I Love Driving by the Stadium
- Thread starter CyForPresident
- Start date
If you want "a far cry", you should try the changes from when i first visited in December of '82. Among a great many other things, there used to be an IHOP in Campustown...
But it's not just for the sake of change, and I cannot understand why people take the move so personally and offensively.
It's another part of the "gateway" project, to make it very clear to visitors off of that exit that they are coming up on Iowa State University. Is it repetitive and redundant? You bet! But that's what I want to see in a college town: complete spirit and fervor for the University that everything revolves around it (right down to the street names and brick entryways).
No, it doesn't make sense for people in Ames or those that are already connected for the university. But it's not for us. It's for people that are new to the campus, so it's easier to find, or so that it imposes the Iowa State spirit on visitors. Imagine a recruit coming to Ames for the first time, turning onto University and seeing the brick gateway before passing by Reiman Gardens and seeing Jack Trice in the distance. Impressive, impressive pathos.
Nothing wrong with the brick gateways. But renaming Elwood Drive just for convenience not only goes against tradition, we lose something unique. I'm sure that just about every college town has a "University Avenue/Drive/etc". It's commonplace. And look at Des Moines' "University Avenue", you have to think about it to realize that it's related to Drake, because it just goes on and on and on, in both directions. Frankly, "University" is simply trite and passe, let alone simplistic. And there already is a "State" Avenue, has been for decades, just nobody wants it tied into Highway 30.
And as far as the visitors--don't try to tell me that just as many people don't come in South Dakota, West Lincoln Way, or even those from the north, along 13th Street. University? We really didn't need to become a clone of every other college town.
Frankly, Cyclone Alley might have been a better choice...
Great post, couldn't agree more. I don't care one bit if "everyone else has a university ave" - I want visitors to be reminded of Iowa State University as much as possible.
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