Development is booming all across Salt Lake City, but the new apartment buildings' names could use a little work
On The Street
By Bryant Heath
Large apartment complexes in various stages of construction are pretty much unavoidable in every neighborhood nowadays. In certain sections of the city—like Central 9th and The Granary—cranes and plywood giants are more commonplace than completed buildings, it seems.
The discussion around new buildings typically centers on whether these constructions will lead to gentrification, shifts in property value or the elimination of neighborhood character—but I tend to focus more on how uninspiring their names are.
Gone are the days of creative wordplay or memorable monikers. Now, we basically have two options that we're stuck with. The first are blasé, location-based identities such as "6th and Main" or "4th West Apartments." They're functional but lack any sort of—well—pizazz. The second common naming convention seems to be looking up classic first names of the 1920s and appending "The" onto the front.
I'm sure you've seen them before: The Edith, The Morton, The Penny, theRUTH, and on and on. When these types of housing units started popping up, the naming was novel but now it's a bit rote. I can already envision The Gertrude or The Dorothy are next up.
It hasn't always been this way. You can cruise downtown or to Central City and East Central to catch some interesting names on old-school multifamily residential buildings. Majestic Apartments, located at 848 E. South Temple, is more muted than the name implies, but the neatly pruned ivy-clad exterior is still very appealing.
My favorite two names, however, are basically neighbors: Bigelow Apartments, lower left, at 225 S. 400 East, whereas just around the corner are the Peter Pan Apartments, lower right, at 445 E. 300 South. I'd imagine some fans of Rob Schneider's '90s movie character and the Darling family, respectively, might call these places home.
I guess the name of where you live doesn't really matter as much as its location, location, location. That's why, if I had the option, put me in The Row at Ballpark, a stone's throw away from Costco on 1700 South and 300 West. The $1.50 hot dog dinners will help me better afford rent.
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