Naming of Gordie Howe Bridge...

[Al Publican]

This may have been addressed on this forum before. What was the process of naming the new bridge? Was there public input with suggestions on names?
As much as I followed Gordie's career with the Red Wings going back to around 1960, I am not taken with the name. I might have suggested something without a person's moniker, something like Can-Am Bridge.
Former Detroiter here of half century residence in City of. Last residence was in Corktown.

[401don]

Dave Bradley, head of the Ontario Trucking Ass'n, suggested the name. Some Canadian politicians liked it and I assume no American politicians opposed it.

[Ray1936]

Better than naming it for some dead politician of which few people remember.

[401don]

Better than naming it for some dead politician of which few people remember.

yeah but just wait until someone decides the name should be changed because Howe used his elbows as weapons.

[Lowell]

I am surprised they didn’t sell the naming rights to the bridge like they sell everything else. Then it could have a nice name like Bob’s Laundromat Bridge.

[Jimaz]

...Bob’s Laundromat Bridge.

HA! The movie Idiocracy instantly popped into mind.

[Richard]

I can see sports venues being named after famous sports players but we have a bridge and a highway named after famous local sports players and probably 90 % of the people that use them do not have a clue about who the person actually was.

Name something like a library is understandable,an institution of learning etc aspect ,but a bridge that people drive over,spill oil and get into accidents?

With the projected traffic of 6 cars a day going over the bridge,that’s 6 people a day that will be running over poor Gordie not even knowing he was a famous soccer player.

[Trumpeteer]

I can see sports venues being named after famous sports players but we have a bridge and a highway named after famous local sports players and probably 90 % of the people that use them do not have a clue about who the person actually was.

Name something like a library is understandable,an institution of learning etc aspect ,but a bridge that people drive over,spill oil and get into accidents?

With the projected traffic of 6 cars a day going over the bridge,that’s 6 people a day that will be running over poor Gordie not even knowing he was a famous soccer player.

[Jimaz]

Hallucination {artificial intelligence}

[Gistok]

When did we get a soccer team at the Red Barn?

[Richard]

It shows a lack of inclusivity,on an international bridge what percentage of travelers going across it are going to know who the guy was and appreciate the tribute?

At least the ambassador bridge name has meaning and sounds like it serves a purpose.

It serves as an ambassador of sorts between the two countries,not like saying this is Canadas bridge because we paid for it and we will allow you to cross it.

If you called it the boondoggle bridge,people would instantly understand it and know what it means and be able to relate to it.

It’s not a local bridge it’s a international crossing it should have really been named accordingly.

Thats the difference,one bridge was a hand reaching across the river and joining hands with the country on the other side in unison,the other one is just a bridge that was named after a local sports player that if one is not into sports or comes from another country it has no meaning,it’s just a way to get to the other side of the river.

[Gistok]

^That's the same way I felt back in my 30s when I crossed over the Verrazzano Bridge crossing over NYC Harbor from Staten Island to Brooklyn. I thought... "Verra... who?" I did eventually look it up... at a later date.

I imagine that being from Florida... until recent decades hockey was a foreign concept. But Detroit is named HOCKEYTOWN for a few reasons... proximity to Canada, and being one of the original 6 NHL teams [besides Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, NYC and Boston].

[Richard]

It’s an international bridge,it just happens to be in Detroit,because y’all have the deep pockets to support it.

I am from Minnesota originally,they play hockey up there also but not every citizen is into hockey.

One would think that in naming an international bridge one would pick a name that was recognized - you know - internationally.

Canada said - it is our bridge so we are naming it after our hockey player,Detroit playing hockey has no relevance.

The international crossing bridge that connects Niagara Falls U.S to Niagara Falls Canada is called the Rainbow bridge,it’s an inspiration bridge name.

Belle Isle bridge as a local bridge makes sense but outside of the local aspect nobody knows what it is but it is self explanatory.

An international crossing is the joining of two countries in unison and the name choice is no big deal to 99% of the rest of the world.

Its just another bridge,it is not sending a message that everybody can relate to,really more divisive if you ask me,it sends the message of if you are not into hockey,tough.

It becomes a meaningless chunk of steel and concrete between 2 countries.

Taking a Sears row boat across the river would have more meaning because everybody in the world would be able to instantly relate to it.

Not that I really care,because I will never cross it,there is nothing that inspires me to do so.

Locally the Ambassador bridge is a bain on peoples existence,but if you pay attention whenever it is mentioned internationally there is a level of pride attached to it,like I said ,the very name implies 2 countries reaching out to each other in friendship and good will.

