Local destinations that accurately look like they're for far away places

[STLmapboy]

Missouri has a Paris, Mexico, Cuba, Houston, Cairo (different from IL), Amsterdam, Sweden, and even a butchered redneck spelling of the capital of Afghanistan (Cabool), so the signs reflect a lot of different places.

[hbelkins]

Here's a better one.

SB I-95 at US-64 to Nashville (NC) would also be the route to Nashville TN.

US 64 doesn't go to Nashville, Tenn.

[GaryV]

Here's a better one.

SB I-95 at US-64 to Nashville (NC) would also be the route to Nashville TN.

US 64 doesn't go to Nashville, Tenn.

Not directly.  But from that area of I-95, you would first take US-64 in your path to Nashville TN.

Given that it's one of the OP's examples, I think that's what the OP was thinking.

[kphoger]

Missouri has a Paris, Mexico, Cuba, Houston, Cairo (different from IL), Amsterdam, Sweden, and even a butchered redneck spelling of the capital of Afghanistan (Cabool), so the signs reflect a lot of different places.

But none of those signs are on highways that lead to those far-away destinations.  So they don't qualify.

And Cabool is simply an older way of spelling Kabul.

[skluth]

Springfield, IL:
-- Coming down I-55 from Chicago, signs could apply to both Springfield IL and MO  (and would have kept on the same route when it was US-66)

the near location is more "famous" than the away location

Despite your assertion that the nearer one is the one that would more readily come to mind, I still find it interesting.  However, I think the same condition would apply at the western end:  people traveling east wouldn't naturally think of Springfield, IL.

Try living in St Louis. I spent most of my career there. We got a lot of visitors from both the Illinois and Missouri cities. Both groups would automatically assume you knew which one they came from because theirs was the only Springfield in their minds.

[kphoger]

Springfield

Try living in St Louis. I spent most of my career there. We got a lot of visitors from both the Illinois and Missouri cities. Both groups would automatically assume you knew which one they came from because theirs was the only Springfield in their minds.

Oh, yeah!  Even though I lived not too far away from Saint Louis for a while (southern Illinois), that never occurred to me until you pointed it out just now.

[1995hoo]

Here's a better one.

SB I-95 at US-64 to Nashville (NC) would also be the route to Nashville TN.

US 64 doesn't go to Nashville, Tenn.

Not directly.  But from that area of I-95, you would first take US-64 in your path to Nashville TN.

Given that it's one of the OP's examples, I think that's what the OP was thinking.

I think this is exactly right. You would indeed take US-64 west to Raleigh to connect to I-40 to connect to pretty much anywhere in Tennessee from that portion of I-95. It's far more direct than continuing down I-95 to make a direct connection to I-40–the latter option adds significant distance from the I-95/US-64 interchange to the eastern I-40/I-440 interchange (it's about 48.5 miles from the start of the C/D road on I-95 if you use US-64, whereas it's about 85 miles if you stay on I-95 to I-40).

In my first example in Reply #1, while I-64 doesn't go to South Carolina at all (much less Charleston, South Carolina), and I-77 serves South Carolina but doesn't make it all the way down to Charleston, the I-64 to I-77 combo is clearly the logical route you would take to get to Charlie South from Huntington, West Virginia, even though it isn't the complete route.

[hotdogPi]

I-40 east with the control city of Santa Rosa. Yes it's accurate but for New Mexico and not for Santa Rosa, CA.

You would not take I-40 east to get to Santa Rosa, CA. This thread is for those where the far-away destination is accurate.

[doorknob60]

US-20 in Newport, OR has a control city for Toledo, 7 miles away. But you could take US-20 all the way to Toledo, OH (roughly 2500 miles away sticking to US-20).

[webny99]

Would this sign qualify?
It could be referring to Rochester, NY, as well as Rochester, MN.

However, two small problems:
(1) I-90 does not pass directly through Rochester, NY.
(2) Rochester, NY, is not the "obvious" destination. I don't think it's significantly more well-known than Rochester, MN.

[doorknob60]

Would this sign qualify?
It could be referring to Rochester, NY, as well as Rochester, MN.

However, two small problems:
(1) I-90 does not pass directly through Rochester, NY.
(2) Rochester, NY, is not the "obvious" destination. I don't think it's significantly more well-known than Rochester, MN.

I count it. As someone with no connection to either MN or NY, I am definitely more familiar/aware with the NY one and it's the first one to come to mind when I hear "Rochester". And while I-90 doesn't directly pass through it, it definitely serves it, and passes directly through its suburbs. Good enough.

[webny99]

As someone with no connection to either MN or NY, I am definitely more familiar/aware with the NY one and it's the first one to come to mind when I hear "Rochester".

OK, good, that's kinda what I wanted to hear! 
I know Rochester, MN, is more well known at least within Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, but I really had no priors about which is more well known in parts of the country that are far away from both.

[kphoger]

Having traveled to and from the Twin Cities quite a bit and never having been to New York, I know the Minnesota one better.  I'm really only aware of the New York one because of you, webny99.

This in no way implies I am typical.  But I might be.  At least in this respect.

[Roadrunner75]

Is it Denver, PA or Denver, CO?

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.2190288,-76.0828414,3a,39.6y,273.78h,88.1t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1siAZmXesyv_b3Tm0ikhpocw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

This exit will get you to both (eventually).

