Wednesday, June 13, 2007

RefQ: The Origin of Our 'City Different' Nickname?

Someone called the reference desk to ask when the nickname 'City Different' came into use. Who invented it or made it official?

According to Chris Wilson's The myth of Santa Fe : creating a modern regional tradition, as the city was developing its Plan of 1912, it was influenced by a city planning movement called 'City Beautiful' (1)(2)(3), which was then at its height around the country. Wilson explains, "Remarkably Santa Fe was not only the smallest comunity with a City Beautiful plan, but its Plan of 1912 broke significant new ground by combining the standard emphasis on architectural homogeneity with a local revival style... Soon the chamber of commerce was promoting Santa Fe not as another "City Beautiful," but as the "City Different." (Wilson, p. 122). The Plan "defined the Santa Fe style with which to create a harmonious historical appearance to attract tourists." (Wilson, p. 236) We asked the Southwest Room at the State Library, and they asked the Chamber of Commerce. Simon Brackley at the Chamber thinks that they adopted the slogan somewhat later than Wilson's date, around 1920.

This isn't the first time this question has come up. We're going to put the information in our 'Hard-to-Find File', so it's easier to find next time...

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