Two-syllable abbreviated neighborhood names have become as ubiquitous in central Denver in recent years as microbrews and mountain views. There area at least six: LoDo, RiNo, LoHi, NoDo, SoCo, and SoBo, and it seems likely more will pop up in the future. Many other cities around the country have a neighborhood or two with an abbreviated name, but no other city has as many in such a small area. Why? What is it about these names that appeals so much to Denverites, specifically?
My theory is that it’s all LoDo’s fault. In many ways, LoDo was the first place in Colorado where inner city redevelopment hit the mainstream. Therefore, LoDo has been the model for every other urban neighborhood renaissance in Denver since. LoDo instilled the idea in to the cultural consciousness of Coloradoans that having a two-syllable abbreviated neighborhood name is synonymous with a successfully redeveloped urban neighborhood.
The phenomenon of abbreviated names isn’t unique to Denver, but the phenomenon of attaching one to just about every neighborhood possible is, and it is happening because people here associate such names with quality urban neighborhoods.
It’s a little bit like how “lofts” has become synonymous with “urban living” and “light rail” has become synonymous with “any passenger train”. Those were the terms that were specific to what happened early in Denver’s urban renaissance process, so now people have hijacked them and use them for anything even remotely related.
What do you think about these names? Love them or hate them? Are they a quirky example of unique local culture, or the contrived invention of real-estate marketers?
I love most of the names, but the me-too’s are getting a bit thick, and diluting the concept. I think Dan’s hit it right on the nail: they want their neighborhood to be as cool as the original two-syllabler: LoDo. Here’s a link to the story of the origin of the LoDo name: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_10871269?source=rss
Other than the original LoDo I can’t stand them. Especially “LoHi” and “LiDo” (Littleton Downtown) – yeesh. I feel like they are all just copying LoDo as a marketing device, generally without the urban elements that actually make LoDo the great neighborhood it is. Every neighborhood in Denver has a real name, but you can’t be trendy living in Baker – it has to be SoBo!
On the other hand, I’d take EWoo over Englehood/Engleweed – but at least my neighborhood earned those nicknames through, um hard work.
The Rockies’ two best players have similar style nicknames: Tulo and CarGo.
These names are dumb, Lodo and maybe RiNo have merits, LoHi was almost entirely created by real estate agents. NoDo is horrible and according to its website actually encompass’ 8 separate neighborhoods. SoCo is actually the Golden Triangle(GoTri, TriGo)and was created by Regas Christou and SoBo is Baker. I think the sitcom How I Met Your Mother got it just about right with DoWiSeTrePla. All of these names are borderline meaningless marketing ploys that actively erase the city’s history. The should be treated with as much disdain and mockery as any name from Ken’s Guide to Suburban Denver Subdivision Names http://denverinfill.com/blog/2006/09/guide-to-suburban-denver-subdivision.html
These names are stupid, but I’ve never met anyone other than real estate agents who actually uses them (with the exception of LoDo, of course). In my experience, everyone still uses the legitimate neighborhood names. As in, I live in Highlands, I live in Whittier, I live in Baker, etc.
So I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Hype-makers can call things whatever they like, but it’s the people who live here, and their parlance, that matters.
I agree with JimLuk and Ken. These names are cliches, and every city in America has some form of them; maybe the ones in New York are okay, but out here in the provinces, no. And we should never, ever, adopt a name invented by Regas Christou. Twenty years from now when gentrifiers have pushed out the Latino communities of southwest Denver, I can imagine such terrible coinages as “MoRo” for the area around Morrison Road (the mile-long diagonal road that connects Alameda and Sheridan), “SoFed,” “SoZu,” and so on. It must stop.
It’s not just these, either — more and more, I hear people referring to my neighborhood as “Cap Hill,” which you didn’t hear just a few years ago. Maybe they’re all spelling it CapHill, too.
Only LoDo and RiNo please! I like the blue rhino sculpture on Broadway, by the way.
Agreed w/ most comments – LoDo is the only one that really fits, b/c it was the first. The rest are all copycats, are annoying, and those who use them typically scream “I’m from out of town.”. Except Cap Hill, which someone mentioned. That’s different as it’s shortening the actual Capital Hill neighborhood name and is not coming up with a new name. Kinda like “Wash Park”.
I just want to say that I laughed out loud at the title of this blog. Thanks 🙂