City PlanningNew BostonUrban Renewal Garden apartment proposal, from the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s “Urban Renewal in Mattapan,” 1962 (Boston Public Library).

The Mattapan Project: Urban Renewal That Never Happened

The Mattapan Project was first mentioned by the Boston Housing Authority in 1952 and later by the Boston Redevelopment Authority in 1962 as a possible urban renewal project. Despite the preliminary planning funding being granted in 1963 and the urban renewal application prepared in 1964, the project was dropped by the City of Boston. The delays in the Mattapan Project’s site development and the eventual abandonment of the plan helps to demonstrate the changes in public opinion on urban renewal projects of the time.

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City PlanningImmigrant NeighborhoodPolitics & Law Photograph showing a two story brick building with two garage doors next to a sign stating "Sewer Dept. District 8".

Mass General Hospital and a Controversial West End Land Sale in 1931

In 1931, Mayor James Michael Curley planned to sell 50,000 square feet of city land, on North Grove Street in the West End, to Massachusetts General Hospital. Because this land was used by the Public Works Department for sanitation in the West End, residents – and city councilor John I. Fitzgerald – strongly opposed the sale. Fitzgerald, associated with West End boss Martin Lomasney, successfully advocated for the proceeds of the sale to be allocated for continued sanitation services in the West End.

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City PlanningNeighborhood LifeNew BostonUrban Renewal Photograph of a city block of three story brick buildings with cars parked along the curb

Minot Street

The Lost Streets of the West End: Minot Street was one of the dozens of narrow, residential, West End streets razed by redevelopment in the 1950s. While the two street blocks on the northern side of the redevelopment zone were changed profoundly by urban renewal, the site’s rich history represents the constantly shifting geography of the Boston cityscape over the past two centuries.

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BusinessCity PlanningImmigrant NeighborhoodNeighborhood Life Photograph the front and side of a four-story brick building with a cupola. People horse drawn carts can be seen in the street in front.

The Parkman Market

Charles Bulfinch and his architecture transformed Boston during the Federalist era. Many of his works, such as the Massachusetts State House, still grace the city today. One of his now lost and lesser known buildings, the Parkman Market, served the West End as a public market, a factory, and an early home of St. Joseph’s congregation. Despite its historic significance, it did not survive Urban Renewal.

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ModernNeighborhood LifeReports & AnalysisUrban Renewal Photograph of an elderly man sitting with his dog next to a pile of stone and concrete debris.

Urban Renewal and Social Isolation

Urban renewal projects, like that in the the West End, have long promised to revitalize aging urban areas, create economic opportunities, and improve living conditions for residents. Despite these positive intentions, urban renewal has also resulted in false promises, the physical destruction of neighborhoods, and forced removal of residents. Such negative impacts have resulted in social isolation, lost social connections, and loneliness.

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City PlanningModernUrban Renewal Photograph of the front of a U-shaped, 10-story, brick and masonry building with windows lining each floor. The building is at a city intersection and surrounded by lamp posts.

West End Place

West End Place, the mixed-income condominium complex on Staniford Street, is the home of The West End Museum. West End Place, like the Museum, owes its existence to the dedicated activism of displaced former residents who hoped to right the wrongs of urban renewal.

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