Better MBTA Station Names

[LtKije]

Agreed. Moreover, a lot of these "squares" are not NOT squares in their physical shape, but in their 2023 nature.

Gilman was an actual "square" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but now it's two gas stations and a restaurant and nobody in Somerville -- even people who live in the area (hi!) -- have ever called it "Gilman Square" (although that could change, but not any time soon since, as previously discussed, there are no plans to develop the area and certain prohibiting factors block any meaningful development for at least the next decade).

"City Hall" or "School Street" would be a much more accurate present-day name for the stop.

I’m in the Gilman Square Facebook group, and I can vouch there are many Gilman Square boosters who earnestly use the name. The T stop is a bit of positive reinforcement. It helped me learn the name of the neighborhood, but as I read up about it, I came to learn it’s legitimate and as good a name as anything (though I still maintain it should just be “Gilman”). But I’ll be a little snarky and say that if you don’t like Gilman, since city hall, the high school, and the library are all there, “Government Center” should be repurposed for the stop, and Boston can make do with “Boston City Hall”

 

[JeffDowntown]

I’m in the Gilman Square Facebook group, and I can vouch there are many Gilman Square boosters who earnestly use the name. The T stop is a bit of positive reinforcement. It helped me learn the name of the neighborhood, but as I read up about it, I came to learn it’s legitimate and as good a name as anything (though I still maintain it should just be “Gilman”). But I’ll be a little snarky and say that if you don’t like Gilman, since city hall, the high school, and the library are all there, “Government Center” should be repurposed for the stop, and Boston can make do with “Boston City Hall”

You do understand that Government Center, Boston has a lot more "government" clustered there than just Boston City Hall. State Offices, Federal Buildings, Courts.... I think Gilman works fine for the townie center.

 

[JumboBuc]

I don't think the distance to Fenway Park from the eponymous station is too significantly further than Kenmore. It's definitely more convenient for people riding between there and outer D-Line stops. But I like the name for other reasons, primarily that it serves as a good reminder that the ball park is named for the neighborhood and not the other way around.

Just as the ballpark itself was named for the neighborhood and parkway, Fenway station is also named for the neighborhood and parkway; it isn’t named for Fenway Park. The station was originally opened as Fenway Park in the ‘50s, but was renamed in the ‘70s to drop the “Park” for all the reasons pointed out as to why Fenway Park isn’t a good name for it.