Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2009 > April > 06 > Entry
Austin as ‘Open City’ 2
For Part 1, see post below …
Austin has suffered through a history of cursed slogans.
Anybody notice a violet haze over the hills recently? I thought not.
Fifty years earlier, a French traveller suggested something like “City of 12,000 Mounds,” an unflattering reference to Rome’s eternal seven hills.
Actually, I think he meant it as a compliment.
Through most of the 20th Century, Austin made do with “River City,” a
rallying cry it shared with 5,763 other North American burgs, including the fictional location of “The Music Man.”
The name survives through businesses and teams such as River City Aquatics, River City Rangers Soccer Club and River City Donuts.
Really? River City was the best our fore-parents could do? Well, Houston was known as “Bayou City” before it became “Space City.” Not much more concise.
More to come… .
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