I’m disturbed by what I see as a trend to de-emphasize the name of our beloved city, Peoria. The museum is only the latest in a long line of the name purging. Remember what CityLink used to be called? That’s right, GP Transit — where “GP” stood for “Greater Peoria.” The Journal Star stopped calling themselves the “Peoria Journal Star” decades ago. The Peoria Civic Center is looking to sell their naming rights, so it will likely lose the Peoria part of its name. Now, the Peoria Regional Airport is floating the idea of changing its name as well.
Why? What’s wrong with “Peoria”? Is it a lack of civic pride? Are people embarrassed to be associated with Peoria?
One argument I hear often is that many of these places want to have more regional appeal, thus they come up with more generic or regional names. Here’s my question: how’s that working out? Does CityLink have a large presence in East Peoria, Pekin, Germantown Hills, Metamora, Washington, Bartonville, etc., now that they’ve adopted a regional name? Has the Journal Star’s circulation risen since they de-emphasized “Peoria” in their nameplate? Has fundraising really taken off in the surrounding cities since the museum started calling themselves (temporarily) the Central Illinois Regional Museum? I’m highly skeptical that these efforts have resulted in any appreciable difference in revenues or attitudes toward the companies who’ve chosen to eschew the Peoria moniker.
Another argument is that Peoria supposedly has a bad reputation for whatever reason, thus making the name a marketing liability. First of all, I don’t believe people are that easily fooled. You still have to tell people where you’re located, so they’re going to find out that you’re in Peoria eventually. You can’t trick them into coming here. Secondly, hiding the Peoria name doesn’t help improve that reputation, if one concedes such a repuation exists. If the Peoria Civic Center is successful, then Peoria’s reputation is helped. If the Peoria History Museum gained national attention, then the Peoria name would shine. But if the AMAZEum prospers, or the ABC Company Civic Center is a popular regional attraction, what does that do for Peoria’s name? Nothing. It’s self-defeating.
So, I ask again, what’s wrong with Peoria? What’s wrong with showing a little pride in our city? Yes, I do my fair share of criticism of the city, but I consider around 99% of it constructive criticism, and frankly, I love Peoria. That’s why I live here. That’s why I’ve chosen to live right in the heart of the city. That’s why I call my blog “The PEORIA Chronicle.”
I’m tired of seeing “Peoria” get short shrift. Despite its challenges, Peoria has a lot going for it. We all know it. We can all quote chapter and verse about Peoria’s storied past and our progressive vision for the future. Why not flaunt it? We should be proud to put the name “Peoria” on our museums, civic centers, airport, buses, newspapers, etc. And we should be proud to be known as Peorians.
C.J.,
At least with the local airport, a possible name change won’t necessarily delete “Peoria” from the name. Since our airport has its own customs broker and a good deal of international travelers thanks to locally-based Caterpillar, I vote for “Greater Peoria International Airport.” (Before you laugh, the local airport is no less qualified that the Quad City International Airport up at Moline.) Otherwise, a famous late and former resident might be added into the name. I’m fine with that as lone as they keep “Peoria” in the name. Few cities leave their name out of their airport (central Illinois airports are notorious for doing so – Bloomington-Normal, Springfield, Champaign-Urbana, etc.).
I don’t understand the need to “rebrand” an airport. If everyone else is like me on this (and I’m pretty sure most folks are) I will fly out of whichever airport ha the cheapest flights and/or is closest to my home. I’ve driven up to O Hare a few times to fly out of there, because the flight was way cheaper than anything I could get out of Central IL. Otherwise, I fly out of Peoria because it’s close, and the difference in price between a flight out of here and anywhere else is negligible enough to be the equivalent of the cost of gas or a bus ticket between here and other said airport.
So WTF? Why exactly does an airport need to market itself? Just keep having flights other places, and people will come – short of it being a poisonous place to be…
““Greater Peoria International Airport.†(Before you laugh, the local airport is no less qualified that the Quad City International Airport up at Moline.)”
South Bend International Airport at the Mishawaka Regional Transportation Center! It had a single flight to Toronto!
(And, oddly, people called it “the transpo center” or “the transpo” when I was there rather than, like, “the airport” or “the train station” or “the bus depot” so at least part of the name stuck!)
