Where are you from? My home town.

[nautilus60]

i feel a case of nostalgia coming on, sniff, sniff...so i am gonna post some pics of my town...

nevermind...the pics didnt link for some reason...

[vixenfoxxy]

I grew up in Huntington, Long Island (New York), one of the biggest towns on LI, a post-yuppie hotspot right on the water on the north shore, home to previous favorites such as the Vanderbilts, Marshall Fields and whatshisface Brown, among others.

From the website:

In 1664, the Duke of York became proprietor of the area formerly known as New Netherland, he (in the person of Governor Richard Nicholls) informed Connecticut that by virtue of his royal patent they no longer had any claim to any territory on Long Island. Governor Nicholls summoned representatives of each town on Long Island to meet in Hempstead early in 1665. The representatives were required to bring with them evidence of title to their land and to receive new grants affirming that title. The Hempstead Convention also adopted the "Duke's Laws," which regulated virtually every area of life. At this time, too, Long Island, Staten Island and Westchester were formed into an entity called "Yorkshire," which was divided into three parts, or "ridings," as land was divided in England. Suffolk County, including Huntington, became part of the East Riding. With some modifications, including the abolition of "Yorkshire" and "ridings." this was the form that the government of New York retained until the Revolution.

Governor Thomas Dongan issued a patent in 1688 that confirmed the earlier Nicholls Patent. In addition, it mandated the creation of "Trustees" to manage and distribute town-owned land. The Trustees, like other town officials, were chosen at a Town Meeting. The Dongan Patent also authorized the creation and use of a seal, which is still in use today.

In the years between the first settlement of the town and the start of the American Revolution, Huntington became an established community. The earliest settlers clustered near what became known as the "town spot", the site of the present Village Green. As the town prospered and grew, people moved to fill the outlying areas. In addition to the many farms that were established in remote as well as central portions of the town, the town included a school, a church, flour mills, saw mills, brickyards, tanneries, a town dock and a fort.

Huntington's fine harbor meant that shipping became an important part of the economy. The harbor was a busy place, with vessels traveling not only to and from other ports along the Sound but also as far as the West Indies. Shipmaking and related nautical businesses prospered, since water was for many years by far the most efficient way to transport both goods and people. In the first half of the nineteenth century, Cold Spring Harbor was a busy whaling port, second on Long Island only to Sag Harbor.

In June 1774 Huntington adopted a "Declaration of Rights" affirming "that every freemans' property is absolutely his own" and that taxation without representation is a violation of the rights of British subjects. The Declaration of Rights also called for the colonies to unite in a refusal to do business with Great Britain. Two years later, news of the Declaration of Independence was received with great enthusiasm in Huntington, but the euphoria was short-lived. Following the defeat of the rebel forces at the Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776 Long Island was occupied by the British Army. Residents were required to take oaths of allegiance to the Crown. If a man refused to take the oath, he and his family could be turned off their property, losing everything. In 1782 the occupying army established an encampment in Huntington's Old Burying Ground, razing tombstones to clear the site. Not surprisingly, many townspeople resisted, waging guerilla warfare until the war was over and the British left in 1783.

Nathan Hale landed at Huntington in 1776, coming by boat from Norwalk, Connecticut on a spying mission for George Washington. Sent to gather information about the British forces on Long Island and in New York City, he was captured and executed in New York City in September 1776. A memorial stands at the approximate site of his coming ashore in Huntington, an area now known as Halesite.

Slavery existed in Huntington until the beginning of the nineteenth century. Farmers relied on slave labor for help in the fields and it was a mark of status to have black slaves as domestic servants, but rarely did a person own more than a few slaves. For example, according to a 1755 census, there were 81 slaves belonging to 35 families in Huntington. Unlike the South, the economy was not heavily dependent on slave labor. The New York State Legislature passed an act in 1799 allowing for the gradual abolition of slavery.

The War of 1812 did not touch Huntington as had the Revolution, but the town was prepared. "On one occasion a corps of 200 militiamen marched from Huntington to Lloyd's Neck on the circulation of a report [untrue] that the British were there effecting a landing in force." In November 1814 the Town Meeting voted that $207.86 be paid by the town for costs incurred in preparing its defense.

Huntington's best-known resident, Walt Whitman, was born in West Hills in 1819. His family moved to Brooklyn when he was a child but he returned to Long Island as a young man. At the age of 19 he founded The Long-Islander, a Huntington newspaper still in existence.

