Why is the T subsidizing Tufts' marketing effort?
By adamg - Sat, 04/26/2008 - 10:01am.
The MBTA is about to embark on an expensive, time-consuming effort to change New England Medical Center to Tufts Medical Center on all its maps and at the station itself. Although the T has asked Tufts to help pay for the work, Steve Garfield doesn't get it:
Why add the Tufts branding to the T signs? If they want to purchase naming rights, have them pay.
Otherwise, just get some white paint and white stickers and change the name from New England Medical Center to Medical Center.
Like on this map on the Orange Line at Downtown Crossing? Maybe they could apply some of that white paint to the Arborway line while they're at it.
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"This is a little more
Then:
A: Change it to "Medical Center"
OR
B: Change it to something not dependent on corporate whims.
Exactly
Right, like why didn't they just leave "Auditorium" Auditorium?
Because the Auditorium isn't there anymore
The Hynes Convention Center replaced the Hynes Auditorium on the same spot.
Yes, Ron
Yes, Ron, that's true. But, irrelevant to my point.
What subway stops are called doesn't matter to most people, I think. You could call them stops "A" "B" "C" or "THX1138" if you wanted. Once you know the system, you get off where you get off.
And, tourists go by directions given to them by locals or on maps.
People seem to find Fenway Park pretty easily without going to the "Fenway" stop (since that's not where the vast majority get off, anyway).
Medical Center
Problem is, if you change the name to just Medical Center, people will go there looking for Mass. General, or for the Longwood Medical Area, or especially for Boston Medical Center which is a dfferent institution a mile and a half away.
I wonder if that is true.
I wonder if that is true. Do people go to the generically named Museum stop on the E-line for the Fogg, ICA, Children's museum or any of the other many museums that are not located there? Do tourists go to the Harvard Ave stop looking for the University? Do Northeastern freshman accidentally go to the Community College stop? (Zing!!) Seriously though, there are several community colleges in Boston. I don't think this alarmism is accurate
"Museum stop"
Isn't the stop called "Museum of Fine Arts"? At least I think it used to have that name.
Why yes...
Yes it is.
Yeah I stand corrected.
Yeah I stand corrected. Though in sifting through google results, i think that may be a newer thing. On all older maps that I have found (pre handicap symbol and pre uglification of the font with two different sizes of capitals) its just listed as "museum". I haven't been here long enough for that to make a difference, but since 75% of the trains still have maps with "arborway" on them, its fair to think I may have seen it on those.
still though, nobody is getting off at Community College looking for Roxbury CC, or getting off at Courthouse for jury duty in Dorchester.
Suffolk Downs and Wonderland
Suffolk Downs and Wonderland don't seem to attract this kind of hatin'. What's up?
Wonderland
It's worth it to have subways that boast "Wonderland" as their destination signs as they go into the tunnel.
This still cracks me up every time
Spotted at Davis
Why not include the green line extension too?
That would be a huge benfit to Tufts, having a second subway line even closer to their campus. I bet they'd be interested in that. It'd also save some money now, rather than having to repaint everything all over again in a few years - plus, it would make for great jokes in the meantime.
That, or just stick on white stickers on all the stops saying "Next to Chinatown", if we want to pander to the Dim Sum tourists.
Activist site about green line extensions: http://www.medfordgreenline.org/
Site about maps of all the proposed T and commuter rail etc. extensions: http://futurembta.com/