List of places referred to as the Center of the Universe

Several places on Earth have been given the nickname "Center (or Centre) of the Universe." In addition, several fictional works have described a depicted location as being at the center of the universe.

Modern models of the Universe suggest it does not have a center, unlike previous systems which placed the Earth (Geocentrism) or the Sun (Heliocentrism) at the center of the universe.

Nicknames of actual places

North America

Plaque at the Space Flight Operations Facility of the Deep Space Network proclaiming the site to be the "center of the universe"

• New York City (a nickname)^[1]
  • Times Square (a nickname)^[2][3]
• High Falls, NY
• Epping, New Hampshire (a nickname)
• Toronto, a term used derisively by residents of the rest of Canada in reference to the city;^[4] see also nicknames for Toronto
• Ashland, Virginia (the actual, cosmological center of the Universe, as declared by former Mayor Dick Gillis)^[5]
• John B. Lindale House in Magnolia, Delaware displays a signac proclaiming "This is Magnolia, the center of the universe around which the earth revolves".^[6]
• The center of the Great Dome on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Wallace, Idaho lists the intersection of Bank and Sixth Streets in its historic downtown as the center of the universe after Mayor Ron Garitone stated that "Wallace MUST be the Center of the Universe because you can't PROVE otherwise."
• A concrete circle at the apex of a rebuilt span of the old Boston Street Bridge between 1st and Archer Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma is known as the "Center of the Universe". The spot produces an acoustical anomaly and it is for which the Center of the Universe Festival and Ms. Center of the Universe Pageant are named.
• A site near Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada has been referred to as a spiritual "Centre of the Universe".^[7]
• Teotihuacan, in modern-day Mexico was considered the center of the universe by many Mesoamerican tribes, including the Aztecs, and was a model city for the later indigenous civilizations. It was called the "birthplace of the gods" and heavily influenced the region despite being abandoned for centuries.
• Fremont, a neighborhood in Seattle, WA
• Philo Illinois, a small farming town near Champaign declares itself as The Center of The Universe on the town water tower
• Bushkill, PA a small town adjacent to parcels of abandoned property for a proposed dam on the Delaware River that was never built.
• Danielsville, PA often referred to as the center of the universe by many of its residents

Asia

• Wudaokou, Beijing (a nickname)^[8]

Europe

• Perpignan (France) : Salvador Dali considered its train station as the center of the Universe^[9]

Astronomy

• The astronomical interpretation centre for the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory at Victoria, British Columbia is named "The Centre of the Universe".^[10]
• Space Flight Operations Facility, the operations control center of the Deep Space Network^[11]

Fiction

Depictions of a "center of the universe" in fiction include:

• Azathoth, "The Blind Idiot God," in H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos
• Eternia, the planet that is home to the Masters of the Universe
• Oa, a planet at the center of the DC Comics Universe
• Terminus, in the Doctor Who serial Terminus
• San Dimas, California, in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
• Nibbler's home planet Eternium, in Futurama
• Anyplace other than The Restaurant at the End of the Universe in the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series
• In the game Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii, Mario travels to the final area, named Center of the Universe.
• In the game Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time for the PS3, The Great Clock was said to be constructed at the exact center of the universe. (Give or take fifty feet.)

References