Let me start off by saying the there is nothing wrong with using the name “Peoria”. But, in the case of the new museum, I’m sure that “Peoria” is not being used because it is a REGIONAL museum.
The real thing wrong with the area is the blackmark left by the UAW during their multiple strikes with Cat. These made national news night after night because Cat is just not a local company. Cat makes products used world-wide.
In any event, the best thing this entire area could ever do would be to combine Peoria, E. Peoria, Pekin, etc. and make ONE large city. (Kinda like combining school districts?) The metro area (could even have a new name) would have a combined population over 300,000 and finally make some inroads with big corporations that will not locate in any of our little fiefdoms. Think of the cost savings from ONE set of everything from mayor, council, police, fire, work crews, admins, it goes on and on. Imagine ONE set of rules, property taxes, etc.? As an example, what purpose does Peoria Heights serve except to duplicate services Peoria already provides? West Peoria? Creve Coeur? Marquette Heights? Bartonville, etc.? Too bad the local fiefdoms will never approve such a bold step because they would lose their little bits of power.
That would be a marketing coup of immense proportions. Talk about re-branding…
LocalGirl,
Even if there is a museum, you are going to have a hell of a time representing the entire REGION in there.
CJ, Peoria does have a bad reputation. But, more importantly, the majority of the people who live in the tri-county area don’t live in Peoria. If you ask someone from Pekin, not one in a thousand would acknowledge they live anywhere near Peoria (granted Pekin is an extreme example, half their poplulation has never been outside the City limits in their adult life, but I digress). The point is, if you are going to include the majority of the people in this area, you are going to have to get beyond “Peoria”.
I didn’t mean that the entire region would be represented in the museum. I think that choosing a new name without Peoria in it was wise, considering that they are going to ask other cities/towns in the region for money. Also, the IHSA from Bloomington is a partner, and they probably didn’t want to be in a museum with Peoria in the title.
As a parent, I am familier with Lakeview’s Picture Person and School Loan Program which does reach many counties from both near and far away. I really think that the museum will have regional appeal -both now and whenever it’s built.
excuse me, familiar
Actually, there are a number of reasons to market a local airport. When the local media is selective about their reporting on changes in airline service (such as not reporting lost or new flights), it’s important for the local airport to inform the public on its own terms, such as ad space in the local print media. I agree, changing the name of the local airport will not do any good if airline service does not expand and fares remain higher than others in the region, but the public must be made aware of what the local airport offers. Sometimes, that’s fogotten.
The same prinicples can be applied to the downtown museum. The name really doesn’t matter. What matters is does the museum offer something that is appealing to a large number of potential tourists in the region, or even the country? There’s a reason why Disney World gets so many visitors each year – how many Disney theme parks do we have in our land? Anaheim and Orlando. How many cities have museums presenting local history and the usual stuff everyone else has, such as a planetarium? How many cities have bicycle trails?
I was just at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield today and I understand why it was crowded – the subject matter is one of interest to many potential tourists nationwide and perhaps from foreign countries. The museum delivers through drama, video, special effects and other ways to tell Lincoln’s story.
Well…..if they put a taxpayer paid parking deck under the damn thing, then it better have the word “Peoria” somewhere in it’s name.
After thinking about it, I can offer a name: Central Region and Peoria Museum or C.R.A.P. Museum
David Jordan,
This is part of the problem with ‘Peoria’ museum. Just what or whose story is the museum trying to tell? It might be fun to have a flashy, pushbutton, light’em up kind of a place, but in the end….are we really going to be able to call it a museum? True, Lincoln museum has ‘cool stuff,’ but it also has SERIOUS scholarship, Lincoln documents, in house lab and conservation labs, etc. I am not trying to be obnoxious, but Regional Museum has little if any of these things. I agree with LocalGirl, however a $65 million price tage is a bit steep for the kind of ‘services’ offered by the ‘new Lakeview.’
The “Peoria Wi-Fi Extravaganza” has a positively delightful ring to it, don’t you think?
I am not in favor of a museum, but, the powers to be are going to stuff it down our throat, so at least put the name of Peoria in it somewhere, i.e., whatever name, “inPeoria” so people will know where it is. The reason I do not favor a museum is that I,like most people inmy category, middle class and retired, may visit it once, but that will be it- so how can it furbish on one visit people.