Charlie and the M.T.A. - Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA
Posted by: 
NorStar
N 42° 21.744 W 071° 05.163
19T E 328218 N 4692121
In the song, Charlie and the M.T.A., made famous by the Kingston Trio, Charlie enters Kendall Square Station and become trapped in the subway system because he doesn't have a nickel to exit.
Waymark Code: WM7HVD
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 10/28/2009
Views: 10
The song starts:
"Let me tell you the story
Of a man named Charlie
On a tragic and fateful day
He put ten cents in his pocket,
Kissed his wife and family
Went to ride on the MTA"
The next verse concerns the Kendall/MIT Station:
"Charlie handed in his dime
At the Kendall Square Station
And he changed for Jamaica Plain
When he got there the conductor told him,
"One more nickel."
Charlie could not get off that train."
Chorus:
"Did he ever return,
No he never returned
And his fate is still unlearn'd
He may ride forever
'neath the streets of Boston
He's the man who never returned."
There is a longer description of the history of this song at this waymark:
(
visit link)
This station is a modern subway facility that was rebuilt around the 1980s-1990s. The fare has changed over the years. At one time there was an extra fare that had to be paid at the Braintree station, but, this has been eliminated in the most recent fare restructuring.
The MBTA, heirs of the old M.T.A., embraced the image of Charlie with the release of the plastic Charlie Card, which is a prepaid fare system where you hold the card over a reader to pass through the turnstiles. Too bad Charlie didn't have this!
Source:
MIT - Charlie and the M.T.A.
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visit link)