Open Thread: MARTA might rename five train stations. Suggestions?

MARTA is mulling the idea of updating the names of a handful of the system’s train stations in an effort to keep up with the times.

But doing so in an ever-changing Atlanta can be tricky, especially considering the controversy over how to preserve the city’s Civil War relics and the breakneck pace of local development activity.

Potential station names on the chopping block include: Bankhead, Ashby, Civic Center, Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center, and Lakewood/Fort McPherson, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Bailing on Bankhead, a name that commemorates late 19th century Alabama senator and Confederate soldier John Hollis Bankhead, might seem like a no-brainer.

But some Atlantans point to the city’s hip-hop heritage—and its strong ties to the Bankhead neighborhood—as a reason for keeping the iconic moniker, which has come to be considered more a staple of the Westside than a nod to a dead Confederate.

The Ashby stop was also named for a late Confederate, hence its spot on the list.

And then there’s the clunky mouthful that is Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center Station.

Obviously the Georgia Dome was razed and replaced by shiny sibling Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and Philips Arena now goes by State Farm Arena.

Of course, there’s no reason to believe the Georgia World Congress Center or CNN Center will change their names in the near future, but an update could be warranted nonetheless.

Perhaps something with Centennial Yards in the name would be fitting? Or is it too early for that?

And Fort McPherson is now officially known as Fort Mac.

MARTA has teased the idea of renaming stations in recent years, but the Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center and Hamilton E. Holmes stations are the only two that have been updated in the past three decades.

What say you, Atlanta?