From Franklin Mills to Market East: As Electric Factory gets renamed, a look at others that have changed in Philly

Will the Electric Factory by any other name smell as sweet? Only time will tell, but at the moment, concertgoers aren't too happy.

The historic brand associated with more than five decades of Philadelphia music history is gone for good, after the venue at Seventh and Willow Streets in North Philadelphia was sold. A legal technicality is keeping new owner Bowery Presents from keeping the "Electric Factory" name. For now, the venue holds "North Seventh" as a temporary title, with a crowdsourcing contest in place to find a new name.

A popular contest suggestion via Twitter? The Electric Factory.

Immediate reactions to the renaming announcement were less-than-favorable. Here's a look back at some other Philadelphia institutions that have undergone jarring name changes — which have happened for a variety of reasons — and whether they've stuck in Philly's vernacular or not.

It wasn't that long ago that Philly residents crossed the Delaware to catch a show at the Susquehanna Bank Center, renamed in 2015 after the BB&T acquired Susquehanna. Before that, concertgoers may remember the venue by an even older name — the Tweeter Center at the Waterfront, named in 2001, or the Blockbuster Sony Music Entertainment Group, or E-Center, as it was known when it opened in 1995.

The arena that the 76ers and Flyers call home was renamed the Wells Fargo Center from the Wachovia Center in 2010. But you may have known it as the First Union Center. Or CoreStates Center before that, depending on how old you are.

Do you remember the days when you'd catch the Broad Street Line down to AT&T Station? You should. It was only in July that SEPTA sold the naming rights of the BSL's southernmost stop. True Philadelphians may still call it Pattison Avenue Station, the name it held until AT&T stepped in in 2010.

Do you still call it Market East or Jefferson Station? Opened in 1984, SEPTA's commuter hub beneath Center City got its latest name in 2014.

East River Drive, your go-to spot for running and biking, was named Kelly Drive after John B. Kelly Jr. and Sr. in 1985 while West River Drive was renamed after Martin Luther King Jr. in 2005 — both unanimous decisions by the Fairmount Park Commission.

Fun fact: Former Mayor Wilson Goode's administration axed plans to name West River Drive after Frank Palumbo, the late Philadelphia restaurateur, in 1987.

Simon, the property group you may know best for the King of Prussia Mall, renamed the Northeast's Franklin Mills as Philadelphia Mills as part of a multimillion-dollar renovation plan in 2014. 

"Philadelphia Mills is an important part of the city's retail history and we look forward to working with the Mills as this incredible asset is transformed and repositioned for a bright future," Alan Greenberger, then a Philadelphia deputy mayor,  said in a statement at the time.

Doesn't look as if this change stuck too well.

Whether you call it the Loews or PSFS Building, just don't confuse it with Lowe's. Originally opened in 1932 and considered the "world's first skyscraper built in a modernist architectural style," the luxury hotel chain reopened in the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society Building in 2000, preserving the iconic — and landmark protected — signage.

Officially known as John F. Kennedy Plaza when it was dedicated in 1967, the space got its "LOVE Park" nickname after the famed Robert Indiana sculpture was installed there in the 1970s.