Facebook named its new Cambridge office conference rooms after ‘Sweet Caroline’ lyrics
"Buh Buh Buh."
Facebook is expanding its presence in the Boston area, and its new office conference rooms are “so good, so good, so good.”
Or at least that’s the name of one of them.
BUH BUH BUH.
GOOD TIMES NEVER SEEMED SO GOOD.
SO GOOD. SO GOOD. SO GOOD.
I’D BE INCLINED.
BAH BAH BAH.
TO BELIEVE THEY NEVER WOULD.
8TH INNING AT FENWAY.
Facebook Boston’s new 130,000-square-foot office has conference rooms named after the lyrics to Sweet Caroline.
— Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS) January 9, 2019
Yes, a row of rooms in the company’s new Cambridge office near Kendall Square are named in tribute to the love-it-or-hate-it Fenway Park rendition of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” Facebook spokesman Tom Parnell confirmed Wednesday.
The social media giant announced the opening of its new 100 Binney St. office on Wednesday, amid plans to grow its local team to more than 600 employees. And this is what happens when you let the employees name the conference rooms.
In what has become a “long-standing tradition” at the company, Facebook had its current staff of more than 200 employees come up with the names and then vote on their favorites, according to Parnell.
“Based on votes, we pulled together the most popular and they’re now proudly displayed throughout the new office,” he said.
Just make sure not to get the “Buh Buh Buh” and “Bah Bah Bah” rooms confused.
Facebook provided tours of the new 130,000-square-foot, open-concept office space to media outlets and other guests this week. The locally inspired room names aren’t the only Very Boston™ feature.
Among the dozens of other conference rooms are names referring to the colloquial pronunciations of local Massachusetts cities (Billrickah, Glawstah, Wusstah), the Boston Marathon (Left On Boylston, Heartbreak Hill), MBTA delays (Signal Problems, Disabled Train), local breweries, popular food spots (Bagelsaurus, Dunkin’), and famous local leaders and celebrities.
The three-story office includes a Cheers-inspired bar, locally designed art, and footpaths on each floor for walking meetings and tours. One of the paths is designed to look like the brick inlays of Boston’s Freedom Trail. Another is measured in Smoots, the unit created by MIT students to measure the Harvard Bridge. And a third presents a diagram of the Red Line, which Parnell says harkens back to Facebook’s “Cambridge roots,” referring to founder Mark Zuckerberg’s creation of the platform while attending Harvard in 2004.
The Freedom Trail footpath painted on the floor around the office.
The office cafe also serves a variety of local Boston cuisine on a daily basis, such as steamed clams and chowder.
In addition to its Menlo Park, California headquarters, Facebook also has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., as well as more than 40 international offices.
It’s not uncommon for tech companies to employ some rather creative conference room names. And while Facebook’s workplace culture has come under recent scrutiny, Parnell says the naming of the rooms is a morale-boosting way to involve employees.
“We want employees to be a part of the process and ensure their voice is heard,” he said. “It’s a great way to inject creativity and a personal touch into each space.”
Here’s the full list of conference room names at Facebook’s new offices:
Hardware Lab
Library
Smuggler’s Cover (Secret Room)
P Versus NP
Hodge Conjecture
Riemann Hypothesis
Yang-Mills Existence
Navier-Stokes Existence & Smoothness
Macintosh
Autumn Crisp
Cortland
Spitzenberg
Lemonstah
Billrickah
Peebidy
Woobuhn
Glawstah
Wusstah
Flannel Friday
Sushi Tuesday
Boston Strong
Marathon Monday
Right On Hereford
Left On Boylston
Wellesley Scream Tunnel
Heartbreak Hill
Signal Problems
Disabled Train
Ongoing Track Work
Fire On The Tracks
Mechanical Problem
Keytar Jam Session
Traffic Up Ahead
The Third Rail Shorts When It Floods
Dirty Water
Sox Vs. Yankees
Where Everybody Knows Your Name
Night Shift
Downeast
Jack’s Abby
Lamplighter
Magic Hat
Sam Adams
Harpoon
Shy Guy Falls
Peach Beach
Moo Moo Farm
Toad’s Turnpike
Boston Roof Deck
Hack Shack
Toscanini’s
Top of the Hub
Bagelsaurus
Dunkin’
It Builds Character
Attack of the Snowgoons
Calvinball
The Noodle Incident
Spaceman Spiff
Neptune Oyster
Mike’s Pastry
JP Licks
Bobbi Gibb
Bessie Stringfield
Melnea Cass
Quiet Room
Lucy Stone
Isabella Stewart Gardner
Angelina Grimke
Phillis Wheatley
Maria Mitchell
Amy Poehler
Aly Raisman
Commonwealth
