Random ramblings

[hatman]

What's the most iconic city in England? If I asked you to name a city in England, what's the first one you'd name? If you were going to tour the country, to see its heart, which city would you have to visit? London, of course. The capital city.

What about France? Paris. The capital city.

Egypt? Cairo. The capital.

China? Bejing/Peking. The capital.

You get the idea. Pick just about any country, and it's the capital. But what about the US? Maybe I'm influenced by proximity, but I'd say that arguably the most iconic city in the country is New York. Which isn't even the capital of the state. (That's Albany. And if you've never heard of it before... I can't say I blame you.) LA is probably the second. Going down the list, there's Boston and Chicago... you'd have a ways to go before you got to D.C. (Or at least so it seems to me.)

Why is that? In part, I guess it's the history of it. Most capitals became capitals because they were major, influential cities. DC was created to be the capital, its location a compromise, moved from more northern proposals (such as New York, already an established major city) to help get the Southern states to pay an even share of the more heavily Northern debts from the Revolutionary War.

Even so, that was two hundred years ago. DC has grown, but not nearly so much (or, arguably, so well) as New York and other cities. Outside of the Federal buildings (Capitol Hill, the National Mall, etc.), it's not a city to really show off. (Which I've always thought was a disappointment and a shame.)

Why has it developed this way? What does it say about us?

Or are my perceptions just skewed? (Though since this mostly is about perceptions, any skewing I might have might just be considered exactly the point...)

Comments

[brianamj.livejournal.com]

I think it's more due to culture than anything. DC does have museums, but unless you're an American, that's the only real appeal. And most of the museums are political and government related, with the exception of the massive Smithsonian. You go to NYC, you have Broadway, the Statue of Liberty (a long-standing international symbol of hope and freedom), museums galore, and other cultural sights. LA, Boston, Chicago, they all beat out DC when it comes to diversified culture. There's limited history no matter where you go, compared to the rest of the world, but NYC has as much, if not more, than DC.

I also wonder, if you ask non-Americans, how many people would say NYC was the capitol of the US instead of DC?

[pgwfolc.livejournal.com]

Well, as Dave pointed out, Australia has the same thing going on... I'd never even heard of their capital city, assuming it was Sydney instead. A few other instances were mentioned DW-side.

But the thing about NYC having Broadway and all that stuff... that's kind of my point. By all rights, the capital city should have those things, shouldn't it? But ours doesn't.

Still, I think most people could name the capital of the US if asked. But only because of our importance on the world stage. (Actually, it reminds me of the bit from the Daily Show where they interviewed people in the streets of Baghdad and found that they knew more about the US and its history than the average person in the streets of NYC. Though of course there's no telling how many people they interviewed who didn't get included in the segment.)