Watertown, MA. August, 2010

I sometimes laugh when I see how companies force their “brands” into the names of venues or other sponsorship opportunities. I was working for Masterpiece Theatre when it became ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre, opening the floodgates for the rapid commercialization of public broadcasting. A recent “news” item announced that Smucker’s Stars on Ice was coming to the Verizon Center near Boston. Or was it the Bank of America Pavilion? Or the Tweeter Center, which became the Comcast Center? Oh, dear. On a much smaller scale, my beloved local library recently completed a major fundraising effort to pay for a dramatic rehaul and expansion of its main headquarters. One element: the chance to purchase bricks for the front entrance way, memorializing whomever or whatever you’d like. Within reason, of course. A low-rent version of the naming opportunities usually offered only to the bigwigs. Much more utilitarian and much more tasteful, here are some of the results. And all best wishes to Joel Hencken and Geoffrey Fine.