Despite being founded in 1850, many of the small, culturally unique areas of Eureka remain unnamed. The city of Eureka plans to finally change that, utilizing public feedback within the first phase of the “Name Your Neighborhood” project.
Anyone can contribute their idea to the website (https://talk.eurekaca.gov/name-your-neighborhood/maps) by placing a blue pin, noting down four general streets that encompass the area, and then writing a short explanation of their idea.
“Once we collect all that data in our first phase, we’re going to draft up a map with the most popular names and the most popular district boundaries,” Penelope Ponce, the Assistant Planner of the City of Eureka, told Redwood News.
Over the course of this project, some obvious suggestions have appeared multiple times. For example, a popular choice from many users is “The Tower District” for areas where the Eureka water tower is visible.
Small neighborhoods, however, are much more niche than the large commercial zones. To get a suitable name, they require feedback from the people who actually live there.
“No one is going to have better names for their neighborhoods and its sense of character than the people who reside there,” Talk Eureka stated on its website.
Residents consider many factors when choosing a name for their neighborhood. Particularly, the histories of the areas are greatly defining residents’ ideas.
“Ideally, we could give it a Wiyot name for the creek and gulch that runs through our neighborhood,” wrote a user under the alias of Brooke.
Cari Zourdos, a Eureka resident, proposed the area East of Jefferson Community Park to be called “The Folk” based on its strong history of legacy.
“Italian immigrants built many of the homes still standing in this area […] People who grew up in this neighborhood come back after leaving for a decade or more, and are raising their own children here. ‘The Folk’ seems fitting,” wrote Zourdos.
Other users have made some humorous suggestions over the course of the project. An anonymous user requested the neighborhood near Cooper Gulch Park to be named “Cookieland” after an (in)famous dog in the area.
“This is where Cookie lives and can be heard barking,” they wrote.
The “Name Your Neighborhood” site has been up for several months, and so it is recommended that residents get their name ideas in as soon as possible.
