The West End Museum Celebrates Boston's First Big Dig - Middlesex Canal was State's First Super-Highway

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 19, 2011

Boston—On June 4, 2011, the West End Museum, in conjunction with the Middlesex Canal Association, will open a month-long exhibit titled, “The First Big Dig: Celebrating the Middlesex Canal.” The retrospective kicks off with a public opening and reception at 1pm on June 4 at the West End Museum. The exhibit will feature paintings, drawings, films, lectures, walking tours and children’s events highlighting the building of the canal; its function and purpose; and its contribution to the Massachusetts economy.

In 1793, Massachusetts Governor John Hancock authorized the building of the canal between the Merrimack River in East Chelmsford (now Lowell) to the Mystic River in Medford. A private company later extended the 27-mile channel to Boston Harbor. The Middlesex Canal was the greatest public works project of its time and transformed post-Revolutionary Massachusetts. Before the railroad was built along the canal route, the waterway was the state’s first superhighway. The canal enabled the transport of manufactured goods to Boston Harbor for export, produce for families in Boston, and granite from Chelmsford and Tyngsborough for use in the construction of Beacon Hill’s grand mansions and the new Massachusetts General Hospital.

In the 19th Century, the West End developed as Boston’s transportation hub. Today, the West End Museum celebrates that history and embraces Boston’s evolution. A number of free events are planned in conjunction with the exhibit—running from June 4-July 9, 2011—designed to educate, inform and delight families, children and transportation buffs (a listing of events follows).

The Middlesex Canal was the most important transportation development of its time, but its story has rarely been told. The Middlesex Canal Association and the West End Museum wish to thank the exhibit sponsors for helping to bring this celebration to life.

Museum Contact: Duane Lucia, (617) 416-0718, westendmuseum@gmail.com

Media Contact: Matt Ellis, (617) 278-6560, matt@ellisstrategies.com

Middlesex Canal Show Opening
Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 1:00pm – 4:00pm @ West End Museum
Refreshments & Entertainment
FREE

Bulfinch’s Granite Buildings / Museum Talk
Monday, June 6, 2011 at 6:30pm – 7:30pm @ West End Museum
Duane Lucia / Executive Director of the West End Museum
FREE

26-Mile Bike Tour of the Middlesex Canal
Saturday, June 11, 2011 at 9:30am – 4:00pm @ West End Museum to Billerica
Bill Kuttner / Tour Guide
Participants responsible for one-way train fare

Billerica Day: Middlesex Canal Museum Visit
Saturday, June 11, 2011 at 9:30am @ West End Museum to Billerica
Duane Lucia / Coordinator
Participants responsible for round trip train fare

Children’s Workshop with Traci Jansen
Saturday, June 11, 2011 at 12:30pm @ West End Museum
Traci Jansen / Head of Children’s Programming at the Middlesex Canal Museum
Ages 7-11
FREE

“Common Boston: Walking Tour of the West End”
Saturday, June 18, 2011 time TBD @ West End Museum
Jim Campano / West End Museum Founder
FREE

2-Mile Walking Tour of the Charlestown Mill Pond
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 6:30pm @ Sullivan Square Station to West End Museum
Bill Kuttner / Tour Guide
FREE

Museum Talk: “A Longer Journey than I Ever Imagined”
Thursday, June 23, 2011 at 6:30pm @ West End Museum
Tom Raphael / Executive Committee Chairman, Middlesex Canal Commission
FREE

Film: “The Canal that Cut Boston in Two”
Friday, July 1, 2011 at 7:00pm @ West End Museum
Roger Hagopian / Filmmaker
FREE

Lunch Hour Artist Talk: “The Incredible Ditch”
Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at 12:00pm @ West End Museum
Tomas Dahill / Artist
​FREE