Boarding Houses played an important role in the housing system during the age of industrialization and immigration in Boston and the West End. Along with lodging and rooming houses, they were the only alternative for those in need of affordable and transitional living space in the neighborhood until the arrival of tenements and apartment buildings. Boarding houses also offered women of the period one of the few ways to earn a decent income.
A talk with Daniel Dain about his new book, A History of Boston.
In September 1886, an unofficial boxing match took place on Staniford Street between two young girls, Lizzie and Mollie. The bout involved a makeshift ring, drawn-up terms, a referee, and two-hundred young people in a crowd. When a police officer arrived, the fight quickly ended, but the event made front-page news, and linked the West End to a century-old tradition of women and girls’ boxing in 1700s Britain.
For months, in 1885 and 1886, newspapers reported on a murder conspiracy which rocked the cities of Boston and Baltimore. West End locations played host to both the hatching of the plan to murder Mary (Somerset) Mellen in Baltimore, and the subsequent acts of justice in Boston.
Join the Jewish Book Council, West End Museum, and Boston Public Library for a children’s book reading of The Boston Chocolate Party.
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.
Get ready to embark on a spine-tingling adventure through the spooky past of Boston’s West End. Join us on October 25th for a chilling tour, led by museum staff, as we unveil the hidden mysteries and haunted tales of this historic neighborhood.
