A blue sign reading West End House Entrance

More Change is Coming to The West End: An Update on the MGH Expansion

By Leigh Blander
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After years of planning and community hearings, three historic West End buildings are scheduled to come down this summer as part of the Massachusetts General Hospital expansion. Several artifacts from those buildings will be moving to The West End Museum.

A blue sign reading West End House Entrance
Facilities Sign on the West End House (The West End Museum)

“We’re finalizing what we’re going to receive,” said Sebastian Belfanti, director of The West End Museum.

Perhaps the most well-known building to be knocked down is the West End House on Blossom Street, the last standing settlement house in the West End.

The West End House opened in 1906, started by a group of 35 children of Eastern European immigrants. For the next 56+ years, immigrant families used it as a hub of activity, with English classes, sports teams and more.  Famous members include actor Leonard Nimoy and John F. Kennedy.  When the West End House moved to Allston in 1962 during urban renewal, MGH bought the building. The hospital used the space as a clinic and offices ever since.

A school building with a sign reading Winchell School in stone. The building is brick, and features a large arch
The Winchell School, now called Ruth Sleeper Hall, in 2022 (The West End Museum)

The Museum will receive several bricks from the building and put some of them on display. Others will be utilized for fundraising efforts.

Next door, the Winchell School will also come down. The school opened in 1885 and educated generations of children (including several members of the WEM Board of Directors) until closing in 1960. MGH purchased the building in 1963 and transformed it into a nursing school. Recently, it has been used as office and maintenance space.

A simple brick building with 2 rows of squared windows and one with arched windows. The cornice is copper with small copper pillars in brick above, surrounding the roof
The West End House in 2022 (The West End Museum)

Museum President Lois Ascher added, “We are happy to have MGH as a community partner and we appreciate all the efforts that have gone into supporting the West End neighborhood and its story.

“The Museum takes very seriously its commitment to sharing the memories and history of this incredible neighborhood,” she continued. “We look forward to adding several important pieces from the Winchell School and the West End House to keep alive these memories from the immigrant era. MGH’s generosity in providing us these items for our collection is deeply appreciated.”

To learn more about the MGH project in the West End, go to https://www.massgeneral.org/news/cambridge-street-project.