WHO WILL STAND UP FOR SIMON SNYDER? In exchange for $3.4M over five years, SEPTA will rename the southernmost stop on the Philadelphia's Broad Street Line -- the exit for the football, baseball, and basketball/hockey venues at the corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue -- from Pattison Station to the [The Service Provider for the iPhone] Station.
Robert Emory Pattison served as Philadelphia's City Controller and two terms as Governor of Pennsylvania in the late 19th Century, driven to an early grave at the age of 53 from the debilitating effects of a third statewide campaign for the office in 1902. He ought not be replaced in this City's consciousness by a company no one likes. [Tastykake Station, however? Sure.]
I assume everyone will just ignore this name. Half the people I know still call the ballpark "PacBell" -- I sure as hell don't call it by its new name.
ReplyDeletePattison is the one who ordered state troops to stop the Homestead strike. It's offensive that anything is named after the man.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I second Tastykake Station!
When did he become a vampire?
ReplyDeleteI am somewhat surprised that the kids haven't been drawing N's on all the street signs, the way that highway signs regarding the suburb of Devon, PA always seemed to have the N's painted out during the 1980s.
ReplyDeleteI think this is because graffiti is traditionally a male art . . .
ReplyDeleteWe used to get to the Vet by parking at Fern Rock and taking the Eagles Express Train. Oh, memories.
A gentle reminder: if you want to avoid political discussions about how much better dressed the late 19th Century Chicago heavily German labor-anarchist movement was than those Irish ruffians in Pennsylvania were, let's try to avoid gratuitous political statements. Hurrah for Anarchy!
ReplyDeleteAs someone who lived in Atlanta for a number of years, I am having trouble understanding why anyone should care what such a station is called.
ReplyDeleteThose are some awesome staches.
ReplyDeleteIf it would keep public transit running on a full schedule without cuts, I'd go to US Airways West Oakland Station, take the train through the DirecTV Installation Contractor Tube, and get off at Best Buy Embarcadero plaza.
ReplyDeleteMe. Cookes = weird today.
ReplyDeleteMe. Cookes = weird today.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that because everything in Atlanta is already named for the Coca-Cola Corporation?
ReplyDeleteAmen. I couldn't give a damn what they call this or any other station in the system, as long as it helps SEPTA (a) keep fares affordable for more people (note: already pushing it on affordability in the latest round of fare increases) and (b) continue maintaining and even improving the system.
ReplyDeleteIf it were CORPORATION Pattison Station, that's something I could understand. But these stations are named for cross-streets, and the streets should stay in the title.
ReplyDeleteDisagree w/r/t this station, since it's at the end of the line. You could call it Sports Complex and people would know what you're talking about; there's little reason to associate it with the cross-street.
ReplyDeleteNo. Most things are named "Peachtree" or some variation thereof.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, the main reason for us having a subway system appears to be so that we could spurn actually using the subway system.
Here in Chicago we said, hey thanks for you money [maker of small shiny coveted phones and music players that fit in your pocket] to fix up our station but you sure can't name it. So it will stay North/Clybourn.
ReplyDeleteGratuitous? Hardly.
ReplyDeleteThose mustaches, on the other hand...