A new Boston Public Library exhibit, 'City of Neighborhoods,' opens
3/22/14 at the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center. Celebrating the
diversity of the City and the traditions that are reflective of
Boston's great history as well as those unique to the neighborhoods,
the exhibit explores the people and the institutions in each
community. From 10 am to 1pm on Saturday 3/22/14 is an open house
with tours and activities for families.
 'City
of Neighborhoods' Exhibition Opens at the Norman B. Leventhal Map
Center at the Boston Public Library Exhibition tells the story of a
"new" Boston
The
exhibition City of Neighborhoods: The Changing Face of Boston opens at
the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library on
Saturday, March 22, with an open house, tours, and activities for
families from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The exhibition examines the changing
landscape of Boston's neighborhoods; which, during the last decade,
have become younger and more ethnically and racially diverse.
City
of Neighborhoods celebrates the diversity of the City and the
traditions that are reflective of both Boston's great history and those
that are unique to each neighborhood," said Evan Thornberry,
co-curator. "The exhibition explores not only the people, but the
institutions in each community that grow and support the cultural
identities of people from around the world who now call Boston their
home."
Map above "Plan of Orient Heights, Boston, Mass," Whitman, H.T.
Produced by Boston Land Company. Boston, 1894.
maps.bpl.org/id/11137
<http://maps.bpl.org/id/11137>
The opening of the exhibition features activities for children ages
2-12 and include coloring, geography games and crafts, and story time,
all to be held in the Boston Room and the Commonwealth Salon at the
Central Library in Copley Square. Boston-based band Cruzamante will
perform Cape Verdean-inspired music and then lead a show and tell of
their instruments and musical style. Guided tours of the exhibition
take place at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in the Norman B. Leventhal Map
Center.
The 45
photos, objects, and maps, many of which are based on recent census
data, show where newer immigrant groups have settled and how the
streets and features of a neighborhood reflect who live and work there.
Today, more than 18,000 Bostonians were born in China, and nearly 9% of
Boston's total population is of Asian descent. Modern Central Square in
East Boston is home to restaurants and businesses that illustrate
the dynamic mix of cultures and the fact that East Boston's population
is almost 50% foreign-born, the highest percentage of all Boston's
neighborhoods. Those with Dominican Republic heritage make up the
largest foreign-born group in Boston, with the largest communities in
Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, and Dorchester.
The
maps and research featured in the exhibition include the Map Center's
historic map collection and items provided by Boston Redevelopment
Authority, Research Division, Office of Digital Cartography and GIS,
and the Mayor's Office of New Bostonians. Exhibition translations are
available in Haitian, Creole, Spanish, and Chinese. The exhibition is
curated by the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center's Michelle LeBlanc,
Director of Education, and Evan Thornberry, Cartographic Reference
Librarian. The exhibition runs through August 22, 2014, in the Norman
B. Leventhal Map Center inside the Boston Public Library's Central
Library in Copley Square, located at 700 Boylston Street.
.
The Leventhal Map Center is open Monday - Thursday: 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.;
Friday and Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; and Sunday: 1- 5 p.m.
About the NORMAN B. LEVENTHAL MAP CENTER AT THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center is ranked among the top 10 map
centers in the United States for the size of its collection, the
significance of its historic (pre-1900) material, and its advanced
digitization program. It is unique among the major collections because
it also combines these features with exceptional educational and
teacher training programs to advance geographic literacy among students
in grades K-12 and enhance the teaching of subjects from history to
mathematics to language arts.
The
collection is also the second largest in the country located in a
public library, ensuring unlimited access to these invaluable resources
for scholars, educators, and the general public. The Leventhal Map
Center, created in 2004, is a nonprofit organization established as a
public-private partnership between the Boston Public Library and
philanthropist Norman Leventhal.
Its
mission is to use the Boston Public Library's permanent collection of
200,000 maps and 5,000 atlases and a select group of rare maps
collected by Mr. Leventhal for the enjoyment and education of all
through exhibitions, educational programs, and a website that includes
thousands of digitized maps at http://maps.bpl.org/.
The map collection is global in scope, dating from the 15th century to
the present, with a particular strength in maps and atlases of Boston,
Massachusetts, and New England.
About BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Boston Public Library has a Central Library, twenty-four branches, map
center, business library, and a website filled with digital content and
services. Established in 1848, the Boston Public Library has pioneered
public library service in America. It was the first large free
municipal library in the United States, the first public library to
lend books, the first to have a branch library, and the first to have a
children's room.
Each
year, the Boston Public Library hosts thousands of programs and serves
millions of people. All of its programs and exhibitions are free and
open to the public. At the Boston Public Library, books are just the
beginning. To learn more, visit http://www.bpl.org .
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