy, about 14 years old, strong, active; center of city. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14059\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}