Lover's lane
Encyclopedia
Lovers' lane is a generic term for secluded areas where people kiss
or make out
. These areas range from parking lot
s in secluded rural areas to places with extraordinary views of a cityscape or other feature.
"Lovers' lanes" are typically found in cultures built around the automobile—lovers often make out in a car or van for privacy.
Lovers' lanes have existed for centuries, sometimes as places for secret meetings with a loved one or as a euphemism
for red-light district
s and other areas of prostitution
.
There are several streets called Lovers Lane, including those at Baton Rouge, Louisiana
; Kersey, Pennsylvania; Boonville, New York
; Greenfield, Massachusetts
; Southborough, Massachusetts
; Riverton
, Utah
; Portage, Michigan
; Excelsior Springs, Missouri
; Springfield, Missouri
; Charlestown, New Hampshire
; Princeton, New Jersey
; Slatington, Pennsylvania
; Adliya
, Bahrain
; Dallas, Texas
; Ravenna Township, Portage County, Ohio
; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
; Newark-on-Trent
and Ludham
(both in England
).
The bowdlerised
version Love Lane is sometimes seen.
ing or any type of sexual contact
as those people are bound to be caught off-guard from a variety of criminals. Metropolitan Los Angeles
is an infamous area for this type of crime.
In 1963 the Fuller's Bridge lovers' lane mentioned above site became notorious as the location of the bodies of CSIRO
scientist Dr Gilbert Stanley Bogle and Mrs Margaret Olive Chandler, the wife of one of his colleagues. The cause of death, while indicative of poisoning, couldn't be definitively determined, and apart from Mrs Chandler's husband, Geoffrey, who was considered the prime suspect by the New South Wales Police, no one to-date has been charged. The Bogle-Chandler case
has baffled law enforcement and forensic experts up to present day.
Several of the Zodiac Killer
's victims were murdered in lovers' lanes.
Kiss
A kiss is the act of pressing one's lips against the lips or other body parts of another person or of an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, affection, respect, greeting, friendship, and good...
or make out
Making out
In human sexuality, making out is a sexual euphemism of American origin dating back to at least 1949, and is used synonymously with the terms necking, heavy petting, and hooking up to refer to non-penetrative sex, though "hooking up" is also used in some cultures to imply casual sex.-History:The...
. These areas range from parking lot
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
s in secluded rural areas to places with extraordinary views of a cityscape or other feature.
"Lovers' lanes" are typically found in cultures built around the automobile—lovers often make out in a car or van for privacy.
Lovers' lanes have existed for centuries, sometimes as places for secret meetings with a loved one or as a euphemism
Euphemism
A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...
for red-light district
Red-light district
A red-light district is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc...
s and other areas of prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
.
Examples
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
; Kersey, Pennsylvania; Boonville, New York
Boonville, New York
Boonville, New York may refer to either:* Boonville , New York* Boonville , New York, which lies within the Town of Boonville...
; Greenfield, Massachusetts
Greenfield, Massachusetts
Greenfield is a city in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,456 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Community College, the Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Franklin County Fair...
; Southborough, Massachusetts
Southborough, Massachusetts
Southborough is an affluent town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It incorporates the smaller villages of Cordaville, Fayville, and Southville. Its name is often informally shortened to Southboro, a usage seen on many area signs and maps. Its population was 9,767 at the 2010...
; Riverton
Riverton, Utah
Riverton is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 38,753 at the 2010 census. Riverton is one of the fastest-growing cities in the state of Utah, and was ranked by CNN Money Magazine as the 60th best...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
; Portage, Michigan
Portage, Michigan
Portage is a city in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 46,292 at the 2010 census. It is the smaller of the two main cities included in the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 326,589 as of 2010.Portage is adjacent to the...
; Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Excelsior Springs is a city in Clay and Ray counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 11,084 at the 2010 census. It is located approximately northeast of central Kansas City, Missouri.- Geography :...
; Springfield, Missouri
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...
