The Old Howard Theatre The West End Museum premieres a new exhibit, which runs through February 15, 2020, “The Old Howard Theatre,” in celebration of Boston’s oldest and best-loved playhouse, which stood in the heart of Boston’s Scollay Square just steps from the old West End. The Howard’s origin, glory days, and ultimate demise are recounted through…
The Beginning of the End: The Housing Act of 1949 This exhibit explored the circumstances that led Harry S. Truman to put urban renewal on the national agenda, inadvertently setting in motion the final chapter in the old West End’s story. The Housing Act of 1949, was a re-configured and updated exhibit that examined the…
Before the El Came Down: Photographs by John Woolf In 2004, 92 years after opening, the Causeway Street Elevated Railway and North Station platform were demolished. With the last piece of the giant structure gone, light shone again on the West End’s main thoroughfare. The West End Museum is hosting a new exhibit that recalls the…
Beneath the Wrecking Ball: A West End Landlord Depicting the buildings and architecture of the West End just prior to demolition under urban renewal and conveying the perspective of a property owner, Beneath the Wrecking Ball: A West End Landlord features photographs from a collection donated to the Museum by Ira Tarlin. Ira’s father, Eli, owned and…
The New York Streets: Boston’s First Urban Renewal Project Prior to the demolition of Boston’s old West End, another vibrant, multi-ethnic neighborhood of tenement houses and mom-and-pop shops fell victim to so-called ‘urban renewal.’ The New York Streets: Boston’s First Urban Renewal Project, tells the story of this lost ‘sister’ community. “The New York Streets project…
Public transportation in Boston began with a group of private companies that were eventually consolidated under the West End Street Railway — predecessor of the T.
School Days in the West End Between 1800 and 1975, no fewer than 20 schools called Boston’s West End home. Following urban renewal, the last school in the community—the Peter Faneuil School—closed, and there has not been another public school in the West End or Beacon Hill since. Still, the neighborhood boasts a robust history…
Indelebile ItaliaA photography exhibit by Giselle Valdes The West End Museum hosted a new photography exhibit in its Members’ Gallery that celebrates the beauty and mystery of Italy. Indelebile Italia is part of the Museum’s annual commemoration of Italian Heritage Month in October. Indelebile Italia photographer and curator Giselle Valdes has been exhibiting her work since 1982. Her…
Tide Power in Colonial Boston To fuel mills for producing flour, fabric, lumber and even chocolate, innovators in colonial Boston turned to the power of the tides. Tide Power in Colonial Boston—tells the story of the development and use of tide mills in the city. “For 150 years prior to the industrial revolution, the tides sustained…
Dewey Defeats Truman/The Housing Act of 1949 With the modern-day 24-hour news cycle, it’s hard to believe that we once relied on daily newspapers to deliver word of current events. But so it was in 1948, when one of the most infamous—and totally inaccurate—headlines of the day broke. The West End Museum highlights that headline,…