The West End Museum is a neighborhood museum dedicated to the collection, preservation and interpretation of the history and culture of the West End of Boston.

History

In 1989 the editors of the

West Ender Newsletter ''The West Ender'' is a Boston-based newspaper founded in 1985 by Jim Campano, who still serves as the editor and publisher. History The paper was created for former residents of the West End, who had been displaced by the urban renewal, and o ...

and members of the West End Historical Association developed a preliminary plan for a West End Museum. In 1991 The Old West End Housing Corporation (OWEHC) was formed as a

Community Development Corporation A community development corporation (CDC) is a not-for-profit organization incorporated to provide programs, offer services and engage in other activities that promote and support community development. CDCs usually serve a geographic location su ...

(CDC) with the mission of developing affordable housing for former West End residents who were displaced by the

Urban Renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

of the 1950s when their houses were seized by

eminent domain Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...

. After helping to develop

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...

for former West Enders at West End Place at 150 Staniford Street, Boston, MA 02114, The OWEHC was awarded a commercial space, in 2002, for its offices along with the stipulation that it develop a West End Visitor Center. In 2003 The

Bostonian Society The Bostonian Society was a non-profit organization that was founded in 1881 for the purpose of preventing the Old State House (built in 1713) from being "moved brick by brick"

donated and relocated the “Last Tenement” exhibit to 150 Staniford St. This was an exhibition displayed in the Old State House from October 1992 through April 1994, rendering the plight of the West End neighborhood. The exhibit laid the foundation for a permanent West End Museum. In 2010 Members of the OWEHC along with West End residents formed a committee with the goal to establish a permanent 501(c) 3 non-profit called The West End Museum, Inc.

Exhibition Space

The museum consists of three exhibition areas and an archives. They also host regular programming. The permanent exhibit "The Last Tenement", designed by the Bostonian Society in 1992 and relocated to the West End Museum in 2003, is housed in its own dedicated space. The large exhibition space (1400 sq ft) mounts three revolving shows per year. Shows have included: "The

Middlesex Canal The Middlesex Canal was a 27-mile (44-kilometer) barge canal connecting the Merrimack River with the port of Boston. When operational it was 30 feet (9.1 m) wide, and 3 feet (0.9 m) deep, with 20 locks, each 80 feet (24 m) long and between 10 and ...

: Boston's First Big Dig" and "Leaving the River.” The Members Gallery adjacent to the administrative offices mounts 6 revolving shows each year. Past shows in this space include: West End photographs from the archives of the Bostonian Society, "The Boston Canal", which was an extension of the Middlesex Canal through Causeway Street in the Bulfinch Triangle to

Haymarket Square Haymarket Square may refer to: * Haymarket Square (Boston), in Boston * Haymarket Square (Chicago), in Chicago * Haymarket affair The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or ...

, and "Twenty Five Years of the West Ender Newsletter".

Notes

External links

* {{coord, 42.3647, -71.0642, display=title Museums in Boston History museums in Massachusetts West End, Boston