Belgian streets named after US presidents
When Ronald Reagan died in June 2004, I wrote:
Yesterday I realized that I had all the necessary tools and information to prepare a small showcase. I have a list of all the street names in Belgium, I can semi-automatically filter those streets which are named after US presidents, I can distinguish between Democrats and Republicans, and I can display everything in a table:
The high scores of Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt are due to the US role in ending both World Wars. Eisenhower's score will probably be due to his role as a general and not so much to his role as president. Still, it's puzzling why not a single street or square has been named after Ronald Reagan, whose role in ending the Cold War was significant.
I can also display everything on a map of Belgium, using Google's geocoding service and maps API and GmapEZ.
The blue markers are streets named after Democratic presidents, the red ones are named after Republican presidents. You can zoom in or out by clicking the plus and minus signs, you can drag the map with the mouse, and when you hover the mouse over a marker, you will see the street and town names.
It's remarkable how in Europe streets, squares and tunnels are named after Democratic presidents (Kennedy tunnel in Antwerp, Avenue Franklin Roosevelt in Brussels, Clinton Park in Roeselare), but how reluctant local governments are to pay the same honor to Republican presidents. When, if ever, will there be a Ronald Reagan Square?
Yesterday I realized that I had all the necessary tools and information to prepare a small showcase. I have a list of all the street names in Belgium, I can semi-automatically filter those streets which are named after US presidents, I can distinguish between Democrats and Republicans, and I can display everything in a table:
The high scores of Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt are due to the US role in ending both World Wars. Eisenhower's score will probably be due to his role as a general and not so much to his role as president. Still, it's puzzling why not a single street or square has been named after Ronald Reagan, whose role in ending the Cold War was significant.
I can also display everything on a map of Belgium, using Google's geocoding service and maps API and GmapEZ.
The blue markers are streets named after Democratic presidents, the red ones are named after Republican presidents. You can zoom in or out by clicking the plus and minus signs, you can drag the map with the mouse, and when you hover the mouse over a marker, you will see the street and town names.
oxbow