West End

West End is a residential neighborhood in Boston situated between Cambridge Street and the Charles River. It combines apartment buildings with the Massachusetts General Hospital and commercial spaces that form the core of this urban area.

The neighborhood developed as a densely packed residential area for immigrant families, but urban renewal in the 1950s completely transformed its structure. This major development replaced older buildings with modern construction and fundamentally changed how the area was organized.

Immigrant families from Ireland, Italy, and Eastern Europe once made this neighborhood home and created vibrant communities here. Their traditions shaped the local character through family-run shops, gathering places, and street life that defined the area for generations.

The area connects to four subway lines, making it easy to reach other parts of Boston. The streets are walkable and well-organized, so visitors can move around on foot without difficulty.

The tenement building at 42 Lomasney Way survived from before the urban renewal period and remains as a rare physical reminder. This structure stands as a connection to how people lived in the neighborhood decades earlier.