Shoe District
Around 1900, the "shoe district" was on Duane Street, near West Broadway. Major shoe companies such as Endicott-Johnson were located there. Recently, the area of West 8th Street near…
Restaurant Supply District
The Restaurant Supply District (not a tourist area and not normally on any map) is the Bowery, below Houston Street. In the early 1900s, restaurant supply stores replaced the Bowery theaters that…
Printing District
The Printing District is (or was) centered around Hudson and Varick Streets. The old printing district -- originally located in what is now the Financial District at Manhattan's tip -- was…
Texas Dip (sandwich)
A "Texas Dip" sandwich is a new variation on the "French Dip" sandwich that was invented in California. The Texas version consists of thinly sliced brisked, BBQ sauce, and Swiss…
New York Yankee (deli sandwich of corned beef and pastrami)
Jason's Deli (in Texas and many other states) serves a "New York Yankee" sandwich of hot corned beef and pastrami, swiss on rye, with a choice of mustard or mayonnaise. Other delis…
2-3 (Austin’s 78723 zip code)
The "2-3" is hip-hop for the last two digits of Austin's zip code -- 78723. HoustonSoRealAustinSoReal - Check this article on rap from the 2-3In Austin, zip codes are quite…
Texas Dip (debutante curtsy)
The "Texas dip" is a bow or curtsy that Texas debutantes perform, usually to great dramatic effect. It's a difficult meaneuver that requires descending to the floor in style.…
Snow Cone
The snow cone is a descendant of Italian ices. Dallas resident Sammie Bert invented a snow cone-making machine in the 1920s and sold the product for over half a century at the State Fair of Texas.…
Newspaper Row
Newspapers in the 19th century liked to be close to the source of news -- city hall. In the second half of the nineteenth century (roughly 1875-1900), Park Row in Manhattan was also called…
Insurance District
The Insurance District is part of lower Manhattan's Financial District, centered east of Broadway around William Street. The Insurance District began to be named that in the 1880s and was…
Millinery District
Manhattan's "Millininery District" is roughly an older term for what would be called the "Garment District" or "Garment Center," between Fifth and Seventh Avenues…
Toy District (Toy Center)
Manhattan's Toy District is between 21st and 27th streets, from the Avenue of the Americas to Madison Avenue. It is centered around the Toy Center at 200 Fifth Avenue (23rd Street). New York…
Crystal District
The Crystal District is Madison Avenue, between 58th and 63rd Streets, where a conglomeration of stores sell crystal decorative objects and jewellery. The name was coined by New York City's…
“If you see a turtle on a fence, he had help getting there”
"If you see a turtle sitting on a fencepost, he had help getting there" is one of Bill Clinton's favorite phrases. The phrase is popular in both Arkansas and Texas to indicate the…
“Everything’s bigger in Texas”
"Everything's bigger in Texas" (sometimes ""Everything's bigger and better in Texas" or "They grow things bigger in Texas") reflects what was once…
Waco We Do (Waco slogan)
"Waco We Do" is the Waco city slogan promoted by the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce in 2006. The new slogan is intended to stress the city's "can-do" attitude. The…
Mountain Oyster (or Prairie Oyster)
"Mountain oysters" (also called "Rocky Mountain oysters" or "prairie oysters" or "calf fries," among many other names) are the testicles of animals,…
“If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent Texas and live in Hell” (Philip Sheridan)
"If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent Texas and live in Hell" is a famous statement of U.S. General Philip Henry Sheridan in 1866. A later account (1883, below) tries to temper the…
Golden Triangle (Beaumont, Orange, Port Arthur)
The "Golden Triangle" cities of Texas are the three Gulf Coast cities of Beaumont, Orange, and Port Arthur. The term -- that some people say originated in the 1940s -- has been in print…
Right Side of Texas (Beaumont slogan)
"Right Side of Texas" was a slogan for the city of Beaumont. In 2003, the city went with "Texas With a Little Something Extra," to promote its Louisiana ("lagniappe")…