The state wants to redo the Hurley Building. But how?Boston Globe To some, the Charles F. Hurley Building is a giant concrete tombstone, memorializing a once-vibrant city block buried by urban renewal. For others, it’s a historic treasure, a throwback to a grandiose, monolithic style of architecture. To the Baker administration, the three-plus-acre Hurley property…
West End Holiday Celebrations With the holiday season in full swing, it’s a special time to look at the history of the West End’s rich holiday and religious culture. During and after the Immigrant Era, the West End was home to people of many different ethnicities, nationalities and religions who honored a variety of religious…
Jerry Rappaport was a great philanthropist — and a developer who helped destroy a neighborhoodBoston Globe When he died earlier this month, at 94, Jerry Rappaport was hailed as a great philanthropist who also played a key role in developing a gleaming new Boston. A more complete picture of his legacy can be found at the West End…
Remembering the man who destroyed the West EndUniversal HUB Jerome Rappaport died the other day, and the Globe had a glowing obituary, complete with a quote from the mayor, about his decades of philanthropy and as a builder who helped shape the Boston of today. But as CommonWealth Magazine alerts us, they really glossed over the thing…
An obituary, and a renewed sense of loss over the West EndBoston Globe The headline to Bryan Marquard’s obituary of Jerome Rappaport could not have been more painful (“Civic leader who helped shape Boston: Builder and philanthropist sought to ‘rebuild the city,’ ” Page A1, Dec. 7). With the West End project, Rappaport certainly rebuilt the…
Ghosts in the Museum: The Leverett Street JailBeacon Hill Times The eclectic West End was uniquely known for its Urban Renewal, influential residents, and abolitionists. The culturally diverse neighborhood was home to African, Irish, Eastern European, Italian, Greek, Asian, and Albanian immigrants. It was also infamous for its executions (predominantly of pirates of African or…
West End Museum to Recognize Three 2021 Honorees for Service to the NeighborhoodBeacon Hill Times The West End Museum will host its third annual Heritage Night on Friday, Nov. 12, at 6:30 p.m., honoring three people who have made a deep and meaningful impact on the neighborhood over the decades. This year’s honorees are State…
October 2021 NewsletterA Message from the Director Hello, Since my last message to all of you, a lot has happened at The WEM (including this new branding). Programs have returned, as promised, and it has been wonderful to start seeing many of you around the neighborhood again! I’ve been deeply moved by the continued generosity…
Renovations are Just Part of the Changes at The West End MuseumSusan Gilbert An Effort to Create a Better Experience for Visitors and an Enhanced Examination of this Vital Neighborhood As the West End community continues to grow and evolve over the coming decades, the museum dedicated to telling its story is also undergoing an…
Programming Picks Up at The WEMBy Leigh Blander Like other Boston museums that delayed new programming until after lockdowns had lifted, The WEM has been busy these past few months organizing and launching an eclectic mix of programming—from bicycle roller racing to a spooky reminiscence of one of the West End’s notorious neighborhood jails. As…