African AmericansNeighborhood LifeNew BostonUrban Renewal Photograph of a man wearing glasses and sweater sitting in a chair and gesturing with his hands.

Richie Nedd

Richie Nedd was one of the historic West End’s Black residents and a board member of The West End Museum before his passing in 2011. Nedd’s article for the June 1998 issue of The West Ender, “A Black Man’s View of the West End,” features he and other Black residents coming together in reunions of hundreds of West Enders after urban renewal.

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African AmericansCity PlanningNew BostonUrban Renewal Image from a newspaper articles showing a man with short hair and a beard wearing a jacket. He is standing in a wooded area with a two-story wooden house in the background.

John Moore’s North Slope Story

John Moore understood himself to be a West Ender when he grew up on Grove Street on the north slope of present-day Beacon Hill. The demolition of fifty acres of the historic West End and the preservation of the Beacon Hill Architectural District were simultaneous, influencing popular perceptions of the boundaries not just of Boston’s contemporary neighborhoods, but its historic ones as well.

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City PlanningImmigrant NeighborhoodNeighborhood LifeNew BostonTransportation & IndustryUrban RenewalWar Photograph of a man on left in naval uniform having his left arm tattooed by an older man in glasses. Images of tattoo samples line the walls around them.

The Sailors of Scollay Square

Scollay Square was a popular Boston hot spot for nightlife during the first half of the 20th century, with its vaudeville theaters, bars, and sideshow attractions. Long chided by local politicians for its perceived physical and moral decay, in 1963 the City of Boston completely demolished the area as part of an urban renewal project. Though often viewed within the broader context of the West End’s redevelopment, Scollay Square’s final chapter can also be understood through the lens of World War II, the growth of Boston’s Navy Yard, and the demographic shifts at the war’s conclusion.

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