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Good news for T noshers: The new Government Center station will have space for a store
By adamg on Fri, 06/26/2015 - 11:37pm
Government Center retail space. Photo by MBTA.
Whether it will be another Dunkin' Donuts to replace the one that was almost directly underneath one of the two Dunkin' Donuts on the street, however, remains an open question. A T spokesman says a vendor has yet to be chosen for the space, although he adds whoever it turns out to be will be banned from selling popcorn.
The renovated junction for the Green and Blue lines is scheduled to open next year.
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Comments
i dont get
the popcorn joke/remark
It's not an old joke
The popcorn vendor was there the entire time I took the Green Line, 2003-2013.
Basically, one of the vendors down at track-level with the Green Line had a movie-style popcorn machine. It made the entire station smell of popcorn, from the top of the escalator to the bottom of the tracks. I always left that station wanting popcorn but subway food squicks me out.
80's popcorn
The popcorn vendor was there in in 1986-7 when I worked briefly at Faneuil Hall. It made me happy.
I remember the popcorn
It's rush hour your starving, and there was was popcorn being sold for a $1, you reached in to your pocket for the crumpled up dollar and handed it to the man who himself is trying to make a living.
You ate the bag of popcorn as you grabbed the last seat on the blue line to East Boston, the train gets full, people are yelling and screaming, but the bag of popcorn was your distraction, it told you "you did allright today, your stop is coming soon!"
ah
i dont know if it was before my time or i just never noticed
It was on the green line
It was on the green line level, across from the DD and next to the escalators.
Hot Dogs also
I remember there being one of those hot dog display-ovens (like you see in 7-11) as well. Subway station hotdogs - the very definition of "squicky".
It's really hard to imagine anything here
Other than the old station. Thats so not like the structure at street level.
Why are they banning popcorn?
I loved the Government Center station popcorn. Bought it way too many times.
Not everybody is fastidious with their popcorn
The stuff gets everywhere and the T got sick of cleaning it up.
In that case
I vote against Dunkin' "Chuck Your Cup Anywhere" Donuts.
The popcorn tasted great...
usually, but I think Adam is right.
The T should suck it up!
Given how quite a few underground platform areas already SMELL - especially during the hot, summer months, I'd rather smell freshly popped popcorn.
No Matter What They Do, Scollay Under Will Still Smell Of Urine
Unless, of course, they spend as much money on public bathrooms as they're spending on that towering glass outdoor structure.
Ban on Popcorn?
How is a fan of Boston's favorite reality show the MBTA going to enjoy the daily comic and tragic scenes that unfold every day without a little popcorn?
The MBTA hasn't had much success with banning the following items:
*cigarettes
*booze
*fireworks
*knives
*guns
*drugs
*needles
*spray cans
*skate boards
*snakes
Don't forget sexual acts
Don't forget sexual acts
You can't buy any of those
You can't buy any of those things in a T station.
The T isn't banning customers from bringing or eating popcorn. They're just making it a term in the new store's lease that they can't sell it.
I've bought plenty of those
I've bought plenty of those things in a T station. Not from a store, I'll grant you, but they're there for the taking from entrepreneurial individuals.
Is this at the Green Line or Blue Line level?
I recall the old station having a shop at both levels.
Green
This is green line platform. Here's a picture from mbta.com's construction photos looking from the same angle, further back:
Those stairs are the rebuilt stairs going to the BL. The white tarp on the left is the inbound (to Park) tracks.
The space is much bigger than the old kiosk, and I'm surprised because the plans online don't have a vendor space on that level. (the BL does, but not the GL)
And in case you missed it, the T has been publishing (lousy low res) construction photos buried on their website.
The plans do show a vendor
The plans do show a vendor space, they just don't explicitly label it as such, the same way the employee bathrooms aren't labeled.
where?
There's not even a space for it on the docs on mbta.com, It's just an open space as seen here:
Unless you know where I can find the full document online with the detailed plans? It was on their website but amazingly enough was removed before construction started!
Bottom left, near the
Bottom left, near the "demolish stairs" note. The arrows to the stairs are flying over top it, but that's the only space in plan that could correspond to the pic.
Popcorn vendor location
The popcorn vendor was at the Green Line level, right below the escalators. It was on the side opposite the side that went to Lechmere, where those unused tracks were. Though I remember those tracks being used until the mid 70s. The vendor also sold umbrellas, jewelry, candy and little trinkets.
Based on appearances
I'd say it's going to be a shop for cologne, gum and condoms. Tips appreciated.
Just back from Tokyo and I
Just back from Tokyo and I saw more than one ramen restaurant on some subway platforms. People would queue up, buy a vending machine ticket for their bowl of ramen, slurp it down, and jump on their next train. Brilliant! Why can't we have something nice like that?
Jiro
A subway stop is where they have the sushi restaurant from this documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1UDS2kgqY8
Eating on the train
"Why can't we have something nice like that?"
Because people here would take that bowl of ramen and eat it on the moving train, just like they do now.
Eatling at 200 mph
Eating is encouraged on at least the long-distance trains in Japan. There are kiosks and machines to buy food and yes, alcohol. Women come through each car of the shinkansen (bullet train) with different boxed lunches, snacks, tea, beer, etc. for sale. Once in the late 80's I was shocked and thrilled when individual servings of Steve's ice cream was offered.
But in Japan everyone knows the rules and eats neatly and then cleans up after themselves. (Enforced by peer pressure in rare instances where it's necessary.)
That's why they can have nice things and we can't.
Sorry, but it won't work.
This ain't Japan. This is the US of A. We don't need to pick up our trash when exiting the train.