Better MBTA Station Names

F-Line to Dudley said:
1982-85 Kendall station was named MIT/Cambridge Center officially. Change took effect same time Columbia was renamed JFK/UMass. They un-did the name change back to Kendall after 3 years due to (un)popular demand.
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...and then in 2015, Boston Properties renamed the Cambridge Center development to be Kendall Center anyways. Thus pointing to both the fragile impermanence of corporate marketingspeak names, and to the enduringness of what the general public tends to refer to things as notwithstanding the former.

(and here I refer to Boston Properties as Boston Properties even though they want to be called BXP now...and I and everyone else will always refer to their "200 Clarendon" as the Hancock Tower. Maybe the real take-away of all of this is: don't let Boston Properties name anything).
 
I mean, at the end of the day there are *some* institutions that are functionally eternal that will never move. Not convention centers, office parks or residential developments, but things like hospitals, museums and major universities- their campuses and locality are in of themselves neighborhood anchors, and have substantial permanence that will be enduring.

Harvard Square will always be dominated by the fact that Harvard is right there - that Yard is going nowhere. Nor will BU, BC, Northeastern, the MFA or the Boston Symphony, or MGH - they all have been where they are for over a hundred years (MGH for 2), and in all likelihood, will be there for a hundred more. Marking them in station names in some way, at least as a "Place/Institution", ala Kendall/MIT or Charles/MGH is generally just good and helpful wayfinding information. As far as Tufts Medical Center goes - the institution remained, with only the name on the door changed. So long as Tufts values the Tufts branding, it's unlikely to change again anytime soon.

Granted, BU can go down to a single station named after it with stop consolidation, and some of the existing "/" stops can be standardized or modified by dropping one half or the other. Ie, why Brandeis/Roberts or Science Park/West End, if the convention is "Place/Institution,” stick to it (in a spectacular piece of pedantry) and what is Roberts anyways? Google maps certainly has no idea. Same thing for the "/ Route 495"s. They're hardly the only 495 park and rides, so why call it out? (And why ”Route” 495?)

and finally, for an actual stop name proposal: amend the name of Airport to include Logan in some way, because no local really tends to refer to it by any other name.
 
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Stlin said:
I mean, at the end of the day there are *some* institutions that are functionally eternal that will never move. Not convention centers, office parks or residential developments, but things like hospitals, museums and major universities- their campuses and locality are in of themselves neighborhood anchors, and have substantial permanence that will be enduring.
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But hospitals do change their name, as NEMC did (and as MGH's parent company has). Universities do too - UMass Lowell was University of Lowell until 1991.
 
Stlin said:
and what is Roberts anyways? Google maps certainly has no idea
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Roberts is ostensibly the name of the nearby neighborhood, but apart from real estate websites I don't think it's used much. (That was my regular commuting stop for a while, and, uh, I never knew - or cared - what it was referencing.)

Stlin said:
and finally, for an actual stop name proposal: amend the name of Airport to include Logan in some way, because no local really tends to refer to it by any other name.
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Eh, I like it as it is. It's simple and straightforward, and doesn't confuse the station with the airport proper (and it's not like it's all that close to the terminals). As a matter of wayfinding, having it specifically say "Airport" is as clear as it gets that this is the (non-Silver Line) RT stop to access the airport.
 
Stlin said:
I mean, at the end of the day there are *some* institutions that are functionally eternal that will never move...
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You mean that article I read about Harvard being acquired by University of Phoenix Online was fake news??
 
Brattle Loop said:
Roberts is ostensibly the name of the nearby neighborhood, but apart from real estate websites I don't think it's used much. (That was my regular commuting stop for a while, and, uh, I never knew - or cared - what it was referencing.)
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From a few minutes of research (which I'll now be adding to Wikipedia), it appears the stop and neighborhood were originally Robert's Crossing after John Roberts (1802-1871), who had a paper mill on South Street at Stony Brook. It was very common back in the day for smaller stations to be named for nearby landowners - Newtonville was once Hull's Crossing, and Wellesley Farms once Rice's Crossing. The "Crossing" and the apostrophe were eventually dropped as names were standardized.* Prides Crossing was a rare case where the "Crossing" survived into the modern era. The MBTA modified a number of station names for clarity around 1977 (Canton to Center Center, etc); "Brandeis" was tacked on to the beginning of Roberts.

* The U.S. Board on Geographic Names has long insisted on eliminating apostrophes from the official federal names of places. Only five exemptions have been granted, the best-known of which is in Massachusetts.
 
