Event Revisits West End's Demolition Through Eyes of Young Construction Worker: Memories & Photographs Deliver Unique, Personal Perspective

BOSTON, MA—The destruction of Boston’s West End is perhaps the most notable example of urban renewal gone wrong in American history. It is a mournful tale often studied by academics and relived by surviving residents. Now, for the first time at The West End Museum, someone who worked on one of the city’s demolition crews has stepped forward to share his perspective on the story.

Tom Hynes spent the summers of his college years as a laborer on the West End demolition team for Duane Wrecking. On Thursday, December 6, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Museum, Hynes will speak about his memories—the sights, smells, sounds, and feelings he experienced—and share personal photographs he took in the midst of the backbreaking, grueling work. The FREE event will also feature a Q&A session, and light refreshments will be served. (Media note: Download photos here.)

“My first day on the job was torture. I nearly collapsed with the work of pulling scrap iron out of the burning inferno of debris on the site. Tripping over brick bats as the bulldozer pushed the debris into the fire—creating acrid smoke and an occasional muffled explosion,” Hynes said. “I was oblivious to the fact that the debris had been someone’s home just a few months before … I can imagine the old West End would now be a thriving multicultural neighborhood had urban renewal not taken its toll.”

Tom Hynes is co-chairman and chief executive officer of Colliers International’s Boston office, a full-service commercial real estate firm. He is the nephew of former Boston Mayor John B. Hynes, first cousin to the late “dean of Boston TV news” Jack Hynes, and second cousin to developer John Hynes of Boston Global Investors.

​“Rarely do people interested in the history of Boston’s West End get a first-hand account of what the actual deconstruction of the neighborhood was like,” said Tom Palmer, a Museum board member who helped organize the event. “Tom Hynes remembers it well and has photographic evidence from his long days as part of the crew that dismantled the old neighborhood when he was just a young man in college.”

About the West End Museum:
The West End Museum is dedicated to the collection, preservation and interpretation of the history and culture of the West End  neighborhood. The Museum’s permanent exhibit, “The Last Tenement,” highlights the immigrant history of the neighborhood through its decimation under Urban Renewal in 1959; two additional galleries feature rotating exhibits. The Museum is located  near North Station at 150 Staniford St. Suite 7. Hours: Tuesday – Friday 12:00pm – 5:00pm; Saturday 11:00am – 4:00pm. Admission is free.