Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Where the Streets Have No Names*... But the Houses Do

Oxford is a college town; it probably would not exist if it weren't for the university. As such, it has the usual college town quirks, but there is one thing that is unique to Oxford.

The houses have names.

The students have claimed all the prime real estate around here (or should I say investors have - the students just rent), and most have nailed signs to their house's facade to tell the world what they're all about.

Many signs proclaim location, such as "We live on Beech Street":





Or, "You are on Main Street":





Others invite you to come imbibe beverages:





Some are subtle:




Many are not:


On Church Street... get it?



Some are clever:




Those are actual mirrors on the portholes. Color me impressed.


Some clearly need a Fine Arts roomie:




Whether I get it...




... or I don't...

UPDATE: My brother explained this one to me. You've heard of drinking so much that you 'black out,' right? Well, as the name suggests, this is like that but with snippets of your evening still preserved in your memory. It goes kinda like this: "I remember being at Sarah's house... and then somehow I ended up in Kevin's backyard.... I kind of remember peeing on someone's doorstep... and were we singing karaoke at some point?"

?

...these signs make my day. Every time I walk through town I take a different route, just to see the character that each street holds.

*The streets actually do have names, as Ted pointed out to me. The title is a U2 reference. Just wanted to be clear (for all the geographers out there).


No comments:

Post a Comment