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The West End Museum

@thewestendmuseum

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The West End Museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the history and culture of Boston’s West End Neighborhood.

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Kathryn Harris, founder of Boston Sports Tours is back for an unforgettable walking tour of The West End's role in Boston's sports history. Tours begin at Government Center.

Get tickets through the link in our bio.

#TheWestEndMuseum #SportsHistory #Boston #WalkingTours by @thewestendmuseum

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3 hours ago

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

At Phillips Drug, a former West End institution that stood on Cambridge Street near Joy Street you could start your day off with an omelette for only $.60. Adjusted for inflation, that's still less than $10 today!

Interested in learning more about independent businesses that once existed in The West End? Check out our website by clicking on the link in our bio.

Phillips Drug c. 1950s

#TheWestEndMuseum #SmallBusiness #Boston by @thewestendmuseum

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a day ago

Recently, WEM's archives acquired a number of historic maps including this 1962 map adopted by Boston's Zoning Commission. Visible here is the aftermath of the West End and Government Center urban renewal projects.

Want to learn more about how these two swarth of land were demolished? Visit the WEM this week!

#TheWestEndMuseum #Boston #UrbanHistory #UrbanPlanning #HistoricMaps by @thewestendmuseum

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3 days ago

We had a FANTASTIC time at the 2026 Displaced & Descendant West Ender Reunion. Events like this are a testament to the strength and resilience of this community. Donate today to continue to support efforts like this that preserve + share the history of the West End to build a better tomorrow by clicking on the link in our bio.

#TheWestEndMuseum #CharitableGiving #Boston by @thewestendmuseum

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4 days ago

We are thrilled to host our 2026 Displaced & Descendant West Ender Reunion tomorrow to honor and celebrate the legacy of our neighborhood.

We'd like to give a special thank you to the organizations whose donations and discounts made this possible.

Are you connected to those displaced by urban renewal in The West End? Get last minute tickets by clicking on the link in our bio

#Boston #TheWestEndMuseum #UrbanRenewal #Displaced by @thewestendmuseum

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7 days ago

WEM will be closed this Sunday. Visit us today, Saturday, or next week when we will return to regular hours.

#TheWestEndMuseum #Boston #Hours #Museum by @thewestendmuseum

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8 days ago

Meet one of WEM's newest acquisitions - a signed 1952 first edition of Scollay Square by Pearl Schiff (1916-2005)

Boston-based author Pearl Schiff, was the child of immigrants and wrote this while living in Beacon Hill. Her creative process involved countless nights of research and material gathering and the bars and nightclubs of Scollay Square.

Historical works of fiction like this can tell us a lot about how people felt about certain places, people, and things in the past. Click on thie link in our bio to donate today and support WEM's ever-growing archive.

#TheWestEndMuseum #Archives #Boston #ScollaySquare by @thewestendmuseum

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9 days ago

WEM's Little Free Library is in need of more books! Do you have reading material taking up space in your home? Bring them by The West End Museum during our hours or, to our Little Free Library on Thoreau Path whenever.

Email info@thewestendmuseum.org with any questions

C.Bulfinch Warren Library with patients

#TheWestEndMuseum #Boston #LittleFreeLibrary #Books by @thewestendmuseum

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11 days ago

WEM welcomes Sail250's tall ships to Boston!

Did you know that sailing was a popular past time in the West End thanks to the community boat club on The Charles? Founded in 1937, it is the oldest public sailing organization in the U.S.

c. Community Sailing, Joseph Lee (1949), Boston Public Library

#TheWestEndMuseum #SailBoston #Sail250 #Boston #Sailing #LocalHistory #Archives by @thewestendmuseum

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13 days ago

Instead of a peak into our archives, we're featuring an item today on loan from @queerhistoryboston

Donate to the West End Museum today to fuel more exciting partnerships in our special exhibition space + come see Queer History West End to learn more about the significance of the lavender rhino. This exhibition is exclusively sponsored by Mass250 and Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

#TheWestEndMuseum #QueerHistory #Archived #Special Exhibitions by @thewestendmuseum

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14 days ago

Thinking of visiting the beach this weekend? F.O. "Matty" Matthiessen and Russell Cheney did just so in the summer of 1925. Want to learn more about them and other queer individuals important to the West End's LGBTQIA+ history? Check out our exhibition Queer History West End this weekend!

Exhibition made in partnership with Queer History Boston. Exhibition made possible by Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce + Mass250th.

#TheWestEndMsuseum #Boston #QueerHistory #SpecialExhibition by @thewestendmuseum

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15 days ago

LOST & FOUND: HISTORIC BOSTON X WEST END MUSEUM

It was a full house for last night’s book talk at the West End Museum. Jaydie Halperin was a huge help and great fun to work with. Thanks to my friends Joni Lee Catherine Rossi, Beth Carroll-Horrocks, Janet Steins and Lauri-Jo Kotzen for being there. I also made two new ones, including culinary sage Richard Gutman whom I’ve admired from afar. Postcards are dazzling when projected on an entire wall. The image shown here is of Boston’s Scollay Square around 1906. There were laughs, applause, and I may have even recruited a member or two for the New England Postcard Club. Boston’s West End Museum is a gem. Among its holdings are seats from the late, great Boston Garden. Also on display at the West End Museum is a trunk brought to the West End by a Polish immigrant in the late 19th century. Equally compelling: a piece of the facade from the now demolished Hotel Manger next door. The Beatles stayed at the Hotel Manger when they performed at Boston Garden in 1964 and I’m here to tell you I was at that show. By then, it was known as the Hotel Madison.

#westendmuseum
#historicboston
#postcards taken in Boston, Massachusetts by @thewestendmuseum

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16 days ago