The railroad was extended from Syosset to Northport in 1867. The arrival of the railroad in Huntington presaged the decline of the maritime economy, although shipping was important until approximately the turn of the twentieth century. Since shipping had long been an important part of the life and economy of Huntington, the town had not been unconnected to the rest of the world. With the increased accessibility of Long Island due to steamboats, trains and later automobiles, Huntington became physically less isolated. Residents of New York City were able to easily visit Huntington, as had not been possible in earlier days. Cold Spring Harbor became a popular summer resort.

When World War II ended in 1945 the population of Huntington, like that of Long Island as a whole, exploded. After almost 200 years of gradual growth, the population of the town mushroomed. Huntington had approximately 32,000 residents in 1940. By 1960 there were 126,00 inhabitants. By the 1980's the population had gone over the 200,000 mark. With the enormous growth of the town its rural landscape changed. Farms and vacant land disappeared, replaced by housing, schools, highways, recreational facilities and new and expanding business and industry.

Small sliver of Huntington Harbor:

[weyes]

my hometown: new york city. lived on the upper west side of manhattan when my parents were still together (till i was three), then lived downtown in soho with my mom and stepfather when my parents got divorced and they had joint custody - with my dad only having my brother and me wednesdays and every other weekend.

[weyes]

malanee, i've been to olympia and it is gorgeous. lush and green... i saw a rainbow when i was there, and i was only there for 2 days .

Originally posted by vicman

well maybe not SF, but definitly california, southern california

did someone say l.a. ?

[tinybutterfli]

Originally posted by nautilus60

i feel a case of nostalgia coming on, sniff, sniff...so i am gonna post some pics of my town...

nevermind...the pics didnt link for some reason...

that's weird. i was able to see them yesterday...

[malanee]

Originally posted by weyes

malanee, i've been to olympia and it is gorgeous. lush and green... i saw a rainbow when i was there, and i was only there for 2 days .

did someone say l.a. ?

Kewl! Did you get some fresh oysters from Oyster Bay?

[weyes]

Originally posted by malanee

Kewl! Did you get some fresh oysters from Oyster Bay?

i didn't get to do much at all when there, actually. i was just visiting evergreen state college and i stayed in the dorm there overnight while i checked the place out. the school was pretty cool, too, except for more students being hippies than not - really a very staggering majority.

[vicman]

Ok, here is my home town: Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico

and like i told tinybuterfli, people from veracruz do not stop dancing.

****************************************************

VERACRUZ

Veracruz is unlike any other city in Mexico, with a rhythm all its own. Salsa music, the cry of the street vendor, the bell of a trolley, and the comings and goings of sea vessels all blend together. Marimba bands play into the night and the air is seasoned with the sights and sounds of a sultry tropical port.

This Gulf coast town is steeped in history. It's Mexico's oldest and grandest port, site of the first Spanish expedition led by Hernán Cortés in 1519. It became Mexico's first European colony and was named Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz (Rich Town of the True Cross). African slaves were brought in to work the fields and shipyards, and Cuban immigrants later flooded the city. Many locals say that their creole and mestizo descendants are responsible for Veracruz's special flavor.

It's probably the merriest and most musical city in Mexico. But these days, many tourists bypass Veracruz on their way to newer, glitzier resorts. They're unaware of its charming colonial buildings, seaport ambiance, cafés dripping with conviviality and the lively malecón (boardwalk), as traditional as it is beautiful. Veracruz is home to the best coffee in Mexico and famous for its huachinango a la veracruzana (red snapper resting in a sauce of fresh tomatoes and onions), or Huachinango con Salsa de Mango, which graces the menus in some of the best restaurants in Mexico.

Most of the city's social life seems to revolve around its coffee houses, which have become institutions in themselves. Gran Café del Portal is the most famous - in service since 1835 - when Spanish immigrants opened it in a former monastery. The continuous clinking of spoons against glasses (there are no cups here) to summon a waiter for a refill echoes throughout the place from dawn till well after midnight when it shuts down.

The favored drink is the "lechero" (steaming hot milk poured into a few spoonfuls of strong coffee) or café con leche, as it's known elsewhere in Mexico. Roving bands of Marimba minstrels are likely to break out with the spirited "La Bamba," a local song that rock star Ritchie Valens turned into a global hit in the 1950s. For a small fee, they'll play any song you pick from a list they pass around the tables. The Gran Café del Portal used to be called the Café de la Parroquia but a family feud prompted one branch of the family to open a rival coffee shop with the same name.