[webny99]

Having traveled to and from the Twin Cities quite a bit and never having been to New York, I know the Minnesota one better.  I'm really only aware of the New York one because of you, webny99.

Well, why else would I be here so regularly except to get my hometown some free publicity?   

This in no way implies I am typical.  But I might be.  At least in this respect.

Speaking very generally, I would have expected the Minnesota one to be better known in the entire extended Midwest, possibly excluding Ohio. West of the Rockies, it's probably a bit more ambiguous since they're both so far away. Same for the Deep South.

I would also expect Rochester, MN, to be better-known among people in the health and medical industries, because it's the home of the world-famous Mayo Clinic, consistently ranked among the best hospitals/care facilities around.

[Eth]

Speaking very generally, I would have expected the Minnesota one to be better known in the entire extended Midwest, possibly excluding Ohio. West of the Rockies, it's probably a bit more ambiguous since they're both so far away. Same for the Deep South.

If you'd like a Deep South data point, I know that if I see just an unspecified "Rochester" I immediately think New York. Note that I've never been to either MN or NY (outside NYC).

[webny99]

If you'd like a Deep South data point...

Sure, this is great! I'm getting more than I bargained for.

[US 89]

Being from Utah, when I hear "Rochester" unspecified I only think of the one in NY. I wouldn't actually know the one in MN existed if not for this forum.

[citrus]

I'll add on to the chorus that "Rochester" refers to New York, both here in California, and where I grew up (in Rhode Island). My wife's a doctor, and while she's very familiar with the Mayo Clinic, that doesn't mean she knows where it is beyond "somewhere in Minnesota". Whereas I encounter folks from U of R or RIT more than occasionally, both which claim "Rochester" in the name.

From a roadgeek perspective, Rochester MN isn't _really_ on I-90, nor does it have 3dis, where clearly Rochester NY was important enough to merit a few of them when the Interstates were being established.

[empirestate]

Speaking very generally, I would have expected the Minnesota one to be better known in the entire extended Midwest, possibly excluding Ohio. West of the Rockies, it's probably a bit more ambiguous since they're both so far away. Same for the Deep South.

I would also expect Rochester, MN, to be better-known among people in the health and medical industries, because it's the home of the world-famous Mayo Clinic, consistently ranked among the best hospitals/care facilities around.

No question that Rochester, NY is the "principal" one, in the view of the general public. It's the older, larger and more culturally significant one (at least in its heyday when the basis for opinions like this were being formed). And even on the medical front, the University of Rochester [NY] Medical Center is no slouch in its field.

More generally for institutional association, if Rochester, MN->Mayo Clinic, then Rochester, NY->Kodak. That playing field being thus leveled, we're left for comparison with the overall greater influence of the NY city.

[kphoger]

The difference between Mayo Clinic and Kodak is that the clinic is the destination of people from all over the country, and one they talk to their friends and family about.

However, when I've heard most people refer to Mayo Clinic's location, they usually just say "up in Minnesota".

[SectorZ]

Speaking very generally, I would have expected the Minnesota one to be better known in the entire extended Midwest, possibly excluding Ohio. West of the Rockies, it's probably a bit more ambiguous since they're both so far away. Same for the Deep South.

I would also expect Rochester, MN, to be better-known among people in the health and medical industries, because it's the home of the world-famous Mayo Clinic, consistently ranked among the best hospitals/care facilities around.

No question that Rochester, NY is the "principal" one, in the view of the general public. It's the older, larger and more culturally significant one (at least in its heyday when the basis for opinions like this were being formed). And even on the medical front, the University of Rochester [NY] Medical Center is no slouch in its field.

More generally for institutional association, if Rochester, MN->Mayo Clinic, then Rochester, NY->Kodak. That playing field being thus leveled, we're left for comparison with the overall greater influence of the NY city.

My grandfather went to Univ. of Rochester (NY) Medical School, so oddly I tend to think of that for medicine over Rochester MN. Also never been to MN so the double dose of bias directs my brain in that way.

[frankenroad]

Speaking very generally, I would have expected the Minnesota one to be better known in the entire extended Midwest, possibly excluding Ohio. West of the Rockies, it's probably a bit more ambiguous since they're both so far away. Same for the Deep South.

If you'd like a Deep South data point, I know that if I see just an unspecified "Rochester" I immediately think New York. Note that I've never been to either MN or NY (outside NYC).

Being from Ohio, an unqualified reference to Rochester will bring NY to my mind before MN - unless there's other context like "Mayo Clinic"

[empirestate]

The difference between Mayo Clinic and Kodak is that the clinic is the destination of people from all over the country, and one they talk to their friends and family about.

That's the difference today, but at one time, Kodak would have better fit that category. While it no longer holds that prominence, its effect on the city's reputation persists. Once-powerful industrial cities, while they may today be in decline, remain household names, even when larger or faster-growing cities elsewhere are not yet.

[webny99]

The difference between Mayo Clinic and Kodak is that the clinic is the destination of people from all over the country, and one they talk to their friends and family about.

That's the difference today, but at one time, Kodak would have better fit that category. While it no longer holds that prominence, its effect on the city's reputation persists.

Absolutely. We'll often take first-time visitors on a drive through Kodak Park. It's still a fascinating area, albeit largely deserted these days. Kodak Center is still a great events venue, too.