Winter Newsletter 2024

Hello Friends of the WEM – Thank you so much for continuing to be engaged with the Museum this year. Despite being closed, this has been a very good year for the Museum, very much because of the support of people like you, who read Weeklies, attended events, and donated to ensure that the West End’s story can continue to be told. With your help, we held 27 events for over 500 visitors in 2023, raised enough to complete phase 1 reconstruction, began partnerships with K-12 and colleges educators, brought on new staff, and designed a fantastic new permanent exhibit from scratch. None of it would have been possible without your ongoing support, and we hope you will continue to do so in 2024 as (with an open Museum) there is potential to do so much more.  

 

I look forward to welcoming you all back into The West End Museum next year, and hope you’ve been having a wonderful holiday season.

 

Best wishes,

Sebastian Belfanti, CEO

Once a uniquely diverse neighborhood, the West End still unites Boston and beyond, as is perhaps best exemplified through North Station, and its predecessor, Union Station. Union Station was designed to facilitate connections across multiple train lines and unite travelers from near and far.

With grand archways and columns, North Union Station was made from hundreds, if not thousands, of individual parts – from huge blocks of granite, to layers upon layers of brick, to acres of trees compounded into the landfill supporting the station. So, too, is the history of the West End built from thousands, if not millions, of stories – your stories – now united in The West End Museum.

In 2004, a group of former West Enders founded The West End Museum to tell the story of this diverse and resilient community. Starting with nothing but an empty storefront, the support of people like you has helped build the Museum into what it is today. Now, as we rebuild, we need your help to reach a ReUnion.

When the Museum flooded in January 2022, hundreds of people donated to help us keep the Museum and plan a return. As those plans move forward, we need your help to bring them to completion.

We’re almost there – but we need your help.

Your financial contribution – of any size – will help us meet our goal to welcome back visitors in March 2024.

Help us start this next chapter for the West End and build a story of actual renewal, bringing new learning, new connections and community, and a new home for the West End’s legacy.

So far, over a little over $1,000,000 dollars have been contributed to help the Museum rebuild, as represented by the filled in portions of the Union Station blueprint above. We’ve already come a long way, but finishing the grand archway is up to you.

Let’s make this ReUnion together – story by story, brick by brick.

Thank you to all who came to this year’s West End Heritage Honoree Night! It was inspiring to see the room full of people who care so deeply about the West End, and to be able to celebrate our four Honorees: 

– Richie Hartnett, the first President of The West End Museum;

– Claudia and Stephen Edgell, who took almost 2,000 photographs of the neighborhood, before, during, and after the demolition;

– Cathleen Griffin, the founder of WE Tree Boston.

 

It was great to see so many people catching up, having fun, and reflecting on their own memories of the West End. We are already looking forward to next year’s Honoree Night! Please find below photographs from the event, taken by Marianne Salza.

Things are moving along at a good pace as we sit about 3 months from our target reopening date of March 15, and things remain on schedule. We passed our rough inspections in December, and are now moving into walling things up and doing the finish work that will make the new Museum pop! Things like display cases, cabinetry, and doors are all in production or pre-production, and exhibit design continues at a good pace. 

While the windows are now covered to protect them from this (very dusty) phase of construction, those of you who pass by the Museum can now see all the new exterior-facing signage, which was installed just over a week ago. There’s still plenty to do, but it has been a lot of fun to move into this part of the construction process and to start getting a sense for what the new space will look like in real life. If you have a chance to walk by and check out the signs for yourself, we certainly encourage you to do so!

A History of Boston With Daniel Dain

January 25, 2024, 6 PM — Join The West End Museum for an author talk with Dan Dain as he walks us through his new book, A History of Boston. We’ll learn about how certain policies have caused urban success and failure throughout Boston’s history, and how the West End neighborhood has been impacted by these cycles. Dan will talk about this history and its implications for Boston’s future. There will be time at the end for a Q&A session.

 

Boston Trivia Night

January 31, 2024, 6:30 PM — We will be holding our next Trivia Night on January 31st. Join us for a night of brain-teasing history questions and friendly competition!

 

Unveiling the MGH Archives

February 7, 2024, 6 PM — Step into the captivating world of medical history with Lucy Ross, Archivist of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Delving into the archives, which hold the official records of the hospital dating back to its beginnings, we will explore the ghastly and charming quirks of medical history. Materials held in the archives span from the Ether Collection, to 19th-century surgical case records, to an 1849 ticket to a chemistry lecture by Dr. John Webster (of the infamous Parkman-Webster murder case). There will be time at the end for an archival show-and-tell and any questions.

 

African American History in the West End: Resistance & Redlining

February 17, 2024, 11 AM — Join the West End Museum and the Afrimerican Academy for a walking tour and lecture on African American history in the West End neighborhood.