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The most random highway destination sign in the Boston area

Next stop, Newport, RINext stop, Newport, RI

You cross over to Milton from Mattapan Square and one of the first things you see is a sign pointing the way to Newport, RI, and you think "Huh?" Was there ever a time when people in Mattapan or Milton needed to know the way to Newport, RI?

UPDATE: Yes, there was. See NotWhitey's note in the comments.

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Comments

Before there was an I-95 or state routes 24 and 1, Washington st and route 138 were the "highways" south to Rhode Island and Fall River/New Bedford. For many Bostonians traveling south, Blue Hill Ave was the main feeder road out of the city. My mother's uncle worked as a machinist at the Newport shipyard during the war, and was taken to visit him there. They didn't take I-95 back then. Personally, I remember taking what is now called route 3A to Plymouth - the old Cape Hwy - while route 3 was being built. I'm sure similar signs were at the beginning of 3A back then.

Many people have noted that sign - the wonder is that it's survived this long.

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You're right, it is kind of amazing that sign is still up. Even aside from the way it's rusting through, nowadays you'd see up arrows instead of down ones (and the one to Readville and Dedham would probably be curved).

A couple weeks ago, I was amazed to see a green Pilgrim hat on a sign pointing to the turnpike on Main Street in Watertown. But it didn't have an arrow through it.

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Google Map shows the way.

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So, next time I need to get to Newport in twice the usual time, I'll take that route!

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Is travel Rte. 1 from Maine to Florida, although it would be awesome.

Actually, make that two things, the other being taking the 34E bus from Forest Hills to Walpole ...

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That's how my parents went to Florida (from Rhode Island) for their honeymoon in 1960.

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I dont recall why I did it though.

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AO

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It is amazing that the sign has remained up for so long. Hopefully it will be there for years to come. The sign must have been put up to encourage people to visit the amazing "City by the Sea", since it's one of the nation's most beautiful and historic cities.

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Now if only we can get a sign up in Newport pointing the way to Mattapan Square....

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I think signs show the terminus of the highway most of the time, right? Uh, I mean, unless it's really really far away, like the pike signs don't often show "Seattle."

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I took a cross country road trip to bring a friend to UCLA twenty-odd years ago. While we were in Texas, we came upon a sign listing three destinations, the last of which was Los Angeles 1003 mi (or something similar). I was gobsmacked trying to figure out whether there was so much demand for LA that that was useful info to the majority of drivers or if there were so few worthwhile stops along the way that they had to go one thousand miles to come up with a third.

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Somewhere on westbound I-80 in NJ is a sign for "Cleveland", because the highway really doesn't go near any town of significance in all of Pennsylvania.

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... somewhere between Cleveland and the PA border, there is a sign showing mileage to New York City -- but no further mention of NYC on I-80 once one crosses the border (at least up to the point when one turns north towards Connecticut and Massachusetts on I-87).

By the way, a word to the wise, don't get a flat tire in central Pennsylvania (around Mile Run) -- as there is a 5 or so mile long cellphone dead zone. ;~{

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... is a spare tire that's fully inflated. If you have that, why do you need cell phone reception? Just askin'!

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.... that come with Honda Odysseys aren't that easy to deal with -- when you have a fully loaded car and the temperature is about 15 degrees. I would have preferred the roadside aid of AAA. ;~}

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Michael, I now commiserate with you. I have also driven a Honda Odyssey across I-80 in the Keystone State in cold weather! I shudder to think of stopping to change its tire. It's a formidable piece of road during the snow and ice.

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I-90 through New York had much worse conditions.

And we found an exceptionally fine (genuinely) Mexican restaurant in Clarion, PA -- called Cozumel. The chile verde there was absolutely wonderful.

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MA 138 begins in Milton and ends in Sprague, CT, a little to the north of Norwich, CT. (Link here), passing through Fall River and Newport before going over the Pell bridge to Kingston. MA 138 ended at the Jamaicaway rotary until it was truncated to Milton and also carried former MA 3 and MA 28.

Notice to the right there's a huge space between Readville and Dedham. That's because it would have contained either (a) MA 135 signs, which ran through Dedham via Common, High and Milton Sts, Readville via West Milton St, and Milton via Canton Avenue and ended in Quincy at Route 3A/53 (Southern Artery & Quincy Ave) until MA 128 was completed, and thence was truncated officially to MA 128 at the Dedham/Needham line, (b) I-95 signs, as I-95 would have run right through Hyde Park if the Southwest Corridor were built, or (c) had the word "Truman Parkway" or "Hyde Park" there at one point but was removed.

The sign to the left was put up by the MDC and likely was a replica of the sign to the right. Actually, to the left of the MA 138 sign there was another sign indicating Route 28 traffic; MassDOT should at least put up more accurate signing to indicate this.

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Tunnel ramp to the Pike in Copley Square with a sign saying "New York". Technically correct, but...

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

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