The original café then adopted the name Gran Café del Portal, which is what it had been called in the 1830s. Every president since Benito Juárez has been here and the coffee's formula is a well-guarded secret. According to one story, the clinking of glasses came about because a trolley car driver would ring his bell a block from the café to let the waiters know that he was coming. When the driver passed away, his casket was borne on the trolley and when it passed the café, the waiters and patrons clinked their glasses in his honor.

Come evening when the cool night air sets in, the main plaza just around the corner is the place for fiesta. The café-lined square draws musical groups from elsewhere than Veracruz, such as Mariachis and accordion-playing Norteños who roam from table to table playing songs. The congenial Jarochos (people from Veracruz) play dominos under shady trees or hawk boxes of Veracruz cigars. The Plaza de las Armas, as the square is called, is where the armies of invading foreign powers were quartered over the years. The Spanish, French and then the Americans in 1914 have all sent troops to occupy Veracruz.

At night, the danzón is in full swing in front of the Palacio Municipal where a band plays classic melodies for couples executing the elegant steps of this popular dance. In fact, Veracruz is credited with launching it. Brought to the city from Cuba in the 1870s by refugees fleeing a war-torn country, the danzón was one tradition they carried with them to their new home. The sons of the aristocrats who sneaked into poor neighborhoods at night were introduced to the dance. Eventually, it was adopted by Veracruz high society, but not without a great deal of resistance. Its sensuous movements were called scandalous, that is, compared to the stiff dances of the times. But it finally became the most popular dance of the city and then the country. Now it can be found in dance clubs throughout the Americas.

The danzón takes place every night at 8 p.m. in one of two downtown plazas. Several schools of danzón are trying to make sure that the tradition is kept alive. A classic stroll at sundown is along the malecón, which stretches for miles along the Gulf of Mexico to the outlying suburbs. Families, lovers, and joggers, refreshed by the cool night breeze, tread their way along the sidewalks until deep night sets in. Small, colorful market stalls crowd one end of it near downtown, displaying imported Chinese knickknacks, exotic stuffed iguanas, coral necklaces, shells fashioned into boxes, ashtrays, earrings, combs, shark teeth, model ships in-a-bottle, baskets and the ubiquitous t-shirt. One of the city's most famous sons is Agustín Lara, whose home has been turned into a museum bearing the mementos of his life and times. A beloved songwriter and singer to all Mexicans, Lara launched his career playing the piano in brothels and later became a bullfighter. News clips, caricatures and a replica of the radio studio where he hosted "La Hora Azul" ("The Blue Hour") are among the items on display. Ever the charmer, Lara had seven wives, one of whom was Mexican screen goddess María "La Do ña" Félix, for whom he wrote his famous song, "María Bonita." Ever the gentleman, when he and Félix were about to break up, he married her to "make an honest woman of her" even though they had been living together for years. The Casa Museo Agustín Lara is located in Boca del Río on the outskirts of Veracruz.

The city's newest family attraction is the spectacular Veracruz Aquarium, built in 1992 - the largest in Latin America. Barracudas, nurse sharks, giant manta rays, sea turtles and prehistoric pejelagartos, a cross between an alligator and fish, inhabit a giant tank along with nearly 2,000 other species from the Gulf of Mexico. It also serves as a marine research center.

The weather-beaten Fort of San Juan Ulua bears testimony to the dark days of piracy and the Spanish Inquisition. It was first built as a castle in the 1500s but the danger of attack from foreign powers prompted the Spanish authorities to begin fortifying it in 1635. It was finished in 1707 and also served as a prison. Narrow stone-lined passageways lead to a labyrinth of dungeons with walls 24 feet thick in some places. The cells became darker and hotter depending on the gravity of the crime. A few of the most dreaded dungeons were nicknamed "Heaven," "Purgatory" and "Hell."

Among the famous inmates were Benito Juárez (before he was exiled to Louisiana), Fray Servando Teresa de Mier, a 19th-century writer who fell out of favor with Emperor Agustín Iturbide, and "Chucho el Roto," a Robin Hood-style bandit from the 1700s who stole from the rich to give to the poor. The fortress is being repainted its original yellow color to protect the stone from erosion.

[vicman]

some pics:

[vicman]

more:

[vixenfoxxy]

Vic, Veracruz looks awesome! I wanna go there!!!

[shlongus]

Born in Kiev, Ukraine came to US in 89' and been living in Baltimore ever since....