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Will the real Queen City please stand up!

St_Michael

By St_Michael
in Charlotte Coffee House

The Queen City  

75 members have voted

  1. 1. Which city is most deserving of the nickname, The Queen City?

    • Allentown, PA
      1
    • Buffalo, NY
      1
    • Charlotte, NC
      66
    • Cincinnati, OH
      6

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St_Michael Crossroads

St_Michael

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A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I were trying to decide which Body exhibit we wanted to see. Bodies in Durham or Bodyworlds coming to Charlotte. Her brother was raving about how good Bodyworlds were when they came to Phoenix, so we decided on that one. I said, ok, I'll get us a hotel room in The Queen City and we can make a weekend of it. She stopped and said, what are you talking about? We are The Queen City, meaning her hometown of Buffalo. I didn't know that. I knew Cincinnati was called the Queen City, but never knew that was Buffalo's nickname also. Anyway, for the next few days we had a running joke about which of the three cities are more deserving of the nickname. I argued that; 1. Charlotte is actually named after a queen, 2. It is the oldest of the three cities, and 3. It is the largest of the three cities, including city proper, MSA, or CSA. She argues that until the last couple of decades, Buffalo and Cincinnati were well known before Charlotte. Then she threw in a curveball with Allentown, PA, founded in 1762.

I figured maybe I was just off base, and would ask my fellow urban experts. Does anyone else agree with me and think that Charlotte is most deserving of being called THE Queen City now, or am I just being biased because I am a North Carolinian?

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St_Michael Crossroads

St_Michael

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Everyone is right. I knew it would be biased here, but thought I could fool my wife, who has never been to Urban Planet. But she figured out enough to come see which forum I put the question in. Can I just move this thread or do I have to start a new poll? I also put it here because I am new to this board and thought this might be off subject, so I chose the coffee house :unsure: .

I never knew Seattle also had it as a nickname, just the Emerald City, but looked it up and it

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Miesian Corners City

Miesian Corners

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Charlotte is the Queen City because it was named for Queen Charlotte Sophia von Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She was the wife of George III of England, ruler of GB during the Revolutionary War. Charlotte predates Cincy, Buffalo, Allentown (known as Northampton in 1762, did not incorporate as Allentown until 1838), and Seattle. Not sure what the others are "queens" of, exactly. Charlotte wins.

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cltheel.sdl Burg

cltheel.sdl

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Everyone is right. I knew it would be biased here, but thought I could fool my wife, who has never been to Urban Planet. But she figured out enough to come see which forum I put the question in. Can I just move this thread or do I have to start a new poll? I also put it here because I am new to this board and thought this might be off subject, so I chose the coffee house :unsure: .

I never knew Seattle also had it as a nickname, just the Emerald City, but looked it up and it

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Charlotteman Burg

Charlotteman

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Seattle being called the Queen City was quite a while ago. The only time I've ever heard it used in the region, is in the names of some older businesses.

In fact people in Seattle don't even refer to their town as the "Emerald City" either. In the phone book you'll see Emerald City Auto and Repair, for example, but you wouldn't hear it in general conversation.

Charlotte is directly and undoubtedly named after a queen, and one of Charlotte's first neighborhoods was named after her beloved lady-in-waiting---- Elizabeth.

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Skyline49er Whistle-Stop

Skyline49er

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I asked my father, since he lived there for half of his life, why they call Buffalo the Queen City. He said they call Buffalo the Queen City of the Great Lakes. Now, he didn't know if that was the correct usage of the nickname, but he said that is what he heard a couple of times. Anybody else from Buffalo ever heard that? I do find it funny that my two favorite cities are both nicknamed the same thing.

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  • 6 months later...
Nostyle Whistle-Stop

Nostyle

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Buffalo was branded the 'queen city' because at one time it was the second largest city on the great lakes. In all honesty, Buffalo doesn't embrace the nickname nearly to the extent that Charlotte does, where street signs, architecture, and statues all glorify the queen. In Buffalo, the most you hear 'queen city' is when they occasionally use it on the local news...

"There was a double homicide on the Queen City's east side overnight..."

Having said that, I grew up in Buffalo and it was the first 'queen city' I knew of, so I voted for it.

:-)

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PlazaMidwoodGuy Whistle-Stop

PlazaMidwoodGuy

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Buffalo was branded the 'queen city' because at one time it was the second largest city on the great lakes. In all honesty, Buffalo doesn't embrace the nickname nearly to the extent that Charlotte does, where street signs, architecture, and statues all glorify the queen. In Buffalo, the most you hear 'queen city' is when they occasionally use it on the local news...

"There was a double homicide on the Queen City's east side overnight..."

Having said that, I grew up in Buffalo and it was the first 'queen city' I knew of, so I voted for it.

:-)

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

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I'd vote 'All of the Above' if the option were there. It is like saying who is the real 'Jack' or something. Let people make up whatever nicknames they want to, even if it makes absolutely no sense (think 'Humpy' or 'Bucky').

It doesn't bother me that other cities have a similar nickname. I'd say that even if I didn't live here, I think being the only city of the lot named after an actual Queen gives it the edge on the nickname making sense. But I reserve the right for any other city to give themselves nicknames regardless of whether its derivation is a stretch and its use is sparse.

I'll also say that for all you 'Charlotte wins' people on this thread, I'll remind you that Charlotte was founded and settled by Scoth-Irish who hated the monarchy, allegedly were bold enough to declare Independence early in that period, and fought hard and turned back Cornwallis in the American Revolution to have Queen Charlotte to NOT be their queen.

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