“On the whole this was a day of quiet enjoyment and satisfaction. I am becoming accustomed to my new room, and the sunlight which dwells on it all day, making it at once cheerful and genial has marvellously contributed to give elasticity to my spirits.”
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MHS Receives AASLH Award for Housing as History Series
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The MHS proudly announces that it is the recipient of an American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) Award of Excellence for the Housing as History program series it produced in the fall of 2019. The AASLH Leadership in History Awards, now in its 75th year, is the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history.
Read more about the AASLH Award.
Last fall, the MHS hosted a four-part series that looked at the history of six housing sites across Boston and examined the conditions for affordable and public housing today, highlighting the challenges—and opportunities—that lie ahead for the city. For years Boston has been a national leader in efforts to bring much needed public and affordable housing to residents. However, the city’s housing legacy is as complicated as it is innovative. Because Boston and the MHS are well known for colonial history, this series was a chance to not only illustrate the huge impact Boston has had on housing policy in America but to also introduce the MHS to a wide array of Boston residents and bring some public housing history to Members of the Society. The programs were made possible by the generosity of Mass Humanities and the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.
Watch the Housing as History programs
.
Image: Columbia Point housing project aerial, Boston, photo by Spencer Grant, ca. 1969–1986.
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Featured Item from the MHS Collection
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This watercolor by Chinese artist Sunqua shows the steamer
Queen
on the Pearl River, in the Thirteen Factories quarter of Canton (now Guangzhou) circa 1855. The steamer was chartered by the U.S. Navy for the protection of United States citizens residing in the port province during the tumultuous era of the Taiping Rebellion and skirmishes with pirates. Lieutenant George Henry Preble served as her captain.
Read more about Sunqua, the
Queen
, and George Henry Preble.
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On
Wednesday, 27 May, at 5:30 PM
, join us for an online talk with Ted Widmer, Macauley Honors College (CUNY), about his new book,
Historian and MHS Trustee Ted Widmer presents his new book,
Lincoln on the Verge
, an account of the Great Emancipator’s two-week journey to Washington as President-Elect and the deeply uncertain and perilous future he faced on his way to take the oath of office. Drawing on new research, including extensive work in the MHS archives, this account reveals Lincoln as a work in progress, showing him on the verge of greatness, foiling an
assassination
attempt, and forging an unbreakable bond with the American people.
Register for the online program
.
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Share Your COVID-19 Experience(s)
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The MHS invites you to contribute your COVID-19 experience(s) to our collection. Record your experiences on a daily, weekly, or intermittent basis. You can contribute your thoughts and images online. Visit our
COVID-19 web display
to learn more and to share your thoughts. Or, you can keep a journal and donate it to the MHS. Contact
collections@masshist.org
for more information.
Thank you to everyone who has shared so far. If you have not yet done so or would like to contribute again, please visit:
www.masshist.org/projects/covid/index.php
.
You can also read what others have shared.
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