Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

What the L.A.Times means by Southland

Ditto with the Inland Empire

Dear Matthew Alice: It seems that whenever I have contact with the news media of Los Angeles, such as the Los Angeles Times or KNX radio, I often come across the terms “Southland” and “Inland Empire.” None of my friends from Los Angeles nor anyone that I have asked in San Diego seems to know what either of these expressions means. We do agree, however, agree that (1) they clearly have something to do with Southern California, but (2) they are not used in San Diego. Surely you can enlighten us on their meaning. — Joe Freeman, San Diego

Sponsored
Sponsored

Territorial chest-thumping in California has been honed to a fine edge, I think. “Southland” and “Inland Empire” are two such examples. (San Diego has the now-shopworn “America’s Finest City” to its credit, I guess.) California north (embodied by San Francisco) and California south (embodied by Los Angeles) have vied for power for as long as there was power to fight over. The origins of “Southland" are unclear but probably sprang from the fertile brain of an early-day newspaperman as a handy reference to the glories of the state from the San Joaquin Valley to the Mexican border. Geographical boundaries of these things are always fuzzy. So “Southland” just means anywhere south of that uppity San Francisco.

According to reams of articles obligingly forwarded from the San Bernardino Public Library, the roots of “Inland Empire” are only slightly less vague but follow the same us-versus-them theme. But this time the “us” is the San B.-Riverside area; “them” is the dreaded Los Angeles. A concept any San Diegan can appreciate, I think. The first printed description of the area as “an Inland Empire" occurred in a newspaper in 1914, perhaps the brainchild of the editor wanting to boost the hinterlands in the eyes of any prospective businessmen. Unfortunately, people are still arguing about the geographic boundaries. Originally it referred to the newspaper’s circulation area — a narrow strip from Upland and Chino to Banning — but now it’s loosely used as a nickname for the general two-county area. The name is so ingrained that you can even find it used in the social system that has evolved among prison inmates. For some, the town you come from dictates who you hang with in the yard, and if you’re from east of the San Gabriel Valley and north of San Diego, you hang with the homies in a group called simply “I.E." Even some inmates don’t realize that it stands for “Inland Empire.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader writer Chris Ahrens tells the story of Windansea

The shack is a landmark declaring, “The best break in the area is out there.”
Next Article

San Diego beaches not that nice to dogs

Bacteria and seawater itself not that great

Dear Matthew Alice: It seems that whenever I have contact with the news media of Los Angeles, such as the Los Angeles Times or KNX radio, I often come across the terms “Southland” and “Inland Empire.” None of my friends from Los Angeles nor anyone that I have asked in San Diego seems to know what either of these expressions means. We do agree, however, agree that (1) they clearly have something to do with Southern California, but (2) they are not used in San Diego. Surely you can enlighten us on their meaning. — Joe Freeman, San Diego

Sponsored
Sponsored

Territorial chest-thumping in California has been honed to a fine edge, I think. “Southland” and “Inland Empire” are two such examples. (San Diego has the now-shopworn “America’s Finest City” to its credit, I guess.) California north (embodied by San Francisco) and California south (embodied by Los Angeles) have vied for power for as long as there was power to fight over. The origins of “Southland" are unclear but probably sprang from the fertile brain of an early-day newspaperman as a handy reference to the glories of the state from the San Joaquin Valley to the Mexican border. Geographical boundaries of these things are always fuzzy. So “Southland” just means anywhere south of that uppity San Francisco.

According to reams of articles obligingly forwarded from the San Bernardino Public Library, the roots of “Inland Empire” are only slightly less vague but follow the same us-versus-them theme. But this time the “us” is the San B.-Riverside area; “them” is the dreaded Los Angeles. A concept any San Diegan can appreciate, I think. The first printed description of the area as “an Inland Empire" occurred in a newspaper in 1914, perhaps the brainchild of the editor wanting to boost the hinterlands in the eyes of any prospective businessmen. Unfortunately, people are still arguing about the geographic boundaries. Originally it referred to the newspaper’s circulation area — a narrow strip from Upland and Chino to Banning — but now it’s loosely used as a nickname for the general two-county area. The name is so ingrained that you can even find it used in the social system that has evolved among prison inmates. For some, the town you come from dictates who you hang with in the yard, and if you’re from east of the San Gabriel Valley and north of San Diego, you hang with the homies in a group called simply “I.E." Even some inmates don’t realize that it stands for “Inland Empire.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego beaches not that nice to dogs

Bacteria and seawater itself not that great
Next Article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader