I discussed the erasure of Martin Van Buren from geographic features as his popularity waned during the Nineteenth Century. Interestingly the opposite phenomenon seems to be happening with a more modern historical figure, Ronald Reagan. His stock continues to climb as the years progress.
Also his February 6, 1911, birthday generated great publicity on its 100th anniversary. It breathed new life into efforts to enshrine his name upon the landscape.
The Ronald Reagan Legacy Project (RRLP) has a bold mission to “honor the legacy of our 40th President through the naming of roads, schools, buildings, and other sites… with a memorial in every county in America.”
Feasible or not — and depending on how one defines a county — it would mean a minimum of 3,143 features named for Ronald Reagan.
The RRLP identified 107 dedications in the United States as of the time I’ve posted this entry. They’ve even created a convenient interactive Google Map. Sure, some of the markers seem to fall considerably off from their true geographic locations. Even so I still had a fine time clicking through them.
Let’s take a closer look at a small number of examples by type.
Airport
As highlighted on their website, “The first project and arguably the most notable project the RRLP has participated in is the naming of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in 1998.” I remember this well from that time. And one should note the renaming took place over the vehement objections of local government officials (map).
This is a geo-blog not a politics blog so I’m not going to take sides on this action. I will reference that depending on one’s political bent, one could interpret this as (1) a fitting memorial garnished with a delicious “in your face” to the People’s Republic of Arlington; or (2) a strong-armed tactic contrasting sharply with Reagan’s “New Federalism” ideal, which favored the devolution of power away from the Federal government. Either way I don’t really want to spark a debate. So let’s keep any commentary respectful. That way I won’t have to delete anything from the moderation queue.
Road
One of the more common remembrances appears to be the naming of roads in Reagan’s honor. This example highlights Ronald Reagan Boulevard, in Longwood, Florida (map).
There are millions of roads. So this creates millions of opportunities to either change an existing name, or provide a designation for a new road. This method of honoring the former President probably has the smallest hassle factor.
School
This one is a double-bonus. Not only does San Antonio, Texas, have a Ronald Reagan High School but it’s located on Ronald Regan Drive (map). Both were new construction to serve the needs of a burgeoning suburb. Not too surprisingly, the feeder school for Reagan H.S. is Bush Middle School (map). However, there’s a twist. They didn’t name it for George H. W. Bush (Reagan’s Vice President) but for his wife, Barbara Bush.
Medical Center
The University of California, Los Angeles has the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. All manner of celebrities receive treatments there. I suppose it’s a particularly appropriate legacy for someone who gained fame as an actor before turning to politics.
There aren’t any towns or counties named for Reagan that I could find. However, I imagine it’s only a matter of time. There are plenty of places named for obscure 19th Century politicians that nobody seems to care about. So maybe we’ve found an opportunity to replace them with more relevant figures from across the political spectrum.
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