Yes, it's another round of that classic guessing game - Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Abstract [or any combination thereof]. This effort - '03/'04 should address any queries, but then again, may just serve to confuse and baffle which some might say is the point of the game. Patience, integrity and a decent search engine may be useful ....
Physical representation? I think "physical incarnation" might be a better phrase. In the M&V sense, the AOTC is very definitely real. Indeed, perhaps it is a mistake to call it Abstract; I think what I really mean is that the AOTC is a human construct.
Doll house? No. City? Yes! *sustained applause* Motorway? No. Single person in charge? Well, it's a city. Do cities have a single person in charge of them? Depends on how you interpret "in charge", I suppose. Wikipedia does inform me that the person nominally in charge of this particular city holds an "uncommon office".
Does this city's spelling actually look like how the name of the city is pronounced.
Cdm - It's a joke in the U.S. which isn't really true any more and I'm not sure when it changed - but at one point, Flint, MI was considered extremely boring - peole would say things like they drove through Flint, MI and saw a rock and a flower, nothing else.
Tired of Life? Again without wishing to insult KS, were that true I suspect it would have a rather high suicide rate. Spelt as it sounds? I'd say yes. Hidden text [KS] I lived five years of my life less than 50 miles from Flint; I am well aware of its reputation. :)
Popular song? Yes -- perhaps several (although that might depend on how strictly I'm supposed to interpret the word "subject"). Googling tells me there are at least half a dozen songs with the name of this city in their titles, and many many more that include the name in the lyrics. Most of these songs I had never heard of, but some undoubtedly qualify as popular songs.
[KS] I've only just realised that when I wrote (in reply to your question re Flint) "I'm not saying this is an uninteresting city; I'd hate you to take offence", you quite reasonably understood "this" to mean Flint. I was actually speaking not about Flint, but the AOTC.
In Texas? No. On Route 66? No. I'm not sure what to offer in the way of hints beyond saying that there is a reason I chose this particular city; it is not just some random city in the US.
Brit name? No. (*some audience laughter*) Savannah? No. Hidden textI believe that Philly is actually one of the few cities with a team in all four of the leagues Tuj mentioned. :)
Initially stately vowelly? No. Hidden textThe song route may or may not be helpful. I had heard of maybe one of the songs with the city in its title (and I had not heard of the song that is in fact most famous). The AOTC-related song that I know best names the city in its first line, but not in the title. Named after geographical feature? I think the best answer is Yes, though I am using a broad definition of “geographical feature”. (It’s not as obviously a g.f. as, say, Little Rock, if that’s what you were thinking of.)
New Orleans? No. (*Applause, and also some muttered and inconclusive discussion about whether New Orleans had already been ruled out by Radox's island question*)
New Mexico? No. (*a little audience laughter, not so much for the question as for the questioner*) Hidden text[KS] Entirely friendly laughter, I promise. :)