How about Kingston Village?

Last week I wrote about the city's redevelopment plans on the west side of downtown, and the possibility of dubbing the neighborhood "West Village," akin to Des Moines' thriving "East Village." I didn't think that was terribly creative.

A reader agrees:

 Todd, I agree with the conclusion in your Tuesday column about the proposed name for redeveloping the near west side..."West Village" is NOT very creative.

May I suggest we should return to the west side's roots and call it "Kingston Village." Before the turn of the century, the town west of the river was known as "KINGSTON," so it would be very fitting to pay tribute to our early heritage.

And the sooner the City gets started with the project, the better. The council has already has taken too long to make a commitment to the area.

The area the city is focusing on was platted as the town of Kingston in 1852. (It's to the lower right in the 1868 drawing above from our archives.) It was annexed into Cedar Rapids in 1870.

So Kingston is historic, local and, I agree, fitting. If the neighborhood has to have a new name, perhaps its old name is the best choice.