New BostonUrban Renewal Image of a map showing the location of buildings and titled Charles River Park

Charles River Park

Charles River Park is an apartment complex built on 45 acres of the historic West End, soon after its demolition. Jerome Rappaport, Sr., attorney for Charles River Park, Inc. and one of the corporation’s early investors, was politically connected to Mayor John Hynes, whose platform for a “New Boston” was the pretext for urban renewal. The vast majority of West Enders could not afford the luxury apartments that replaced their homes. The first tenants of Charles River Park were offered many modern, communal amenities – intended to attract young professionals and suburban families alike.

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City PlanningModernUrban Renewal Photograph of the front of a U-shaped, 10-story, brick and masonry building with windows lining each floor. The building is at a city intersection and surrounded by lamp posts.

West End Place

West End Place, the mixed-income condominium complex on Staniford Street, is the home of The West End Museum. West End Place, like the Museum, owes its existence to the dedicated activism of displaced former residents who hoped to right the wrongs of urban renewal.

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