Themed towns

[+Phronimos]

I'd like to create a waymark based on 'Themed Towns'. So I guess I have to create to create a Category called 'Themed Towns'.

 

For instance, something like the towns around the world based on Stratford upon Avon in England.

 

We have one of those in New Zealand - Stratford - with most of the streets named after Shakespeare characters.

 

I'm sure there's many themed towns in USA.

 

I also live in a themed town called Bulls. You can guess what the theme of this rural NZ town is.

 

Cheers, Phronimos

[+Max and 99]

I don't know if this is too general for what you are interested in, but I've seen cities with all the streets named after former US presidents. Would that be considered a themed City?

Or would you need more of a city theme than just the naming of the streets?

[+Phronimos]

4 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

I don't know if this is too general for what you are interested in, but I've seen cities with all the streets named after former US presidents. Would that be considered a themed City?

Or would you need more of a city theme than just the naming of the streets?

Yes you would need more of a total theme throughout the town.

The example I used - Stratford - is based on Shakespeare and his plays. There's even a town square featuring a bust of the bard. A town or city with Presidential street names wouldn't work unless the town was named something like Washington or Lincoln.

 

[+FamilieFrohne]

5 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

but I've seen cities with all the streets named after former US presidents

... That would be either a small town or very long roads as the current president Joe Biden is the 46th in line (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States).

 

44 minutes ago, Phronimos said:

Yes you would need more of a total theme throughout the town.

I don't know of any themed town in Germany or around in the other countries I visit on a regular basis (that is Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden) nearby. There may be parts of a city that were dedicated to some artist or artist group, but not an entire town.

 

So I'm not convinced that this would be global enough and need more details and valid examples on the planned category.

[+pmaupin]

I don't see any city in France that is totally dedicated to a theme.

[+Bear and Ragged]

14 hours ago, Phronimos said:

For instance, something like the towns around the world based on Stratford upon Avon in England.

 

We have one of those in New Zealand - Stratford - with most of the streets named after Shakespeare characters.

 

 

Sister Cities. Only Shakespeare's home town is a town! Not big enough to be a city.

[+Phronimos]

A simple Google search reveals a few (towns) cities that appear to qualify...

Here are six themed towns throughout the United States that are absolutely worth visiting.

• Santa Claus, Indiana, is — you guessed it — a Christmas-themed haven.
• Mount Airy, North Carolina, brings The Andy Griffith Show to life, turning the classic television sitcom into a real village.
• Leavenworth, Washington, in 1962 the entire village was transformed into a Bavarian-themed paradise.
• Solvang, California; Nicknamed the “Danish Capital of America" with a Scandinavian theme
• Tombstone, Arizona, has maintained its small town, Wild West charm straight out of the late 1800s.
• Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia; Located in the larger area of Williamsburg, is a historic community that shows what life was like among American settlers back in the late 1700s.
• Roswell, New Mexico; based on ufology museums and businesses, as well as alien-themed and spacecraft-themed iconography.

Another search reveals 40 of the Quirkiest Small Towns In America

And another... 28 towns in France that are straight out of a storybook

And... Discover The 7 Most Unique Quirky Towns in Australia

Does that help make my case? Incidentally I've specified "towns" as it's predominantly small towns that create a theme as a point-of-difference to attract tourists.

A few of those I've specified above have around 10,000 residents or less. New Zealand's most populous city is Auckland with 1.8 million. Stratford, NZ, has a population of 10,000 and I live in a town of 2,000 people. (Stratford-upon-Avon has a population of 136,000.)

 

[+Phronimos]

11 hours ago, FamilieFrohne said:

I don't know of any themed town in Germany or around in the other countries I visit on a regular basis (that is Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden) nearby. There may be parts of a city that were dedicated to some artist or artist group, but not an entire town.

I've not travelled to Europe, but is there no towns based on well known commodities or culture such as these for examples?