The EGE said:
From a few minutes of research (which I'll now be adding to Wikipedia), it appears the stop and neighborhood were originally Robert's Crossing after John Roberts (1802-1871), who had a paper mill on South Street at Stony Brook. It was very common back in the day for smaller stations to be named for nearby landowners - Newtonville was once Hull's Crossing, and Wellesley Farms once Rice's Crossing. The "Crossing" and the apostrophe were eventually dropped as names were standardized.* Prides Crossing was a rare case where the "Crossing" survived into the modern era. The MBTA modified a number of station names for clarity around 1977 (Canton to Center Center, etc); "Brandeis" was tacked on to the beginning of Roberts.

* The U.S. Board on Geographic Names has long insisted on eliminating apostrophes from the official federal names of places. Only five exemptions have been granted, the best-known of which is in Massachusetts.
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Incidentally, the maps of Waltham neighborhoods that I can find on Google do show "Roberts" as one of them.
 
This is a silly question, but: is there a potential alternate name for Shawmut station on the Ashmont Branch? I was working on a crayon map, and realized that it'd be nice to have "Shawmut" available for a station at/along Shawmut Ave in the South End/South Cove. I've tried to find nearby landmarks for the current Shawmut station, but there isn't much. The best I can see is that the station happens to be located on a short street called "Clementine Park", so... "Next stop, Clementine. The destination of this train is Ashmont" ?

(To be clear, I'm not actually proposing that Shawmut station be renamed, though I will admit that "Clementine" sounds charming -- I really am only asking for crayoning purposes.)
 
I'm not sure what the history is behind using the Shawmut name for that station. Generally, I associate the word with the original, pre-landfill, pre-annexation Boston, of which this station is clearly not in. Definitely not a lot of great place-making options there, but I think I'd go with Centre St/Codman if there was a need to change names. Centre St is the closest meaningful street to the headhouse, and is the main walking route from the station to Codman Square, hence the co-branding.
 
HenryAlan said:
I'm not sure what the history is behind using the Shawmut name for that station. Generally, I associate the word with the original, pre-landfill, pre-annexation Boston, of which this station is clearly not in.
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Right??? Maybe @The EGE knows.

Codman is an interesting option. It’s as close to the square as some of the GLX stations to their squares (I think). Centre Ais, as a rule, always going to be one of the worst possible station names anywhere, IMO, but co-branding with Codman could work.

Probably I’d lean toward “Codman” for concision, and leave it slightly vague whether it’s named for the square or for the “Codman neighborhood” (which technically does not exist, as far as I know, but hey it wouldn’t be the first time a station named a neighborhood rather than the reverse).

Though I do remain charmed by “Clementine”.
 
"Shawmut" came into use in 1884, when two separate stations were merged. Served as a commuter rail station until 1926, then reopened as a rapid transit station in 1928. I can't imagine any real justification for changing a 140-year old station name when nothing has changed in the area to need such a change. Having "Shawmut" on the Red Line and "Shawmut Avenue" on some other line would not be a disaster, any more than having "Harvard" and "Harvard Avenue" currently is.
 
Riverside said:
Probably I’d lean toward “Codman” for concision, and leave it slightly vague whether it’s named for the square or for the “Codman neighborhood” (which technically does not exist, as far as I know, but hey it wouldn’t be the first time a station named a neighborhood rather than the reverse).
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The Codman Square Neighborhood Council considers itself to cover issues at Shawmut, as evidenced by their weighing in against a proposed apartment building across the street from the station. So if they think it's Codman, it could work. But I agree with @The EGE in that there is no real reason to change it.
 
Oh yeah, like I said, this isn't a serious proposal -- it's just for crayon map purposes. So, if I ever do finish building a map that has a "Shawmut" station (not "Shawmut Ave", I really prefer the style without the "Ave"/"St" etc) in the South End/South Cove, I'll just change the Ashmont Branch station to "Codman" -- the same as I'd do with an extension to the town of Arlington therefore entailing a rename of Arlington station to "Public Garden".
 
I think we should rename Shawmut ... and call it 'Randy'.
No real reason.
I mean, there are a lot of last names out there. Maybe use a first name just this once. And abbreviated. For funzies.

Or Clementine

Whatever we call it, it should at least have a damn T lollipop sign on Centre Street. Maybe ridership might double if people know there's an actual T STOP THERE! Low hangin' fruit here, people!
 
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