West End (Boston)

Suffolk County

The West End is a neighborhood ( neighborhood ) of the city of Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. The area lies between the Cambridge Street to the south, the Charles River to the west and northwest, North Washington Street on the north and northeast and the New Sudbury Street on the east. In the south of the district adjacent to Beacon Hill and to the east by the North End. The West End was nationally known in the late 1950s by a large-scale urban renewal project in the course of which a large area Italian and Jewish quarters were torn down to make way for a new development space.

• 2.1 History 2.1.1 The beginnings
• 2.1.2 African American History

• 2.2.1 Political Background
• 2.2.2 implementation
• 2.2.3 tensions and conflicts

• 2.3.1 Irish immigrants
• 2.3.2 Jewish immigrants
• 2.3.3 The West End today

• 3.1 Media

Geography

Geographical Location

The West End is located on the northwestern part of the Shawmut Peninsula. The largest part of the ground was won in the 19th century by Landaufschüttung by a part of Beacon Hill was used to backfill a small bay and a mill pond through which the West End was separated from the districts of Beacon Hill and the North End. The action started in this year, 1807.

Today, the district consists mainly of blocks of apartments in high-rise buildings. It borders between the Longfellow Bridge and Charles River Dam Bridge on the Charles River, is located on the banks of the Charles Bank and Playground, which is separated from the rest of the West End by the Storrow Drive.

History

History

The beginnings

In the late 18th and early 19th century, the coast of Boston and the North End became increasingly overcrowded, so that many of the wealthier residents took advantage of the opportunity to develop today's West End. At the beginning of the designated area was still separated by a small bay of the other districts, the first had to be filled. For this purpose, a portion of the nearby Beacon Hill was removed and used as a filler. The architect Charles Bulfinch was responsible at that time for a large part of the architectural character of Boston and also played a major role in the development of the new West End.

Bulfinch designed at the beginning of his career in the 1790s, especially larger property, many of which were in the West End and other Boston neighborhoods. One of the most famous buildings from this period is the first of three houses that he built for Harrison Gray Otis. This house is one of the few that has survived the renewal process of the district.

Further, designed by Bulfinch in the West End attractions include the 1816-1825 built granite building of the Massachusetts General Hospital (now known as Bulfinch Pavilion ) and the West End Market at the corner of Grove and Cambridge. This 1810 built historic market, however, was demolished as part of urban renewal in the 1950s.

Bulfinch designed many new brick building with gardens, which attracted many of the wealthier residents of Boston. Around 1810, the West End was predominantly inhabited by wealthy businessmen, merchants and lawyers. However, most of them moved after a short time on to Beacon Hill, which the West End became a starting point for new immigrants and African Americans.

Also known at this time was the architect Gridley James Fox Bryant, according to its plans in the West End in 1851, the Charles Street Jail was built. The prison was converted into Liberty Hotel later.

African American History

In the early 19th century, the West End was - as well as the northern part of Beacon Hill - an important center of African-American community in Boston. The most affluent and white residents of the southern part of Beacon Hill were strict advocates of abolitionism, which the African American working class and middle class moved to to move to the West End and the northern Beacon Hill.

After the American Civil War, the West End was still an important center of African-American culture and was at that time one of the few places in the United States, where African-Americans had a political voice. Each year from 1876 to 1895 sat at least one black residents from the West End of Boston City Council.

Urban renewal

In the 1950s, Boston's West End had become a popular residential area with in-work poverty. Individual businesses spread across the district, and most of the inhabitants referred to him as a good place to live. The once heavily overpopulated area was in a process of relaxation (also called " deslumming " hereinafter) and the population had fallen to about 7,500. At the end of the 1950s more than half of the entire district was demolished in order to replace the old building as part of a large-scale project for urban renewal through new residential high-rises.

Political background

The large-scale renovation of the West End has been proposed in the 1930s by Nathan Straus, shortly after the National Housing Act of 1934 was passed as part of the New Deal. The district was considered by wealthy Boston residents who lived in other parts of the city as a slum, the members of the working class, however, who lived in the West End, felt with the district closely linked, so that the plan politically until the 1950s was in not feasible.

