Life in the West End 1947-1953: the Photography of Jules Aarons

Jules Aarons is an important figure in documenting the West End of Boston before the ravages of Urban Renewal. His photography bears witness to the vibrant, close-knit old neighborhood — the people, their lives and their relationships.

Where city planners saw the West End as a candidate for modernization, Jules Aarons saw something else: “I knew that the dynamics of people whose social relationships involved their neighbors and the streets could be a source of creativity,” he wrote. The photographs in the exhibition capture a West End far removed from today’s — streets with remarkably few cars; political posters; adults chatting outside doorways; children showing off for the camera or so deep in conversation they don’t notice it at all.