If you've been spending time with family this holiday season, you may have come face-to-face with a truth Pennsylvania cities know all too well: it's hard to escape a nickname. Everyone knows Philadelphia is the City of Brotherly Love and Pittsburgh is the Steel City, which makes sense. The state itself is nicknamed after a keystone, the center, wedge-shaped stone in an arch that connects and supports both sides. It earned that nickname because it was in the center of the 13 colonies and was so key to the creation of the United States.
But not all the nicknames are that positive. In honor of all the grown adults who spend time with family, only to be called "Shorty," "Sweetie" or "Little" anything this week, we're taking a look at some of the lesser-known nicknames Pennsylvania cities bear, from the best to the worst.
Keystone Crossroads is a statewide public media initiative reporting on the challenges facing Pennsylvania's cities. WPSU is a participating station.