Towards the end of the 1940s the mayor James Michael Curley ruled the city with an iron hand. His " policy ignored more or less the groups of WASP and Yankees ." One of his tactics was to give the rich the blame for the plight of the poor. This is regarded as one of the reasons for the onset of migration from Boston and the subsequent decline.

" Curley made ​​many enemies in his long career. He enjoyed verbally attacking the Boston Brahmins, and he Encouraged his Irish Constituents to blame Their woes on the Yankees. Many of the people who had long dominated the city came to feel unwelcome in Boston. The exodus of Protestants to the suburbs did Took place falling on the Curley era left a lasting legacy. "

" Curley made ​​in his long career, many enemies. He took pleasure in attacking the Brahmins of Boston verbally, and he supported his Irish voters is to look for the cause of their problems with the Yankees. Many many years dominating the citizens of the city were increasingly unwelcome ago, and the emigration of the Protestants in the suburbs during the tenure Curley left a lasting legacy. "

Despite this policy, and allegations of corruption in his environment Curley was perceived as a mayor of the people.

With the takeover of management by John Hynes in 1949 he performed a complete U-turn and has tried to bring back prosperity to the city. To this end, he worked with business leaders and founded the Boston Redevelopment Authority ( BRA). This consisted of four persons, who were appointed by the mayor, and from another person who has been determined by the Governor. The BRA should replace the Boston Housing Authority, in which the mayor had no confidence, and was responsible for the large-scale urban renewal of Boston - including the West End - responsible.

Implementation

As part of the plan to create a " New Boston ", several neighborhoods structured the new BRA during the 1950s. So also the South End was transfigured before the West End and Scollay Square was the leveled to build on the Government Center later. A major motivation behind these projects was the intention to replace classified as slum neighborhoods by those who promised increased tax revenue. So were the tax revenue of the West End before renewal per year only estimated 546,000 U.S. dollars.

The renewal of the West End was officially announced on 11 April 1953. Mayor Hynes and the BRA stated that the project would bring many benefits for the district. The narrow streets of the area posed a high fire risk, and many of the buildings corresponded to partially or completely not the then current building and fire codes. Tenants were assured that they would be offered affordable and adequate housing, and many was taken belief that they could return to the West End after completion of the renovation project.

The plan included the complete leveling of 46 acres ( 186,155 m²) large portion of the West End, including 2,700 families had to be relocated. However, on the new plot only 5 residential towers are built with a total of 477 apartments. The new development was aimed clearly at the upper middle class as new residents, that most of the relocated families would be financially can not afford to return.

In October 1957 there were in the BRA held a hearing on this project, which involved at least 200 residents of the West End at the that were for the most part against the implementation of the plans. So they set up with the support of the Joseph Lee Save the West End committee to organize demonstrations and protests against the new development. Most residents, however, were convinced that the project would not be implemented anyway, and therefore remained dormant until it was too late.

The inhabitants were given their eviction notices on 25 April 1958. BRA based on the Housing Act of 1949 to almost completely demolish the West End. Working families have been resettled and the original road braid replaced by blocks. As a result of the renewed district consisted almost exclusively of residential high-rise buildings, shopping centers and car parks.

Tensions and conflicts

The urban regeneration of the West End was violently attacked by critics who criticized the destruction of a part of the city in general and the ruthless implementation of plans in particular. One of the main criticisms was the finding that the district was not perceived by its inhabitants as a slum and there was a strong and stable community there. In fact, the district was called mainly by wealthy, living outside the West End residents as slum, which has always encouraged and supported by the policy. For example, waste collection and street cleaning of the district was quickly set, which led to chaotic conditions on the road. To document this, a photographer of a local newspaper was tasked to go in the quarter to empty a trash can and to create the impression of a neglected part of the city by the resulting image.

