About
WECA was founded in the year 2000 by a small group of local residents interested in the community and its way of life. As a 501(c) 4 nonprofit organization, it is comprised of all volunteers and operates according to its bylaws with the expressed purpose of revitalizing and resurrecting a once vibrant and historic neighborhood.
Our Neighborhood
While the official zoning of the West End and its bordering neighborhoods has changed over time and there will always be territorial disputes between proud local residents, this is the currently accepted map of our neighborhood by the US Post Office and the US Census Bureau.
Board & Officers
Sebastian Belfanti
President
Carol Matyka
President - Elect
Mary Lin Farrell
Board
Kevin McNamara
Treasurer
Louise Thomas
Board
Brent Cliveden
Clerk
Susann Benoit
Zoning & Planning
Duane Lucia
Past President
Martha Maguire
Board
Committees
Membership
Recruiting new members and ensuring that current members are informed and heard.
Liaison
Establishing and maintaining contacts with other local organizations and businesses.
Greenspace
Protecting, maintaining and expanding green space areas for all in the West End.
Marketing
Ensuring that WECA’s message is heard in both the local and larger Boston community.
Program
Selects and invites guest speakers to meetings to present viewpoints of interest to our Membership.
Zoning & Planning
Ensuring that development in the West End enhances quality of life without adverse affect to residents.
Election
Overseeing and conducting WECA elections according to our bylaws. Headed by most recent past president.
Volunteer
Recruiting new volunteers and members to help improve WECA and strengthen its position in the community.
The Old West End
To learn more about the history of the West End prior to 1958, visit the West End Museum.
The early settlement of Boston was along the Harbor, but in 1735 the West Parish was created covering the present West End and Beacon Hill neighborhoods. For its first 125 years this was a prosperous middle class neighborhood and was chosen as the site for the Massachusetts General Hospital. The Mill Pond was filled in by 1830 and renamed the Bulfinch Triangle. This area did not become residential, but was devoted to commerce and transportation.
After the Civil War and the influx of immigrants (first Irish, then Jewish, Italian, Polish, Greek and many other groups), the West End became a densely populated, working class neighborhood. Three or four story narrow brick buildings called tenements faced the numerous narrow side streets. The West End was very unusual among Boston neighborhoods in that no ethnic group predominated. The political machine of Martin Lomasney was recognized nationally for its ability to mobilize all eligible voters.
In the 1950’s, the City of Boston decided to raze this working class neighborhood by use of eminent domain and replace it with an upper class population in much taller buildings, so as to increase tax revenues. By 1958 only the churches and a few scattered buildings remained from the old neighborhood. In the period 1965-1985 the many tall residential towers arose, along with the massive government buildings along New Chardon Street. The early years of the 21st Century saw new hotels and condominiums replace commercial buildings in the Bulfinch Triangle.