Utica has plenty of nicknames! Here's one that I'd rather "forget." How about you?

Utica used to be referred to as "The City That God Forgot." According to the Observer Dispatch, Utica was assigned this name because it was struggling economically at one time.

It was one of the small American cities that reached their peak of prosperity and population before 1970 and –– even as the overall national wealth since then has increased many times over –– have not to date found ways to recover their productive economies.

I'm not a fan of this nickname and I find it offensive actually. Granted, Utica has seen its share of hard times and economic decline, but look around; check out all the growth we've seen downtown over the past couple of years: The rise of luxury apartments, renovations to the Landmarc center, and the addition of new restaurants and businesses are bringing new life to the area. Hopefully these new sites will aid in stripping Utica of it's former nickname and reputation once and for all.

The songs about Utica keep on coming, and the latest is from a gentleman named Chris Pullman. I like how he refers to Utica as the "handshake city." I've not heard that one before but I really like it, Here's his song.

This morning Just Jen and I talked about motorcycles roaring through Utica at 1AM.

 

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