Ok, looks like there is a little brouhaha going on about the name change we have arbitrarily applied to the area from the 10th Street to the Lewis and Clark statue on West Main Street. It all began with Iron’s analysis entitled “The Coming (Tectonic) Shift to Midtown.”
Several readers have explained their disgust at our arbitrary naming rights:
Please stop calling West Main Street Midtown. While I am happy to see so many new faces in Cville, and with them great new restaurants, Midtown is a simply ridiculous name for an area that is only a few blocks long. Look around folks, it has been West Main Street for a long time and always will be. Does the opening of three or four new restaurants (and potentially good restaurants) truly warrant a name change here? I don’t think so.
Midtown? Nonono, we already have a perfectly good name for that. We’ve been using it for the past 150 years. West Main Street.
What do you think? Personally, I think Midtown is a logical progression from Downtown. Also, what happens if this area expands beyond the actual street? This will happen sooner than later with that giant parking lot for sale as well as those condo developments behind Continental Divide. Please share your thoughts!
Related posts:
- Nightmare on West Main Street: Why We Have Bad Dreams
- Former Milano Main Street Market Space Will Be Coffee Shop and Yoga Thing
- The coming (tectonic?) shift to Midtown
If downtown is well, Downtown and West Main is “Midtown,” does that mean that the Corner would be Uptown? I really don’t think we want to start that.
I think that one of the local weeklies used “midtown” as an area on their restaurants map. I figured they did that because it allowed them to combine the few restaurants on Preston with those on West Main to eliminate the need for a separate category for two or three places. Absent such a goal, I don’t see the point of the new name. West Main is both familar and accurate to the bounds of the area. I doubt that the restaurant scene will spill on to the side streets very far. Those are residential neighborhoods, for one thing. But even if it did, it would be just one more thing newcomers would have to figure out. “‘The corner’ is actually more than one corner” “No, you need to turn left at the light to stay on JPA.” etc. No big deal.
Call it what you want – but if you want people to know the area you’re referring to, West Main works; “midtown” would result in confused looks from all but the few folks (for now) reading this site.
Being relatively new to town, I don’t have a dog in this fight. But I do have to laugh about the fact that this is even a serious discussion.
I know that Charlottesville has big city pretensions, but there really isn’t enough of a contiguous city to warrant broad geographical descriptors. I think most people realize what one means by “Downtown” and “The Corner”–and that “West Main” pretty much refers to everything in between.
A little over a year ago, a local real estate agency was running ads on the back cover of The Hook or Cville Weekly that talked about how great it was to live in “Midtown”. It was the first reference I remember, but I’ve noticed the word being used more and more often lately.
Maybe the idea was spawned when those condo complexes were built just off Main Street and people started to flip houses in Fifeville.
I will at least take (partial) responsibility for starting all this. I picked up my lingo from developers and (new) property owners in the area and while it has been called “West Main” for a long time, this can get confusing for people who misunderstand the difference between the (bad) bar and the actual location.
Plus, Midtown is a much more attractive name for sales purposes and for people who exist socially on the corner-downtown axis, it makes perfect sense.
So, fight as we may, “Midtown” has more than a foothold in our local lingo and it is here to stay. Just wait until they put up banners stating “Midtown for the summer.” That, my friends, will make it stick.
I like Midtown myself, but I don’t venture down West Main enough to really care either way. Can someone provide (or point me to) a list of restaurants/bars that encompass Midtown/W. Main?
I’d like to see a pedestrian bridge crossing from the Omni side of downtown to West Main. It’d make me much more likely to venture over to that side of town; there’s something about McIntire road that closes off that side of town in my downtown pursuits. Also, I like pedestrian bridges.
chris: YES!
From west to east, roughly:
Northern Exposure: All-American restaurant, extensive menu, good value, I wrote about their salads
Asian Express: Chinese, Japanese, sushi, all of which can be delivered
Pizza Bolli: I’m a Papa John’s, I don’t know
Etoile: French restaurant
Continental Divide: Tex-Mex with a menu that never changes but its crowds prove it doesn’t need to, a lot of tequila options
Mel’s: Soul food hotspot, nice and southern
Starr Hill: Beer, food, concerts, all good!
Maya: It’s all over our site!
Horse & Hound: A new arrival, also recently reviewed
Wild Wings: The train station, huge menu especially its wings options, great place to watch sports
Blue Moon: Hipster diner, just redone
Zinc: Cville’s first “gastropub,” which I also reviewed
West Main: The Virginian’s new big brother, all-American restaurant
I think that West Main restaurant/bar is a friendly, little place. It’s not trying to be a swanky lounge, but it’s a few steps above the pubs like McGrady’s.
The first comment is right: midtown must be between downtown and uptown, and uptown, if anywhere, is clearly 29N. West Main St. is precisely in the wrong direction. Also, it’s a distinction without difference: West Main St. clearly qualifies as a part of downtown, hence there being no different term for that area other than the street name itself. As West Main becomes more vibrant, it will become a natural extension of downtown, as it was before The Omni was put in, post Vinegar Hill.
I haven’t had a good experience with West Main yet. Mostly, the staffing was the problem. Either there was no host or the server was painfully slow with an empty restaurant. The food is good, but that’s a lot of space for not a lot going on. I really enjoy eating at the Virginian, actually, especially in summer when I don’t feel like such a cougar. The student servers are fast, and the food/drinks are great!
I had a terrible experience at West Main and will never go back. I don’t really mind smokers, but the fact that there’s not a non-smoking section was a serious problem with my dinner party. In addition, service was brutally slow, and they put loads of Oregano in the French Onion Soup. I mean…messing up something that basic is like forgetting how to breathe and walk at the same time. Simply inexcusable.
The main was truly disgusting, too.
Well, I guess I’ll contribute some news I heard today. Scratch Northern Exposure and Starr Hill of the list of restaurants on West Main Street. You may have seen the Northern Exposure closure coming. They scaled back to catering for a while and seemed to always be closed for “private parties”.
Starr Hill is a little more of a surprise. I heard about their closure from two different sources. July 7th appears to be their last planned night in business. I don’t know if the music hall part is also closing.
Music hall is closing, too. Jefferson Theater will be picking up the musical acts, and I can’t wait to attend shows there.
That’s great! I was hoping that would happen sooner. Starr Hill seemed a little small for some of the bands that were booked there.
1) I think Midtown is silly. Stick with West Main Street.
2)I’m really surprised that Starr Hill is closing. It seemed really popular. But that explains why there are so few shows scheduled for this summer, whereas there were shows almost every night last summer. That’s too bad, it was a really great venue. When is the Jefferson Theater supposed to reopen? Not until next year, right?
3)I’m sorry that people have had bad experiences at West Main Restaurant. I’ve been there dozens of times and always gotten my food in less than 15 minutes.
4)It will be a long ass time before the businesses extend further out from West Main St. itself. It’s practically ghetto on both sides all the way down.
I prefer West Main to Midtown, too. “Midtown” just doesn’t mean anything, to me. It’s non-specific. Not knowing more, I’d presume it takes in an area larger than just West Main. West Main IS West Main. If that’s what you mean, just say it. That way, everyone knows exactly what you are talking about. My own humble two cents.
Who cares?
Call it what you want, and qualofy your choice to make it clear to the people you are speeaking with!!
Starr Hill shows will actually be at The Sattelite ballroom until the Jefferson is ready to go!!!
Mid West Main Street for me…and STEP ON IT!!!