Era: Modern (~1995-present)
The West End today
Urban renewal is a process that aims to revitalize and transform urban areas to meet changing societal needs, but it can also have far-reaching consequences, particularly in terms of population and housing dynamics.
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.
The Old West Church, standing at 131 Cambridge St, is one of the few surviving buildings of the historic West End. Since its opening in 1806, the building has served as a church, a library, a shelter, and a church again. It continues to hold masses and contribute to the Boston community today.
Summer in Boston is a celebrated, if too short, season for residents and visitors alike. In recent years, however, more frequent heat waves and extended periods of above-average temperatures have sometimes created dangerous conditions for many city residents…but not all.
James “Jim” Campano dedicated his life to preserving the memory of his beloved West End as a protester, journalist, and historian.
Mel King was one of Boston’s most influential Black political figures, who stood against destructive urban renewal in his native South End. King made a difference as a community organizer and State Representative, and he was the first Black person to reach the general election for Mayor of Boston in 1983. King passed away on March 28, 2023 at the age of 94.
In 1943, Boston resident Louis Stern wrote a letter to the editor of the Boston Globe, proposing that the West End be razed to build a new airport, conveniently located downtown. This idea was never seriously considered, though the East Boston Airport (Logan Airport) has its own controversial history of urban renewal.
Thomas L. Banks left New Hampshire for Boston in 1845 to pursue a degree in medicine from Harvard University. He settled in the West End where he built a successful medical practice and forged a career in local and state politics. The site of his successful apothecary business, formerly known as the Jenks Building, still stands today at 132 Portland Street and is noted as one of the more architecturally unique historic buildings in the Bulfinch Triangle.
