A Neighborhood in Transition Exhibit Opening Reception

The West End Museum invites the public to join members at the opening reception of the exhibit A Neighborhood in Transition on January 24, 2014 at 6:30 pm. The exhibit will run through May 10, 2013.

Beginning in 1961, West End resident Charles Frani photographed the ensuing transformation of his former neighborhood into Charles River Park and beyond. The exhibit, A Neighborhood in Transition continues to follow the demolition of an additional thirty acres of residential housing, along with Bowdoin Square and Scollay Square, to make way for the Hurley/Lindemann Building and Government Center.

Frani’s photographs show not only a neighborhood in transition, but a city in transition: the 100-year old Howard Athenaeum succumbing to flames, a skyline with Boston’s tallest building the Custom’s House being eclipsed by the steel framed ‘Pru’ and the downtown class struggle called the ‘New Boston’ rising all around. The exhibit captures images of residents and business owners in the midst of eviction; going about their daily chores, or fleeing their homes, as if nothing out the ordinary is taking place. The photographs resonate of a wartime surrealism!

Pre-registration is required and available at http://thewestendmuseum.org/whats_on/event-registration/