Columbia to JFK U Mass

The station still has signs that say Columbia, I believe. The red part of the signs say JFK/UMass, and the white part of the signs say Columbia. Stations with similar signs include Government Center (Scollay Square), and Kendall (MIT).

Were the actual station signs changed to JFK/U Mass in the early 80s or did the T internally refer to it as JFK/U Mass?

redline43 wrote:The station still has signs that say Columbia, I believe. The red part of the signs say JFK/UMass, and the white part of the signs say Columbia. Stations with similar signs include Government Center (Scollay Square), and Kendall (MIT).

Other Examples

Red Line:
Davis (Tufts Univ.)
Downtown Crossing (Washington)

Orange Line:
New England Medical Center (South Cove)
Chinatown (Essex)

Green Line:
Arlington (Park Plaza)
Boylston (Theater District)

Blue Line:
Gov't Center (At Scollay Square)
Suffolk Downs (Belle Isle Marsh)

That's what they should do with Hynes Covention Ctr. Put Massachusetts Ave on the green part of it and Newbury St on the white part of the sign. Even show it in the system as Massachusetts Ave/Newbury St.

rhodiecub2 wrote:That's what they should do with Hynes Covention Ctr. Put Massachusetts Ave on the green part of it and Newbury St on the white part of the sign. Even show it in the system as Massachusetts Ave/Newbury St.

I disagree, I would reverse it if anything. IMHO the station should be called Newbury. Massachusetts Ave is already the name of an exisiting orange line station, and confused riders might think they can catch the orange line there or something like that.

Was Columbia station remolded to what it looks like today when it became JFK/U Mass?

apodino wrote: Massachusetts Ave is already the name of an exisiting orange line station, and confused riders might think they can catch the orange line there or something like that.

For better or worse, MBTA policy since the late 1960s has been "one name per station, one station per name". The policy works well and I don't see a good reason to change it now.

rhodiecub2 wrote:Was Columbia station remolded to what it looks like today when it became JFK/U Mass?

No. The station was renamed in 1982, but the Braintree side of the station opened in 1988.

They should rename Massachusetts Ave on the Orange Line 'Symphony', and build a connector between the two. Then they could name Hynes 'Massachuessets Ave/Newbury Street'.

I think it would've made more sense to have kept the station name as Columbia rather than rename it to JFK/UMASS. Only reason why I say this is because the JFK Library and U Mass are really not that close to the station, you have to take a shuttle to get there.

Has anyone any pictures of the station when it had its original signage (Camb. Seven, that is)? I've been on the lookout all-over and still have yet to see any clear shots.