An Introduction

The front of the West End Museum

The West End Museum is a palimpsest of cultural history, particularly with regards to the mass immigration that occurred in Boston’s West End throughout the late 19^th and early 20^th Centuries and the imprint these communities left behind. As Sennett implies, through his description of Arendt’s notion of the public realm, the West End can be seen as more than just a ‘mosaic of local communities’[1], but instead, a representation of a vivid, booming neighbourhood.  

A small sign indicates the existence of the newly formed West End Museum.

In retrospect, this ideal neighbourhood community seemed even more endearing than it perhaps actually was; a consequence of nostalgia surrounding the old neighbourhood since Urban Renewal projects saw the old West End demolished. These effects draw upon Arendt’s ideas, as summarized by Sennett, since the existence of a ‘vibrant, dense center’[2], filled with immigrant families from various international locations, allowed for a real sense of community to thrive in the West End.

The entrance to the Museum is understated, and is tucked away in the midst of the now-bustling West End.

Once Urban Renewal occurred, during the 1950s and 60s, it appears that the dense mass in the centre of the city that Sennett interprets as Arendt’s understanding of the public realm, also disappeared, and with it, the diversity of the community was lost. In taking the ideas of Arendt, through Sennett’s interpretation, it is fascinating to examine the West End, through the West End Museum, as a palimpsest of cultural activity over the last century, and pay tribute to what is now referred to as the ‘Lost Neighbourhood’[3].