I seem to be coming a bit late to this thread...
St. John's, a few years ago, took a nearby community called The Goulds under its wing. (Pronounced gooldz.) It's listed on maps as just "Goulds" but everyone includes the preceding "the". I don't understand why.
Furthermore, if an accident victim is taken to hospital, you just know they were injured enough to receive medical attention. If I heard to the hospital I'd be inclined to wonder which one. And that's usually not important to the story. That's my analysis of it, anyway...