• The Grimm brothers in Hamelin or Marburg in Germany
• Mozart in Salzburg in Austria
• Edam cheese in Netherlands
• Lego in Denmark
• IKEA in Sweden,
• or Viking culture elsewhere in Scandinavia

[+Phronimos]

8 hours ago, pmaupin said:

I don't see any city in France that is totally dedicated to a theme.

Is Paris not the City of Love? Is that not a recurring theme in Paris evident in places to visit or experience?

[+bluesnote]

Part of the problem would be trying to define what is a themed town and what is not. Colonial Williamsburg is indeed a themed town, but it originally wasn't built as such. Also, would Lake Buena Vista in Florida (home to Disney World) be considered a themed town? It does have a permanent population (of about 20) and is incorporated, but is run and operated by a private organization.

How big (population or area) does the town need to be to be considered? I think it will be quite difficult to decide which towns should be accepted and which ones are not. Not impossible to do, but it will take some work.

 

There are similar categories that might cover this. People Named Places covers towns and cities. And small town, big name might overlap a few places. Something also to consider. 

[+fi67]

On 6/24/2024 at 1:54 AM, Phronimos said:

I've not travelled to Europe, but is there no towns based on well known commodities or culture such as these for examples?

• The Grimm brothers in Hamelin or Marburg in Germany
• Mozart in Salzburg in Austria
• Edam cheese in Netherlands
• Lego in Denmark
• IKEA in Sweden,
• or Viking culture elsewhere in Scandinavia

No, I don't think so. It is very easy to visit or even live in those towns without even noticing a "theme" as long as you don't enter a tourist souvenir shop.

 

I have not seen a real themed town so far in nearly 50 countries.

[+ScroogieII]

On 6/22/2024 at 9:46 PM, Phronimos said:

I'd like to create a waymark based on 'Themed Towns'. So I guess I have to create to create a Category called 'Themed Towns'.

 

For instance, something like the towns around the world based on Stratford upon Avon in England.

 

We have one of those in New Zealand - Stratford - with most of the streets named after Shakespeare characters.

 

I'm sure there's many themed towns in USA.

 

I also live in a themed town called Bulls. You can guess what the theme of this rural NZ town is.

 

Cheers, Phronimos

 

Interesting idea, to be sure. HOWEVER ...

... given that you later introduced communities into the equation, an actual proposal would require a moniker more along the lines of "Themed Places" in order to cover all the localities and situations you would certainly want to have included in your category.

 

For example, in the town in which I last lived there was a neighbourhood within which all the cross streets, much as in Stratford, NZ, were named for Shakespearean characters, all of which were ultimately included in a William Shakespeare Waymark,  so I will assume that cross-posts of a sort would be acceptable to you.

 

Still, given the response to date, I must believe that it would take a hefty amount of masterful politicking on your part for the community to thence lean upwind and become sufficiently acceptant of your proposal. Expanding the scope of the category ad infinitum to include other Waymarkers' potential submissions, especially those of the Europeans (who I now believe constitute the majority of active Waymarkers) would simply muddy the category, rendering it essentially meaningless. Unfortunately for yourself, one set of examples later provided by yourself are entirely in the US, which does not speak well toward global inclusion. The second set provided were really just hopeful wishes. Moreover, creation of a category based, whether initially or primarily, on one's desire to simply post a Waymark, is seldom, if ever, viewed as good reason for the community to eagerly jump on board.

 

I'm truly sorry Phronimos, but, my take at present is that, however well intentioned by yourself, what we have here is an almost certain non-starter.

 

That said, I'd now like to sincerely extend my greetings & salutations to the Kiwis from the Canuckys, in hopes that my (mostly) negative reaction should not impair our nations' relationship sufficiently that I might expect to find heavily armed Kiwi paratroopers landing at my back door anytime soon!

 

Keith, The Scrooge

Edited June 26, 2024 by ScroogieII

[+Phronimos]

Thank you Keith, and others, for your input.

