West End residents struggle to raise neighborhood’s profile

After the BRA tore it down in 1959, the West End looked like a war zone, Thomas said. But the West End, wiped clean from the city, lived on in the collective memory of those who had lived there.

That is due to the strong loyalty that former residents have for the old neighborhood. It has been nearly fifty years and the children who witnessed the destruction are now in their 50s and 60s, yet they continue to long for the lost neighborhood.

“It has been some four decades now since the last West End building was destroyed… and today just the mere mention of the West End brings a sparkle to your eyes,” wrote J. Almeida in a letter to the West Ender. “The West End was a fantastic place to live and for us who grew up there… the destruction of the West End is a pain that has no medicine.”

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