List of city nicknames in Massachusetts

This partial list of city nicknames in Massachusetts compiles the aliases, sobriquets and slogans that cities and towns in Massachusetts are known by (or have been known by historically), officially and unofficially, to locals, outsiders or their tourism boards. City nicknames can help in establishing a civic identity, helping outsiders recognize a community or attracting people to a community because of its nickname; promote civic pride; and build community unity.Muench, David [http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cced/economies/communityindicators/communityslogans.pdf "Wisconsin Community Slogans: Their Use and Local Impacts"] , December 1993, accessed April 10, 2007.] They are also believed to have economic value, but that economic value is difficult to measure.

Some of the nicknames are positive, while others are derisive. The unofficial nicknames listed here are those that have been used for such a long time or have gained so wide a currency that they have become well-known in their own right.
*Athol - Tool Town. [http://www.epodunk.com/slogans/products.html Claims to Fame - Products] , Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.]
*Boston
**Athens of America - Boston Brahmins' reference to the numerous cultural institutions which separated Boston from its counterparts. [ [http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-197793 Boston :: "The Athens of America" - Britannica Student Encyclopaedia ] ] Also called the Modern Athens.Barry Popik, [http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/summary12/ Smoky City] , barrypopik.com website, March 27, 2005]
**Beantown or Bean Town and variations 'The Bean', 'DA BEAN', BeanCity, B-town, etc. [ [http://ask.yahoo.com/20010905.html Why do they call Boston "Beantown"?] , Ask Yahoo? website, September 5, 2001] [http://www.taglineguru.com/monikerlist.html U.S. City Monikers] website, accessed January 5, 2008] [ [http://www.boston-online.com/faq.html#beantown Why do they call Boston "Beantown"?] , Boston-Online website] Norman Dalager, [http://www.boston.com/travel/boston/boston_nicknames/ What's in a nickname?] , Boston.com website, accessed June 18, 2008]
**The Hub (or the Hub of the Universe) [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,737166,00.html Queen City] , "Time (magazine)", January 30, 1928, accessed April 13, 1928.] -- "The Hub of the Universe", from Oliver Wendell Holmes' reference to the Massachusetts State House as the "hub of the solar system"]
**City of Notions
**The Cradle of Liberty
**Puritan City
*Brockton - The City of Champions Fact|date=January 2008
*Gardner - Furniture Capital of New England.Fact|date=January 2008
*Hadley - Asparagus Capital of the World. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9F0CE6DC1430F931A2575AC0A965958260 The World Capital of Whatever] , "The New York Times" by Harold Faber, September 12, 1993.]
*Holyoke - Paper City.
*Lexington - The Birthplace of American Liberty [Examples of the use of this name include the book title "Lexington, the Birthplace of American Liberty: A Handbook" by Fred Smith Piper (first published in 1902, formerly available from the Lexington Historical Society [http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/GEN-MAT-15/1999-04/0925337353] , and currently available through Google Books), the [http://www.libertyride.us/ Lexington Visitor Center website] , and the [http://ci.lexington.ma.us/Visiting/libertyride.htm City of Lexington website] (all websites accessed January 6, 2008). ]
* Lowell
** City of Spindles
** Manchester of America
* Newburyport - Clipper City. [ [http://www.merrimackvalley.info/communities/newburyport.html Focus on Newburyport] , [http://www.merrimackvalley.info Merrimack valley Info] Failed verification|date=December 2007, accessed October 01, 2007. "Shipbuilding was one of the most important and profitable trades making Newburyport known as the 'Clipper City.'"]
* North Adams - The Tunnel City
* Peabody - Leather City.
* Provincetown
** The Key West of the Cape.Fact|date=December 2007
** Like Nowhere Else ["The slogan for Provincetown says it well, 'Like No Where Else'" [http://www.capecodtoday.com/blogs/index.php/Warrior] and "Some members felt that although a slogan ("Like nowhere else") has been chosen, there needs to be more community input and consensus" [http://www.provincetowngov.org/mtbvs/2005/vs050822.htm] .]
** P-Town [Used in [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00E7DD1431F937A3575AC0A9639C8B63 Rich Gay, Poor Gay] by David Colman, "The New York Times", September 4, 2005, and in the title of the book "Ptown: Art, Sex, and Money on the Outer Cape" By Peter Manso (2002; Simon and Schuster; ISBN 978-0743243117]
* Quincy
** City of Presidents Fact|date=January 2008
** Q-Town Fact|date=January 2008
* Salem
** City of Peace
** City of Witches. [ [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60B17F939551B7A93C4A91788D85F428285F9 "QUITS POST IN DISPUTE ON SALEM'S BIRTH DATE; Author of City History Gives Up Place With the Essex Institute."] , "The New York Times", March 6, 1926, accessed April 23, 2007. "Sidney Perley, author of a history of Salem, resigned his position with the Essex Institute today because of a dispute as to the date of the city's founding. His action renewed a controversy which had raged since plans were set on foot to observe next July the tercentenary of the 'City of Witches.'"]
** The Witch City. [Matarazzo Jr., Bruno. [http://www.salemnews.com/local/local_story_113094012 "Historic buildings getting plundered for copper"] , "The Salem News", April 23, 2007, accessed April 23, 2007. "SALEM - Think of a thief snatching a gold necklace from around a woman's neck as she walks down the street. Now think of the victim as a historic building, and you get an idea of one of the crime trends haunting the Witch City."]
* Springfield
** Birthplace of Basketball. [ [http://gonewengland.about.com/library/weekly/aa010699.htm New England for Visitors] , About.com, accessed April 23, 2007. "Did you know that Springfield is the birthplace of basketball?"]
* Taunton
** The Silver City. [Lopes, Ashley. [http://www.tauntongazette.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18211866&BRD=1711&PAG=461&dept_id=24232&rfi=6 "Watching the history of Taunton"] , "Taunton Daily Gazette", April 15, 2007, accessed April 23, 2007. "TAUNTON - Mayor Charles Crowley, producer of cable access program Olde Tyme Taunton, kept the history of the Silver City alive as he celebrated his 250th show Wednesday."]
** The Christmas City. [ [http://www.ci.taunton.ma.us/mayor.htm A Message From The Mayor] , Taunton, Massachusetts, accessed April 23, 2007. "Throughout our glorious history, our community has earned the reputation as the Christmas City as visitors converge on Taunton from all corners of New England to witness the annual lighting of historic Taunton Green."]
**City of Firsts. [ [http://www.icity.net/cityguide/TAUNTON.html City of Taunton, Massachusetts] , accessed April 23, 2007. "Taunton has three nicknames; 'City of Firsts'- 1st Woman Proprietor, 1st to raise the Liberty & Union Flag 1774, and 1st Silver Manufacturer 'The Silver City- Had three major Silver Manufacturing Plants-1 remaining Christmas City-For decades the community lit up the Taunton green at the annual "Lights On" ceremony."]
*Waltham - Watch City. [Siek, Stephanie V. [http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/04/12/waltham_room_to_grow_at_museum/ Waltham: Room to grow at museum"] , "Boston Globe", April 12, 2007, accessed April 23, 2007. "You can see it at the new home of the Waltham Museum, which finally has enough room for its many windows into the past lives of the Watch City."]
* Westfield - The Whip City. [ [http://www.holyokemass.com/pichampden/p153.html WESTFIELD, THE "WHIP CITY."] , accessed April 23, 2007.]
* Winchester
* Worcester
**City of Seven Hills [ [http://www.worcester.ma.us/ City of Worcester, Massachusetts ] ]
**Wormtown [ [http://www.worcestermass.com/wormtown.shtml Worcester, Mass - Origins of the Phrase Wormtown ] ]

ee also

*List of city nicknames in the United States
*List of cities in Massachusetts

References

External links

* [http://got.net/~landauer/lists/CityOf.html a list] of American and a few Canadian nicknames
* [http://www.usacitiesonline.com/mottos.htm U.S. cities list]