 

I had no idea it would be such a struggle to create a new Waymark, and I shan't try it again.

 

I could not figure out a way of incorporating my themed locality into an existing category. It seems to me everybody is more hung up on the "town" part. In New Zealand every locality is a 'town' by global standards, as I wrote above, "New Zealand's most populous city is Auckland with 1.8 million. Stratford, NZ, has a population of 10,000 and I live in a town of 2,000 people." Call the location, a locality, village, town or whatever - just don't call it a city. I was just being more inclusive.

 

But as for the THEME, I can't believe there's not more of them. I truly believe people just don't notice. Personally I've been to "towns", read localities in Australia that are themed to pineapples, to shrimp, and a quaint village that was established by German immigrants and retains a distinctly German feel. I think you'll find similar everywhere in the world. Of course Oceania is thousands of years behind Europe and hundreds of years behind North America, so I don't suppose they have immigrant themed settlements.

 

I do appreciate your comments, but I consider this subject closed. In saying that I can't believe 'bat boxes' became a theme! In NZ bats are our ONLY land-based endemic mammals. We have water-based mammals such as dolphins, seals, but otherwise it's all birds and two species of bat. And I won't denigrate the Daughters of the American Revolution as a global Waymark nor Nordic Heritage with the same logic.

 

[+Phronimos]

On 6/24/2024 at 7:15 AM, Bear and Ragged said:

 

Sister Cities. Only Shakespeare's home town is a town! Not big enough to be a city.

 

In New Zealand 136,000 inhabitants is definitely a city!

[+elyob]

Sorry I'm late to this nearly closed thread.  I think Phronimos is correct: we just don't notice.  I have lived in many different forms of suburbia.  I have noticed that many suburban communities in North America can be identified by a theme used for local geography.  All the names of streets and parks in one neighbourhood follow a single theme: Olympians or reptiles or famous mines or girls' names or golfers or rivers or poets etc.  Phronimos, would this meet your definition of Themed Towns?

Edited June 29, 2024 by elyob

[+Phronimos]

On 6/29/2024 at 1:03 PM, elyob said:

Sorry I'm late to this nearly closed thread.  I think Phronimos is correct: we just don't notice.  I have lived in many different forms of suburbia.  I have noticed that many suburban communities in North America can be identified by a theme used for local geography.  All the names of streets and parks in one neighbourhood follow a single theme: Olympians or reptiles or famous mines or girls' names or golfers or rivers or poets etc.  Phronimos, would this meet your definition of Themed Towns?

Yes, that was along the lines I was thinking of.

[+ScroogieII]

On 6/30/2024 at 1:16 AM, Phronimos said:

Yes, that was along the lines I was thinking of.

 

Well, then Phronimos, listen to Elyob and don't give up so easily.

I have been wrong dozens of times in my life and this could well be yet another instance.

Elyob makes a very cogent point here (I think Phronimos is correct: we just don't notice.), so I believe his input should carry substantial weight in your decision making process.

 

The Scroogie - Keith

Edited July 1, 2024 by ScroogieII

[+Bear and Ragged]

On 6/29/2024 at 2:03 AM, elyob said:

Sorry I'm late to this nearly closed thread.  I think Phronimos is correct: we just don't notice.  I have lived in many different forms of suburbia.  I have noticed that many suburban communities in North America can be identified by a theme used for local geography.  All the names of streets and parks in one neighbourhood follow a single theme: Olympians or reptiles or famous mines or girls' names or golfers or rivers or poets etc.  Phronimos, would this meet your definition of Themed Towns?

Now that is a more workable idea...

Local estates/communities often have a theme when built around the same time.

In the UK military bases, and now housing on former military bases, have streets named after battles, leaders (Generals/Commanders etc) and famous locations.

Locally one of the estates has roads named after writers, another has two parts - one part names of water birds and another after grass birds.

 

Photo of local commercial estate, built on a former airfield.

Edited July 2, 2024 by Bear and Ragged
added photo