Discover the lost history of Urban Renewal in Beacon.
Beacon’s West End Story is a collaborative community project that examines the history of our city's Urban Renewal during the 1960s and 1970s. Urban Renewal was a mid-20th-century federal initiative to revitalize urban areas. These programs had complex and unintended consequences, particularly on marginalized communities. The West End neighborhood, predominantly home to Beacon's Black community, faced disproportionate effects from this initiative.
The Beacon Historical Society, Howland Public Library, I Am Beacon, and The Highlands Current have joined forces to tell the story using historical documents, photographs, news clippings, oral histories, and a series of public programs. We invite you to join us as we explore the multifaceted story of this era and its enduring influence on the Beacon community.
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