Summer 2021 Newsletter

I began as Director of The WEM back in February 2020; needless to say, the year and a half since has been different than expected. But different hasn’t been all bad, and while I’m certainly happy to see many of you in person as we begin to get foot traffic and events back, I want to express my deep gratitude to everyone who has chosen to support the Museum during the pandemic. So many of you have read and responded to The WEM Weekly, maintained memberships (or even became members!), and donated, that the Museum is somehow managing to exit the pandemic in about the same place we started it. That’s pretty amazing, considering that this included supporting staff (me) for the first time in the organization’s history! I’d also like to call out State Senator Livingstone and City Councillor Bok, both of whom have facilitated the Museum’s survival and pushed for the Museum’s future over the past year.

Looking forward, it’s exciting to start thinking about new exhibits and programs again. Our wonderful exhibit on the EPH Learned from Our Neighbors, will remain up through July (so you have a little more time to catch it), and then we’ll be bringing back the hugely successful Cycling Legends exhibit that was cut short by COVID-19. In August we’re expecting to be back to normal with programs too, so if there was an event canceled in March or April 2020 that you were looking forward to, keep an eye out for it in the next few months.

In addition, the last year has given us time to develop some new and exciting ideas, and give a few of them substance. You can read a bit about one of them – the renovations – below, and you have been seeing the results of another – the research team – in The WEM Weekly regularly over the past year. We’re looking forward to keeping these up while we bring back the sorts of programs that typified The WEM pre-pandemic, and hope you enjoy everything we’ve got coming!

Thank you,

Sebastian

By Leigh Blander

This summer, The West End Museum is hitting the streets offering several exciting walking tours. First, Museum Dir. Sebastian Belfanti will lead Exploring the West End on Saturday, June 19, 11:00 a.m. The 90-minute tour will feature dozens of historic places and people dating from 1640-2000, and discuss this area affectionately called “the greatest neighborhood this side of heaven.”

The Exploring the West End tour leaves from The West End Museum and costs $5 for Museum members and $8 for the public. Register here.

Next, on Saturday, June 26, The West End Museum Board member and history buff Bill Kuttner will lead a tour along the old Middlesex Canal. The three-mile walk begins at The West End Museum at 9:00 a.m. and ends at Sullivan Square, where people can share a pint at…

By Susan Gilbert

For the first time since its incorporation, The West End Museum is undergoing renovations and a modernization designed to create an even better visitor experience.

The first stage of renovations – installing a replacement floor in the main gallery – is expected to begin this August. New flooring for the permanent exhibit, “The Last Tenement,” will also be added later in the year.

Improvement Goals

The Museum aims to expand the West End’s story, to more fully illustrate and highlight the residents’ lives and experiences. To that end, the Main Exhibit gallery is being reconfigured to create an immersive space where visitors can feel as if they are transported back in time to the old West End neighborhood. Previously unseen pieces from the Museum’s archives will be added to this collection.

Other improvements will include…

The West End Museum Welcomes New Members to its Board of Directors
By Leigh Blander

The West End Museum is pleased to announce four new members to its Board of Directors this year. Each brings lived experience in the West End, along with new areas of expertise. Let’s meet them.

Leland Alexander
Supt., Kaplan Construction

Alexander is a superintendent at Kaplan Construction with experience in practical fieldwork and onsite supervision. He’s also a West End Museum volunteer who has worked on exhibit projects.
“My primary goal as a board member is to provide knowledge as a business owner and construction professional to assist with the strengthening of the West End story,” Alexander said.
“The way the West End was demolished was no mystery to the residents and people of the time, but the story of the West End hasn’t quite ingrained itself into the culture and current Boston landscape. I would like to see an increase in its prominence over the next five years. I would also like to see an update to the spaces, exhibits, and operation of the Museum.”

Charles Kindegran
Partner, Beacon Hill Law Group

Kindegran grew up in the West End, attended the Peter Faneuil School and Boston Latin School, and graduated from Suffolk Law. He lives at West End Place.
“I have fond memories of the Madison Hotel, the old Garden/North Station (and its Iron Horse Saloon), and the remaining tenements on what is now Lomasney Way.
“For me, the West End is my neighborhood and the area where I grew up,” Kindegran continued. “The history — both the good and the bad — is fascinating and it serves as a lesson on urban planning and the pros and cons of urban renewal. The Museum is essential to remembering and preserving history.”

Kindegran also hopes the Museum will start to include more…