Hoboken's Corner Cars

Hoboken, New Jersey, the hometown of the overrated Frank Sinatra and way underrated Yo La Tengo has stepped to the forefront of urban transportation policy with the introduction of Corner Cars.  The program is a partnership between the city and Hertz. Like any other densely populated area, the city has a major parking problem. By placing 50 rental cars around the city they hope to remove over 750 cars from the streets. Here is a map showing the location of the first group of cars.

The cars are placed so that 90% of the city's population live within a five minute walk of a car as illustrated by the map below. They have assigned spaces so you know where to find them and where to park when you're finished.

If you choose to use the local bus service instead the city also provides you with a map showing the live bus locations.

Now what's your excuse for keeping your car? You probably don't live in Hoboken, that's what.

Bruce, Bruce and Tom-A Musical Journey

I've always been interested in the geography of musicians-where they come from, where they get discovered, and where they choose to reside when success allows them that choice. I've found a few nice musician maps over the last couple of years. These three artists were chosen because someone made maps for them, more than for any personal preference.

Bruce Cockburn was born and raised near Ottawa but has spent most of his musical career in Toronto. He currently resides near Kingston, Ontario according to his web site. Here is a clickable map of his life in Toronto:

If you prefer the other Bruce, here is a map of  Springsteen's New Jersey titled "Bruceville." Bruce Springsteen is that rare musician who's never needed to stray too far from home and has always remained true to the Garden State.

This map is more fanciful than accurate. The only places that really seem to be located correctly are the Boardwalk, Highway 9 and his father's house. Little Eden is Millville? "The River" is the Delaware? "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" is about Tom's River? * I have my doubts about these things. Thanks to Strange Maps for this.                                                        * After consulting Wikipedia, the undisputed source of all knowledge, it turns out the "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" may actually refer to 10th Avenue in Belmar. If true then the map is close.

Shortly before his Super Bowl XLII appearance, LA Weekly published this map  of Tom Petty's Los Angeles by illustrator Scott Gursky. Although a native of Florida, Petty moved to LA at the beginning of his career and has remained in the area ever since. The article details each place on the map.

 

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Map of the Week-The New Jersey Devil

The Strapping Fieldhands were a Philadelphia based low-fi folk rock multi-instrumental band from the 1990s. They were like a weird pre-Decembrists band with a love of history, mythology and, of course, maps. They had a reputation for putting on a great live show (supposedly they stole the show when they opened for Guided by Voices) despite barely knowing how to play their instruments. Recording was not their strong point so what you often get is very good songs buried under a slushy, distorted mix.












I dug out their extended single "In the Pineys" yesterday for a long car trip. The cover features a nice map showing sightings of the New Jersey Devil. This beast stalks the Pine Barrens region of southern New Jersey (aka "the Pineys" to us urban snobs.) 100 years ago the devil returned after a long hiatus and terrorized the region. There were thousands of sightings within one week in January, 1909. With a quick web search I was able to locate the single's cover map.

The map, credited to Rosemary Ellen Guiley has some nice details, including a drawing of the beast itself and it highlights the many 1909 sightings. It also distorts New Jersey to emphasize the southern half of the state, while squeezing Somerville and New Brunswick far to the north. The Unexplained America page that includes the map has a good history of the legend as does the Devil Hunters page.

Nowadays sightings are few and the New Jersey Devil mainly conjures up images of a remarkably boring hockey team. For a hokey hockey take on the Devil's recent activity see the New Jersey Devils mascot page.

Map of the Week - Quilts of Perception

Diane Savona, a mixed media and textile artist from New Jersey sent me some nice pictures of map quilts she's done. Here is "A Map of Hometown Perceptions" showing the area around Paterson and Passaic, New Jersey.


In her own words:
"A young man told me that he is afraid to go into neighboring Paterson, with it’s mostly African American population: it’s dangerous. I’m a middle-aged woman, and feel no such danger. I thought about this as I was reading “Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad” and wondered if I could use my quilting to explore subconscious feelings and prejudices. This map explores the perceptions we develop about our homes and our neighbors. Most of the materials used were obtained at local garage sales.
I was born & raised in Clifton, pictured here as the all-white, fiercely non-integrated community of my childhood – the borders are tightly sewn with measuring tapes. Now living in the much more interesting city of Passaic, I sewed in layers of Jewish, Hispanic and African textiles. One section of Passaic is marred with soot, representing the big fire several years back. The neighboring town of Nutley is presented with a police badge, reflecting my son’s view of it as a highly regimented police state. West Paterson is seen as merely a rise of ground – growing up in the shadow of Garret Mountain, I had no idea what lay behind."

This detailed section helps to clarify the above quote.