688. The Proper Noun – Names of Places

A proper noun is always capitalized. Some proper nouns are the names of specific places and locations.

Cities, states, and countries are proper nouns:
The United States president lives in Washington D.C.
Last weekend, I traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Joel studied his entire junior year in Vienna, Austria.

Special buildings are proper nouns:
Our president lives in the White House.
Thomas Jefferson built a beautiful house for himself and called it Monticello.
Senators have offices in the Capitol.

School names are always proper nouns:
My sister attends college at Concordia University.
The volleyball game tomorrow is being played at Lincoln Middle School.
My friend is a teacher at Central School.

Stores, restaurants, and theaters are also proper nouns:
We always shop at Target for school clothes.
My mom got tickets for us to see a play at Capital Theater.
We are having dinner tonight at the Starlight Cafe.

The names of special places are called proper nouns. Proper nouns are always capitalized.

▶It’s your turn. Which word in this sentence should be capitalized? Elvis Presley lived in his famous mansion called graceland. Did you figure it out? Good for you!