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How's the commute on the Red Bull Line this morning?

By adamg on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 10:00am

What the new MBTA map would look like.

The Herald reports the MBTA is going to try, again, to sell naming rights to stations and, this time, even entire subway lines. Tastefully, of course. So no Hooters/North Station stop.

But what are some of the potential advertisers the T should approach?

Tropicana seems a natural for the Orange Line. And it's way past time to change Lechmere to Best Buy; Brigham Circle to JP Licks Circle. How about renaming the end of the Blue Line Wonder Bread? Sam Adams Porter. Heath Bar. Kenmore Washers and Dryers. University of Phoenix/Harvard. Ruggles needs to become Snuggles. A bidding war for Prudential among Prudential, Hancock and Liberty Mutual? Hey, the T could threaten to change the name of State Street unless the bank ponies up.

What would you suggest?

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The T


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Comments

By adamg on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 10:44am.

PowerFlite sums it up:

Shouldn't Subway sponsor every station?

John Joyce suggests:

The Viagra Blue Line ("we run longer trains")

Margaret declares:

And Centrum could sponsor the Silver Line!

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By Sarcastic Sam on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 11:03am.

Harpoon Alewife station of course!

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By judy on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 12:07pm.

Fig Newton Centre; Savinor Hill (they'd have to open a new store); L'il Peach-mont. And either Boylston or Chinatown should be Suffolk.

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By anon on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 12:10pm.

Funny jokes adam, But I really hope they don't do this.

Did they ever make Tufts medical center pay for the signage changes?

Maybe looking into the 90K a year earning bus drivers could help the budget problem....or putting the big dig debt where it belongs.

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By adamg on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 3:32pm.

I forget the exact amount, but it was somewhere north of $100,000, I seem to recall.

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By Molly on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 12:30pm.

Stony Brookstone

The North Face Station

Green and Black's Street

Jack-in-the-Box-son Square

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By anon on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 6:08pm.

If they called North Station "North Face Station" all the BU kids would be late to class after disembarking downtown.

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By O-FISH-L on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 12:41pm.

Delaware North Station. MILTON Bradley Station... Wood-Thousand Island Station.

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By anon on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 12:41pm.

The Green Giant Line

Some of them don't need to change their name much

The Harvard University Stop

The Harvard Avenue Stop Sponsored by Harvard University (they start to pay for station renovations and then change their mind)

The State Street Corporation Station

Sarah Palin's (a) Maverick Station

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By Jay Levitt on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 12:46pm.

You unconsciously came up with it yourself...

Sell naming rights, but only to brands whose name already matches the station. Now, all of your stations are puns, yet nobody's confused and no signage needs updating. The advertiser gets the right to run full-station ad campaigns.

Next stop is Kenmore - brought to you by Sears.

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By anon on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 1:07pm.

Because riding the T is not a depressing enough pain in the butt as it is.

Keep watch that steady exodus of MIT and Harvard graduates who go elsewhere to start companies because Boston is not that great a place to live.

Can't wait for the Brawndo Green Line.

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By SwirlyGrrl on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 1:14pm.

Sullivan Tire Square Station

I'm sure somebody can do something with Broadway. Braintree is a tad more difficult to work with.

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By eeka on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 1:26pm.

Brain Quest Tree?

Fat Brain Toys Tree?

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By SwirlyGrrl on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 9:44pm.

Solid as Sears.

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By eeka on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 1:45pm.

YMCA MBTA

MBNA MBTA

Rockbandxbury Crossing

Oakley Grove

Subaruforrester Hills

Otherguyfromwham Square

Colin Haymarket

Wollmartaston

Baconsaltsfield

Fenphenway

Reservoir Dogs

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By Lanny Budd on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 1:53pm.

ADT Home Security Stab 'n Kill Station

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By chicken on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 2:10pm.

No, I hate it when public venues sell naming rights to companies, the names are invariably ugly.

However, in the spirit of things: Mass Ave Station is already "Subway" Station. Ruggles => Snuggles. Jackson Sq => Jackson Hole. We can switch Hynes out with Heinz. Blandford St I already confuse with Blanchard's. Pleasant St should definitely be changed to Sullivan Tire St, since an auto-repair shop parking lot is not "pleasant". Update Packard's Corner to Toyota-no Corner. Cleveland Circle, who wants to think about Cleveland? Get a better city in there. And Government Center can just become Goldman-Sachs Center.

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By Ron Newman on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 7:04pm.

Occasionally they come out well and are genuinely liked -- Gillette Stadium, Pacific Bell Park.

However, these are also both reminders that even large companies can get acquired and absorbed by bigger ones. The Gillette name fortunately remains on both the products and the stadium, but Pacific Bell (and its Park) got renamed twice within three years, resulting finally in a name that nobody much likes (AT&T).

Then there are the unintentionally hilarious names -- guess what most people called the "First Union Center" ....

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By btmitch on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 10:08pm.

I always really liked the name "Fleet Center", historical considerations notwithstanding. It was simple and elegant for the people saying it, and as a benefit for the sponsor, it resisted any kind of abbreviation (like "the Garden" instead of "TD Bank Garden"), so people always had to say the name of the company. Much better than something like CMGI Field or the other examples above.

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By eeka on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 10:48pm.

The train station naming rights could have been bought by Fleet Enema.

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By Sarcastic Sam on Tue, 01/25/2011 - 1:15pm.

The logo possibilities are end-less.

One of my first job interviews in Boston was at 75 State Street, which at the time was an office building called The Fleet Center. The interview turned out to be a wet turd as well.

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By Molly on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 3:45pm.

Mrs. Field's Cookies Corner

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By Nekussa on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 7:07pm.

Barbie and Kendall Station
Park'n'Fly Street Station

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By anon on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 7:31pm.

...the Longwood stop.

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By SwirlyGrrl on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 9:46pm.

Win.

It would also be a win for the T - I'm sure there would be a bidding war given the stiff competition from Levitra and Viagra.

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By adamg on Sun, 01/23/2011 - 12:44am.

Of course, they'd have to add warning signs to all the trains:

If you experience a Blue Line ride lasting longer than four hours, seek immediate transfer to the Green Line.

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By mrs p. on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 7:45pm.

The Red Line sponsored by Tampax but only every 28 days.

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By railfan on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 9:13pm.

I can see it now, after a murder, rape or fire or other daily calimity corporate lawyers explaining to their CEO that a billion dollar lawsuit is being filed because they should have known that the station was not safe when they bought the naming rights

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By necturus on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 9:48pm.

Can you imagine some rich Yankee fan renaming Fenway Station after Jeter or Steinbrenner? Or a group of Yale alumni renaming Harvard Station for their alma mater?

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By adamg on Sat, 01/22/2011 - 11:00pm.

Revised MBTA system map.

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