; Charlestown, New Hampshire
Charlestown, New Hampshire
Charlestown is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,114 at the 2010 census. The town is home to Hubbard State Forest and the headquarters of the Student Conservation Association....
; Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
; Slatington, Pennsylvania
Slatington, Pennsylvania
Slatington is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It is located 15 miles northwest of Allentown, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state...
; Adliya
Adliya
Adliya is the bohemian neighborhood in Manama, Bahrain.The district is a multicultural, busy area, a home to commerce, culture and entertainment, and it is considered as one of the four centres of Manama's nightlife....
, Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
; Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
; Ravenna Township, Portage County, Ohio
Ravenna Township, Portage County, Ohio
Ravenna Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 9,270 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the center of the county, it borders the following townships and city:...
; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
; Newark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent
Newark-on-Trent is a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. It stands on the River Trent, the A1 , and the East Coast Main Line railway. The origins of the town are possibly Roman as it lies on an important Roman road, the Fosse Way...
and Ludham
Ludham
Ludham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, in The Broads, at the end of a dyke leading to Womack Water and flowing into the River Thurne...
(both in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
).
- The area on the south-east side of Fullers BridgeFullers BridgeFullers Bridge crosses the Lane Cove River in suburban Sydney, Australia. The main road from Chatswood to North Ryde, crosses the bridge. It was built in 1918.The main entrance to Lane Cove National Park is located adjacent to Fullers Bridge...
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-33.792692,151.157048&spn=0.01,0.01&t=k&q=-33.792692,151.157048, which crosses the Lane Cove RiverLane Cove RiverThe Lane Cove River is a tributary of the Parramatta River, Sydney, Australia. Its lower reaches form an arm of Sydney Harbour.-Description:...
, and is located near Chatswood, New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, is a well-known Lovers' Lane.
- Lovers Lane is a famous road in St. Joseph, Missouri of which a popular poem by Eugene FieldEugene FieldEugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays.-Biography:...
was written.
- Lovers' Lane is most commonly used in the urban legendUrban legendAn urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
"The HookThe HookThe Hook is a classic example of an urban legend. The basic premise involves a young couple parked at a dark lovers' lane. The radio plays music as the couple make out. The music is interrupted by an announcer who reports that a serial killer has just escaped an institution which is nearby. The...
".
The bowdlerised
Thomas Bowdler
Thomas Bowdler was an English physician who published an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare's work, edited by his sister Harriet, intended to be more appropriate for 19th century women and children than the original....
version Love Lane is sometimes seen.
Crime
Many criminals take advantage of people engaging in kissKiss
A kiss is the act of pressing one's lips against the lips or other body parts of another person or of an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, affection, respect, greeting, friendship, and good...
ing or any type of sexual contact
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
as those people are bound to be caught off-guard from a variety of criminals. Metropolitan Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles Area
The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...
is an infamous area for this type of crime.
In 1963 the Fuller's Bridge lovers' lane mentioned above site became notorious as the location of the bodies of CSIRO
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is the national government body for scientific research in Australia...
scientist Dr Gilbert Stanley Bogle and Mrs Margaret Olive Chandler, the wife of one of his colleagues. The cause of death, while indicative of poisoning, couldn't be definitively determined, and apart from Mrs Chandler's husband, Geoffrey, who was considered the prime suspect by the New South Wales Police, no one to-date has been charged. The Bogle-Chandler case
Bogle-Chandler case
The Bogle-Chandler case refers to the mysterious deaths of Dr Gilbert Stanley Bogle and Mrs Margaret Olive Chandler née Morphett on the banks of the Lane Cove River in Sydney, Australia on January 1, 1963. The case became celebrated because of the circumstances in which the bodies were found and...
has baffled law enforcement and forensic experts up to present day.
Several of the Zodiac Killer
Zodiac Killer
The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The killer's identity remains unknown. The Zodiac murdered victims in Benicia, Vallejo, Lake Berryessa and San Francisco between December 1968 and October 1969. Four men and three women...
's victims were murdered in lovers' lanes.