Who's William Gray?

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Well the O and the R in ORD have nothing to do with O'Hare. ORD stands for Orchard, O'Hare's original name from the dawn of aviation.
I could be wrong, but I always thought the O & R were for Orchard and the D is from Field.

Logan is not considered a Providence Airport, although many residents do fly out of Logan - including me at times. Then I took Amtrak to/from KIN.

What upsets me is that the New England Patriots are considered a Boston team, and during games they show the Boston skyline. Actually, Foxboro is closer to Providence than to Boston. Also the officials and many of the teams fly into and stay in Providence!
 
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Logan is not considered a Providence Airport, although many residents do fly out of Logan - including me at times. Then I took Amtrak to/from KIN.

What upsets me is that the New England Patriots are considered a Boston team, and during games they show the Boston skyline. Actually, Foxboro is closer to Providence than to Boston. Also the officials and many of the teams fly into and stay in Providence!
That explains why I saw the team’s plane on the tarmac in PVD before boarding my flight:

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Logan is not considered a Providence Airport, although many residents do fly out of Logan - including me at times. Then I took Amtrak to/from KIN.

What upsets me is that the New England Patriots are considered a Boston team, and during games they show the Boston skyline. Actually, Foxboro is closer to Providence than to Boston. Also the officials and many of the teams fly into and stay in Providence!
That explains why I saw the team’s plane on the tarmac in PVD before boarding my flight:
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Two AUers saw their plane at PHL earlier this year. Guessing someone lost a bet to an Eagle Fan.
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The C&NW, a.k.a Northwestern, has been gone for a long time and most of the people in the Chicago area probably either never heard of it or remember it. Times change, guys.
 
Some people thought nobody would ever call Ogilvie Transportation Center "Ogilvie" but lots of people do now, and lots of people don't know what you mean if you say "Northwestern Station".
This is a good point. I lived in the Chicago area for six years, and use Ogilvie many times, but never really knew it had been called anything else.

In Philly, there's another example of a name change. A few years ago, SEPTA sold the naming rights to Market East Station, and it is now called Jefferson Station...named for a local hospital (and therefore indirectly named for Thomas Jefferson.) This is a rare case where the corporately-purchased name is arguably better than the original name (which sounds like it was cooked up around a conference room table in a windowless office).

I lived in Philly four years and frequently used Market East...and would probably still call it that if I lived there. But I suspect "Jefferson Station" is becoming more accepted and used, especially since SEPTA has ditched the Market East name entirely.

Contrast that with 30th Street, where Amtrak still exclusively calls it 30th Street Station on their website and ticketing materials.
 
fairviewroad,

I have to disagree with you on the SEPTA name change--I loved "Market East"--because it was so vague, it always made me think of a farmer's market or an exotic shopping area or travel to an exciting destination--whatever my mind saw at the moment.

But "Jefferson" just makes me think of getting sick and going to a hospital.
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fairviewroad,

I have to disagree with you on the SEPTA name change--I loved "Market East"--because it was so vague, it always made me think of a farmer's market or an exotic shopping area or travel to an exciting destination--whatever my mind saw at the moment.

But "Jefferson" just makes me think of getting sick and going to a hospital.
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Interesting that it made you think of a farmer's market....I still think of the station as the 'Reading Terminal'....but just showing my age....
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Some people thought nobody would ever call Ogilvie Transportation Center "Ogilvie" but lots of people do now, and lots of people don't know what you mean if you say "Northwestern Station".
What about "Millennium Station"? It's still "Randolph Street Station" to me....
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When I grew up in the Albany, NY area and they first built an arena, it was called the Knickerbocker Arena. I always called it The Knick. About 20 years ago, I lived in NV and there was a sporting event on TV from The Pepsi Arena in Albany, NY. I wondered where that was, and thought they built a new arena. I found out the Knick was now called the Pepsi Arena!

And it is now called the Times Union Center.
 
fairviewroad,

I have to disagree with you on the SEPTA name change--I loved "Market East"--because it was so vague, it always made me think of a farmer's market or an exotic shopping area or travel to an exciting destination--whatever my mind saw at the moment.

But "Jefferson" just makes me think of getting sick and going to a hospital.
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Interesting that it made you think of a farmer's market....I still think of the station as the 'Reading Terminal'....but just showing my age....
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Nothing to do with age at all!
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I think it's because farmer's markets are a big deal in the part of NJ where I live, so even across the river, that is what I thought of first.
 
Apparently, a law was passed in 2014 that 30th Street Station in Philadelphia change its name to honor Willam H. Gray III. After 6 years, it is a done deal...not that I'll ever remember to call it anything other than 30th street.

Renaming of 30th Street Station in honor of William H. Gray III becomes official
https://www.phillytrib.com/news/loc...oVXLNgnDyVWBg3zZF6tvKDwW3WD9ZBbHzN6X1Csd_IioM

It's finally official.

30th Street Station is now the William H. Gray III 30th Street Station, Amtrak and the William H. Gray III Memorial Foundation announced in a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

“We are proud to announce our agreement with the William H. Gray III Memorial Foundation to rename Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station and honor the legacy of the late Congressman Gray, who devoted his career to helping the great city of Philadelphia,” Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams said. “Travelers and visitors will now be able to celebrate his life dedicated to public service every time they visit or travel to and from the station through the statue, commemorative plaque, signage that will adorn the station.”
 
From Wikipedia: William Herbert Gray III was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who represented Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district from 1979 to 1991. He also served as chairman of the House Committee on the Budget from 1985 to 1989 and House Majority Whip from 1989 to 1991.
 
It can be a bit random which name changes stick and which ones don't. A name change usually sticks if the old name is stupid or generic, and usually doesn't stick if the new name is stupid or generic. "Ogilvie" was a good name because it's so distinctive, while "North Western" is way too generic.
 
Always has been, always will be to me. Besides, it's between 30th and 31st streets. A lot easier to remember than William Gray... and I met the man.

Now, Jefferson Station confused the h*ll out of me on a recent trip. Stayed at the Marriott, too. Wondered what had happened to Market East. Still miss sights and sounds of the cavernous Reading Terminal.
 
I think this is a good compromise--a nice tribute to a good man, but with "30th Street" still part of the name so people won't get confused.

"Jefferson," on the other hand, is annoying--it's not like the hospital is outside the door.

I only came across Jefferson Hospital once (by chance--I wasn't looking for it) because I was taking a long walk in Philly and just wandering and there it was. Couldn't find it again if you paid me to try, and especially not from the SEPTA station.

(There was a cupcake food truck right outside the hospital--the nice lady in the truck said they roamed around the city but always went to the hospital once a week so that people who were discharged could get a nice treat to eat the minute they walked out the door!:) Probably why I found it--my subconscious was just following the cupcake truck!:rolleyes::D Haven't found the truck again, either, though:(.)
 
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Some named airports take off, so to speak, and some don't. Dulles is almost always Dulles, rarely IAD. Reagan National is a fairly common usage in the DMV, though some people call it DCA or just National. O'Hare is pretty common usage on the East Coast. JFK and Laguardia are both known by the people they are named for.
But Marshall and Hartsfield aren't, they are still BWI and Atlanta.
 
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"Does what it says on the tin."

I won't mind if the city council eventually decides to rename it after someone, just as I won't mind if average everyday people continue to just call it "the airport." The only time location naming annoys or confuses me is when they trade a classy original name for a sloppy corporate rebrand, such as when the "Rose Garden" became the "Moda Center." :confused:
 
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