Clearly they want to trade that for a hockey stick which is a reflection on how it is no longer about reaching out in good will as a value.

I guess it really does not matter because if you ask 350 million other people in this country,they probably do not even know the thing is being built in the first place or even care.

Now if they actually built the bridge out of Legos,that would be a statement,I would be camping out in a tent to be the one of the first across.

Outside of that,in todays world it is just another local bridge that identifies as an international crossing in order to get the federal funds on the U.S. side so they could build it but exclude the ones that are going to pay for it.

Seems kinda silly but to me the question posed by the op is valid,because considering all of the drama surrounding it,there was zero attempt to gain support for it,it was Canada saying ,we are building a bridge and this is what we are calling it,like a bully.

It probably would have been positive PR if they had been more inclusive even if at the local level,even more so with the city of Detroit sense they sacrificed a future tax base so it could land on this side,at the very least they could have faked it and pretended to involve them in the naming of it.

You may be a hockey town but not everybody eats,sleeps and dreams about hockey every second of the day.

I guess that is my main point of it all,it’s not very neighbor like to say,this is what you get and you will like it because I said so.

It’s not expected from an international border crossing.

It just becomes a cold meaningless bridge in order to move goods across the river that they stuck a name on.

They could have at least gotten a little creative.

If they would have called it something like The Robert E Lee bridge,it would have received so much controversy worldwide people would have flown there just to see it,while spending millions in the local economy.

What is Detroit known for internationally,Motown,automotive,the ambassador bridge that has been their for 100 years that tourist go out of their way to photograph it.

Being replaced by a bridge that the rest of the world has no clue about and nobody travels to watch paint dry because that is how blasé it is.

[Gistok]

^ Like the world famous Millau Viaduct in the south of France... any name will do... much ado about nothing... ​🙄

[softailrider]

The man didn't need to have a personal goon on the team like Wayne Gretsky did. Nobody messed with Gordie Howe - he was his own goon.

[ABetterDetroit]

I will leave this here…

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...rs-of-all-time

[Richard]

^ Like the world famous Millau Viaduct in the south of France... any name will do... much ado about nothing... ​

So it is a carry over French thing to memorialize somebody by attaching their name to something that has zero relevance to their career.

I could see a Gordie Howell skating rink that encourages youth from all walks of life to join in the sport but that would be inspirational and have meaning.

Ever been to a hockey game and thought,wow it would be cool if the rink was a bridge?

A 25 year legacy is remembered by a bridge.

If we removed all of the much to do about nothing in society from the equation it would be an entirely different world.

Somebody thought it had to do with something,otherwise they would have never brought it up,weather you feel that way about it personally or not being it is a public forum,you have to kinda respect others and not try to regulate how people think.

[Gistok]

^ Well we Michiganians would never have guessed that naming the most significant bridge away from the coasts, and naming it the Mackinac Bridge was a big mistake... because 90% of out-of-state folks cannot correctly pronounce it, let alone understand what it means!!

[MikeM]

Richard really has his panties in a bunch over something that is much to do about nothing.

[Richard]

^ Well we Michiganians would never have guessed that naming the most significant bridge away from the coasts, and naming it the Mackinac Bridge was a big mistake... because 90% of out-of-state folks cannot correctly pronounce it, let alone understand what it means!!

I thought the locals just called it the “Big Mac” but the naming of it makes sense because it spans the Mackinac straights.

I think it has to be the only bridge in the world that you can pay somebody to drive your vehicle over it if you have a fear of bridges.

But is is another example of a local bridge and not an international border crossing.

If you had to come up with a name for the GHB what would you call it and why?

[Richard]

Richard really has his panties in a bunch over something that is much to do about nothing.

Granted the discussion is not going to change anything but apparently you have nothing else to do in this moment in time also.

All and all the OPs question still has not been answered outside of 401s contribution,are you not the least curious in how the person related hockey to a bridge ?

Personally when you think about hockey and the name Gordie Howe is the first image that pops into your mind is a bridge?

[Gistok]

Interestingly enough the longest international bridge in the world is the Øresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden... at a length of 25,738 ft., while the Mackinac Bridge is 26,372 ft.

[GPCharles]

Belle Isle bridge as a local bridge makes sense but outside of the local aspect nobody knows what it is but it is self explanatory.

But do you know the real name of the Belle Isle bridge? Think US Army, WWII and corncob pipe.

[XDetroitr]

People forget that Howe was born and raised in Canada [[Saskatchewan) then played for an American hockey team. It's an appropriate name for the bridge.

[Scottathew]

I like the name. It's one of the few figures that can be loved so strongly by the people of two different countries.