Settlement houses were a valuable resource for immigrant families, providing them educational and health services, and practical support in adapting to their new country. Some settlement houses offered specialized services, such as music school settlements, which gave children and adults an opportunity to escape the daily struggles of city life by engaging with the arts.
Join us for an afternoon of historical storytelling and live jazz music as we delve into the clandestine world of prohibition-era Boston.
A poignant live musical performance that responds to the WEM’s photographic collection.
Charles Bulfinch and his architecture transformed Boston during the Federalist era. Many of his works, such as the Massachusetts State House, still grace the city today. One of his now lost and lesser known buildings, the Parkman Market, served the West End as a public market, a factory, and an early home of St. Joseph’s congregation. Despite its historic significance, it did not survive Urban Renewal.
The Old West Church, standing at 131 Cambridge St, is one of the few surviving buildings of the historic West End. Since its opening in 1806, the building has served as a church, a library, a shelter, and a church again. It continues to hold masses and contribute to the Boston community today.
Arguably the most famous arts facility in the world, Lincoln Center is a present-day, glittering example of American urban renewal gone wrong.
Susan Paul (1809 -1841) worked as an abolitionist, educator, and author from the north slope of Beacon Hill in the West End. She fought against slavery in every aspect of her professional life through her education of African American students, the inspirational music performed by her choir, and her landmark work, The Memoir of James Jackson, the earliest known prose narrative and biography by an African American woman in the United States.
In an age of ongoing Puritan restrictions on theatrical shows, Moses Kimball founded the Boston Museum as a venue which bowed to the cultural aspirations and respectability of mid-19th Century Boston, but at the same time gave the people what they wanted; live performances. Before the renowned Howard Athenaeum (and later the Old Howard) had opened its doors across the square, the Boston Museum attracted large audiences to the Scollay Square area to witness music, drama, and even moral instruction on stage.
