It would be presumptuous to believe that your name is unique. But we all have different stories to tell. Each story behind how names came about ranges from the extraordinary to absurd or even hilarious. To be politically correct, say “interesting? ”
Try Xxyyzz Road in the Mojave Desert. I got the chance to encounter it on a road trip from Las Vegas to L.A. Unusual. Maybe the name means “the end of the road” twice over? I am curious as to how the locals came up with it. Try to make sense of these names as well: Hopeulikit in Georgia; Horneytown in North Carolina; Two Eggs in Florida; and Dickshooter in Idaho. Believe it or not, the list goes on, and that's just in the good ol' USA alone.
The John Smiths and Mary Johnsons swarm Uncle Sam’s land and fill the telephone directory. Such is the case with historic areas' names. While moving around the big land, it came as no surprise that I came across a couple of Union Squares, one in San Francisco and the other in the Big Apple. Have you ever wondered how the names of these spots came about?
In San Francisco, Union Square's name came about because the spot was used for rallies and support for the Union Army during the Civil War in the past. Meanwhile, New York City's Union Square has simpler roots. Though NYC's Union Square was the site of the 1861 gathering in support of the Union troops, it celebrates neither the Federal Union of the United States nor the labor unions, but the union of two principal thoroughfares of the island: Broadway and Fourth Avenue (formerly Bowery Road).
To honor the square as the first Labor Day parade site, NYC's Union Square was named a National Historic Landmark in 1997. But one recent event made this place more significant—the 9/11 terrorist attack. In the days following the tragic event, the Big Apple’s Union Square became the main gathering point of the mourning public.
If San Francisco's Union Square has the Dewey Monument and Hearts of San Francisco artworks, NYC has the statues of George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Mahatma Gandhi; the Temperance Fountain; and the Metronome Building, a kinetic wall sculpture and digital clock expelling bursts of steam.
Both San Francisco and New ork City's Union Squares locations are in the center of historic and renowned buildings. To spice up everyone’s tour of the areas, both Union Squares are shopping destinations with renowned boutiques and malls steps away.
Admit it, nothing keeps the Pinoy tourist from walking a mile or two (and even more) unless shopping involved. Any Philippine travel agent will attest to this.
As much as I enjoyed the atmosphere of the Union Squares in the East and West Coast states, the glowing neon signs of the squares' nearby boutiques made the areas more captivating. Knowing the history of two of America's popular attractions put them in a new light, too.
Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on April 28, 2011.
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