Many of the homeowners have not been adequately compensated. Due to existing laws, the city was directly related to the recording of an apartment building on the demolition list the legal owner of the building concerned. This meant that the original house owner made ​​no income because the rental income had to be paid directly to the city. Thus, the former owners were quickly willing to sell their plots at significantly reduced prices.

Was also called into question the justification for the demolition of the West End as a whole. There are suspicions that the district as one of those who had supported the previous mayor, John Hynes was a thorn in the side. The total cost of the project amounted to 15.8 million dollars, not counting the loss of tax revenue for the period in which the area was not populated. It is uncertain whether the increased tax revenue ever sufficient to justify these costs.

The negative effects of urban renewal on former residents of the West End are well documented. Between a quarter and half of the former inhabitants were resettled in households with lower standards, for which they had yet to pay higher rents. About 40 % were suffering from serious long -term consequences of their grief. Many of the former residents share their memories and grief over the West Ender Newsletter. The destruction of the community of the West End led to a strong dislike for further urban renewal in Boston.

Population Development

From the second half of the 19th century to the mid 20th century, Boston's West End has been home to many different groups of immigrants. The wealthy businessmen and members of the middle class were almost completely moved away, but many African Americans remained in the West End reside and contributed to the cultural diversity of the neighborhood at. Among the immigrant groups that contributed to this melting pot, included Armenians, Greeks, Irish, Lebanese, Italians, Jews, Lithuanians, Poles, Russians, Syrians, Ukrainians and many other eastern and southern Europeans. During this time the population reached a high of about 23,000 inhabitants.

As a side effect of this immigration, the religious composition of the West End changed greatly. Protestant churches were closed or moved to other places and were replaced by particular Catholic churches and synagogues. For example, was forced to close due to lack of parishioners who built 1806 Old West Church in 1892. Two years later she was re-opened as a library and a branch of the Boston Public Library.

Irish immigrants

One of the first new immigrant groups who settled in the West End, were the Irish who soon developed a vibrant community. After some time she had very close ties to Martin Lomasney, who was also known as " Mahatma ". Lomasney was the political leader of the Boston Ward 8, and thus responsible for the West End. He was there very well known for taking care of the church in general and the Irish in particular.

Early in his career, he taught the Hendricks Club one in the heart of the district. Initially it was used as a social meeting place, but later transformed to the focal point of political patronage by Lomasney. From there, he began with the establishment of social services and charities and offered poor immigrant shelter. In return him the votes of a majority of the inhabitants of the district were safe.

Jewish immigrants

In the late 19th and early 20th century slowed the Irish immigration. Instead, Jews from Eastern Europe began trying to pull in large numbers in the West End. Most of them wanted by their persecution in Lithuania, Russia and Poland missed. They formed in the district of its own community and around 1910 were already become an integral part of the population. They integrated rapidly and established health centers, libraries, trade unions, loan institutions, orphanages and synagogues. The actor Leonard Nimoy grew up in this community.

The 1919 built and 1985 Vilna Shul closed (now a synagogue museum) and the African American Meeting House (now a church museum ) are the only two of the original seven synagogues, which still today in the West End.

The West End today

Today is the West End from both residential as well as commercial areas. Few commercially used areas were excluded from the urban renewal in the 1950s, including the Massachusetts General Hospital, the Charles Street Jail and the so-called Bulfinch Triangle, a small enclosed from the streets Causeway, Merrimac and Market area. In the northern area of the district are located beyond the Boston North Station and the TD Garden. The character of the West End had before the renewal process, can still be seen in the mixed-use Bulfinch Triangle today. There are some pubs and restaurants who live by traffic to and from the Faneuil Hall or at the TD Garden.

Economy and infrastructure

Media

The magazine West Ender Newsletter was founded in 1985 by Jim Campano, who is still editor and author today. The journal is published quarterly and was sold for the first time in March 1985. Newspaper target groups are mainly former residents of the West End, who were relocated as part of the urban renewal project and could not return back because of higher rents and land prices. A well-known supporter of the newspaper is Leonard Nimoy, who also lived in the West End.