History Commons^™

Mass. Memories Road Show: Your Place In Massachusetts History, Andrew Elder, Carolyn M. Goldstein, Joanne Riley, University Archives & Special Collections, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Mass. Memories Road Show is an event-based public history project that digitizes family photographs and stories shared by the people of Massachusetts. We work with local communities to organize free public events where everyone is invited to bring photographs to be scanned and included in the archives at UMass Boston.

To date, the Mass. Memories Road Show has digitized more than 5,000 photographs and stories from across the state, creating an educational resource of primary sources for future generations. Over time, we plan to visit each of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts.

Recovering A Sordid Past: Public Memory Of Scollay Square, Joan Ilacqua

Graduate History Conference, UMass Boston

Boston’s own entertainment district, Scollay Square, has been eradicated from Boston’s landscape, both physically and in public memory. In its prime, Scollay Square housed dime museums, theaters, burlesque attractions and its answer to Nathan’s hot dogs, Joe and Nemo’s. Eventually, Scollay Square deteriorated and was targeted for urban renewal. At present, Boston’s Government Center and City Hall Plaza occupy what once was a thriving local attraction. Beyond the plaque dedicated to the Howard Athenaeum, a strong public memory of Scollay Square is not evident in Boston. Following the rise and fall of Scollay Square and analyzing rhetoric used to support …