It takes a village to name a village

Maybe you saw today's front-page item on the city's effort to create a "West Village" neighborhood by redeveloping the flooded commercial area on the west side of the Cedar River downtown.

There will be plenty of time to dive into the weighty implications and wisdom of such a policy. But how about that name?

West Village, according to the paper, is modeled after Des Moines' East Village, where I worked for a spell back in the day.

Actually, I was there when it became the "East Village," a name that was basically stolen from the famous East Village of Manhattan. And at the time, that choice drew plenty of derision. Common reactions: "Can't we even think of our own name?" "Do we have to steal one from New York?" Luckily, the neighborhood blossomed, and people stopped kvetching about the name.

Now, our West Village appears to be a knock off of that knock off. And in "Iowa's Creative Corridor," no less.

There is also a famous West Village in Manhattan, which is nicknamed -- and here's where it gets complicated -- "Little Bohemia." Of Course, Cedar Rapids already has the New Bohemia neighborhood, which strikes me as being much more like the East Village, Des Moines version, than the West Village, Cedar Rapids version. New Bohemia also includes the famous "Little Bohemia" tavern. Yeah, this would make more sense after a couple of belts.

But if locals have been able to keep the Czech Village and Time Check straight for eons, why not throw in another Bohemia, plus an additional village? At least this town has west side and east side down pat. Nobody's forgetting that anytime soon. Not a chance.

And I'm betting West Village is probably going to stick. Unless you have better ideas. I've got to give it some thought.