# Place names that refer to a particular industry. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616 "2010-07-22T17:14:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/41 "2010-07-23T01:54:10Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico, was named after a TV game show with absolutely no connects to said town. No connects? Before Truth or Consequences was a television show, it was a radio show. In 1950, [Hot Springs, N.M., took up the show’s offer](http://www.torcfiesta.com/past-fiestas) to hold the show’s 10th anniversary celebration in any town in the U.S. that would rename itself. The town even has a “Ralph Edwards Park” now. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/42 "2010-07-23T07:09:28Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Milwaukee was THE brewing capitol of the USA for generations, and even today the baseball team’s name still references that past glory… But did anyone use Milwaukee as a synonym for the brewing industry? I don’t think so. Usually these metonyms get applied when all or almost all the major players in an industry are located in that area, even if they’ve since moved away. That was never the case with the brewing industry – there’s lots of major brewers who were never in Milwaukee. And currently (although this is unrelated to whether it’s a metonym or not) there are no major brewers there at all. There may be some craft brewers there, but that’s it. It’s the same with the aerospace industry and Seattle. Boeing was the only one ever in that city; the rest were located elsewhere, mostly in California actually. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/43 "2010-07-23T07:41:48Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The British equivalent is Shaftesbury Avenue. Well, a lot of the theatres are actually on Shaftesbury Avenue, but I do not think I have ever heard the street name used to mean the London theatre district (or industry) as a whole. The expression used is The West End. Once upon a time, Carnaby Street meant the British fashion industry (or at least that segment targeted at the young and hip), and Haight-Ashbury meant hippie culture. (Oh dear, I am showing my age now. :() ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@Captain\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/44 "2010-07-23T09:23:44Z")
City of Industry, California. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/45 "2010-07-23T10:05:59Z")
> [@Captain\_Midnight](#): > > City of Industry, California. Um, what “particular industry” does that refer to? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/46 "2010-07-23T13:28:26Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Milwaukee was THE brewing capitol of the USA for generations, and even today the baseball team’s name still references that past glory… Capital. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/47 "2010-07-23T13:29:12Z")
Here I was thinking that this would be places _named for_ a particular industry, like Asbestos, Quebec. > [@Leaffan](#): > > The financial sector in Canada is referred to as “Bay Street” after the street in Toronto. And before that, when the main players were on rue Saint-Jacques in Old Montreal, the metonym was St. James Street. “Quebec City” is frequently used to mean the provincial government. I wonder how many other provinces do that – somehow I can’t picture “Toronto” being used for the Ontario government, because it’s too many other things. (I imagine they just say “Queen’s Park.”) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/48 "2010-07-23T13:39:58Z")
**casdave** writes: > [@](#): > > Wensleydale - Known worldwide for the cheese Only because of Wallace and Gromit. I’d never heard of the cheese before that. And apparently it was somewhat whimsically chosen – the animators liked the way wallace’s mouth moved when saying “Wensleydalke” > [@](#): > > In the 1990s, sales had fallen so low that production was at risk of being suspended.[6] However, the popular Wallace and Gromit animated shorts A Grand Day Out and A Close Shave had the main character Wallace, a cheese connoisseur, mention Wensleydale as a particularly favourite cheese. Animator Nick Park chose it solely because it had a good name that would be interesting to animate, unaware of the company’s financial difficulties.[7] The company contacted Aardman Animations about a licence for a special brand of “Wallace and Gromit Wensleydale”, which proved to be an enormous success.[8] When the 2005 full-length Wallace and Gromit film, Curse of the Were-Rabbit, was released, sales of Wensleydale cheeses jumped by 23%.[9][10] > **[Wensleydale cheese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wensleydale_cheese)** > > Wensleydale is a style of cheese originally produced in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, England, but now mostly made in large commercial creameries throughout the United Kingdom. The term "Yorkshire Wensleydale" can only be used for cheese that is made in Wensleydale. The style of cheese originated from a monastery of French Cistercian monks who had settled in northern England, and continued to be produced by local farmers after the monastery was dissolved in 1540. Wensleydale cheese fell to We... ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/49 "2010-07-23T13:40:59Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Here I was thinking that this would be places _named for_ a particular industry, like Asbestos, Quebec. > > And before that, when the main players were on rue Saint-Jacques in Old Montreal, the metonym was St. James Street. > > “Quebec City” is frequently used to mean the provincial government. I wonder how many other provinces do that – somehow I can’t picture “Toronto” being used for the Ontario government, because it’s too many other things. (I imagine they just say “Queen’s Park.”) Yes. They (we) do indeed say Queen’s Park when referencing the Ontario government. Of course lately we have a few other names that we’ve been using to reference the Ontario government. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/50 "2010-07-23T13:46:59Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Once upon a time, Carnaby Street meant the British fashion industry Saville Row still does, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/51 "2010-07-23T13:49:39Z")
“Sand Hill” to refer to Silicon Valley VC firms. Note the use of one of these for an industry serving another industry of this type. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/52 "2010-07-23T13:56:58Z")
And I can’t believe nobody’s brought up “The Beltway” yet. Actually a Washington, DC, highway, it is often used to refer to the center of power within the government. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/53 "2010-07-23T13:58:14Z")
Since Broadway runs from the top to the bottom of “The City”, we also use Shubert Alley to describe the theatre district. Tin Pan Alley was similarly used at the turn of the century. The oddest designation has to be “the Bridge & Tunne Crowd” sometimes shortened to B&\> Used to describe people who regularly come into The City, as you hve to use a bridge or tunnel to get there from whereyou are. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/54 "2010-07-23T14:15:17Z")
Not sure if these fit but I’ll throw them into the mix anyway. 1. Oneida, NY - Oneida Glass 2. Hershey, PA - Hershey’s Chocolate 3. Beale Street (Memphis, TN) - Blues ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/55 "2010-07-23T14:22:38Z")
[Bochum, Germany](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlight_Express#Bochum.2C_Germany) has the _Starlighthalle_, and has become known for its very long running production of _Starlight Express_, an industry unto itself. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@Captain\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/56 "2010-07-23T14:30:30Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Um, what “particular industry” does that refer to? I dunno. Industry! That’s the name of the town, The City of Industry. They make all kinds of shit there. The Wiki article states that City of Industry has 80,000 jobs but only 777 residents. It’s 92% industrial and the other 8% nudie bars. So, no it does not stand for a particular industry, just industry in general. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/57 "2010-07-23T16:54:53Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > **The Pentagon** , for the U.S. Department of Defense, or, more broadly, the top brass of the U.S. Armed Forces. > > Also, **Foggy Bottom** is Washington, D.C. shorthand for the U.S. State Department. I’ve never been able to determine if it is a real toponym, or a nickname. Any D.C. dopers want to chime in? > [@spark240](#): > > Foggy Bottom is a real place. Besides State, it’s the neighborhood of the Kennedy Center and the Watergate. And a bunch of highways and access roads and such–actually, it’s not much of a “neighborhood.” Actually, it is. “Foggy Bottom” extends much further northward than the State Department, Kennedy Center, and the Watergate. It includes the George Washington University area (the Foggy Bottom metro station is in the middle of campus) and includes a range of uses – hotels, residences, embassies, etc. It extends all the way over to Georgetown and up to the Dupont Circle area. What used to be known as the “West End,” on the eastern edge of Georgetown is now all considered Foggy Bottom. ---
**Author:** ![SmithCommaJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@SmithCommaJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmithCommaJohn)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/58 "2010-07-23T17:24:37Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > So Seattle is not called Jet City, and every major order or cancellation is not reported in the local news? But would “I work in Seattle” likely be understood to mean “I work in the aeronautics industry”? That’s what I’m asking about. You could ask a New York banker at a party what he does for a living, and you’d have a general idea of what he meant if he said “I work in Wall Street.” You’d assume that he works in the financial industry, in New York, whether or not his office is actually physically located on Wall Street. Conversely, if I own a hotdog stand that _is_ physically located on Wall Street, saying “I work on Wall Street,” without more information, would be considered very misleading by most people, even though it’s technically true. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/46a35a/32.png) [@Great\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Dave)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/59 "2010-07-23T19:23:47Z")
Napa for California wine, Humboldt or Emerald Triangle for California weed. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616/60 "2010-07-23T19:35:34Z")
A place being well-known for a certain type of product is not sufficient for metonymy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/place-names-that-refer-to-a-particular-industry/547616.md?page=4)