Why shrink from notion of putting our names in lights?

What would the Prudential Building be without the word “Prudential’’ on top? Didn’t Bostonians seek to make the Citgo sign a landmark?

The fact is, we need the signs. Boston Consulting Group says Kendall Square in Cambridge is the densest hub of innovation in the world — four times more than Palo Alto, Calif. Yet, while a drive down US Highway 101 past Palo Alto tells the story of a global capital of technology, a drive through Kendall Square says nothing. We need to do a better job presenting ourselves as a place to build global businesses.

Susan Hockfield, president of MIT, said recently that we need to turn our buildings inside out. After Google finally got a tiny street-level sign, the Globe’s Scott Kirsner poked fun a different way in a March column: “Why did it have to be a secret that this unassuming brick office building is home to the Cambridge offices of Google, a search engine you might have heard of?’’

In true Puritan style, we hide our best assets. Does this make sense?

Timothy Rowe
CEO
Cambridge Innovation Center
Cambridge