Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1905-09-02
APARTMENT HOUSE NAMES.
Il IL NO Easy Job to Find Suitable
Ones--Saints Furnish
Many.

"There used to be a story TO the
effect that George NJ. Pullman allowed
ore Of his daughters $4,000 a year for
naming palace cars said q New York
architect. NEARLY every one who
heard the story supposed Miss Pull
man had q sinccire. and that tho gal
AIRY was merely the vehicle chosen by
her father to convey an annual pres
ent TO ner. But II sac finds names for
the thousands OF ears that the Pull
man company built she earned her
Duney.
Before / had been called upon TO
find a name for a new apartment hotel
| had never dreamed what a hard job
it IS.
"Of course the car names are not so
important nor so difficult to find, for
gil the cars are numbered as well as
named, and the name IS chiefly orna-
mental. No one is compelled to re.
member it. and travellers are not likely
to complain II they find themselves as
signed TO ears the names Of which are
not e%uphonious.
But when it comes to naming an
apartment house or hotel 1t is differ
ent. The name ought to be short,
musical, euphonious, easily spelled,
easily remembered, not commonplace,
not yet wholly unknown. For the sam
reason that a man should never name
q child for anyone who is still alive
a hotel would be better not be named
for any popular hero of the hour.
"You haven't any idea how hard 1t
is 10 find a name for a hotel, and it
il still harder to find a name for a
high-class apartment house. Just try
to think of a name you would like to
see carved in stone I'VE the entrance
to a family hotel you were to own
or manage. You might use your own
name If it isn't Jones or Smith or if
you didn't bring it from Russia or
Hungary with you. But Is your
name well enough known TO be easily
remembered? Would it add anything
to the attractiyeness of the house to
a stranger Is it easily pronounced
aud spelled? All these things and more
are required.
The name must never have been
connected with any unfortunate event.
II must not be historically offensive TO
any race, nation or creed. It must not
have any hoodoo associations,
These are among the reasons so
many houses are named after saints.
The religious preiudices of few people
are strong enough TO make them ra-
sentful against a holy man or woman
of another creed. and besides, few pco-
pie know enough of sanity biography
to be conyersant with the deeds Of
those who have been canonized. The
names of sainted women are more de-
sirable than those of sainted men, on
the general principle that women are
more interesting to more people than
men.
called upon TO find a name for a big
apartment house in a fashionable part
of New York. My firm received the
contract and the owner added the slip
ulation that we should find a name. ]
had no idea what a task it would be,
so we didn't ask any additional com.
pensation. After "A general plan OF
the building had been outlined we all
set to work to find a name,
Then | tried a lot of Indian names,
but [ found that all that were not al
ready attached to hotels were insult
able for some reason. l. went into
mythology and struck the same snag
Then | tried the names of cities, coun-
ties. places, monarchs, statesmen, an.
cient and modern, but they were all in
use or unavailable. Finally was
forced to try the saints, and with the
aid of a public library ! found more
names than New York could use in
many Il year