Browse Exhibits (1 total)

Boston Chapel was founded during the 1950s in one of the worst neighborhoods in metropolitan Boston. This exhibit contains maps, photos and descriptions of those locations. The title of the exhibit is a quote from a Boston City Police Officer when answering a call at the Dover Street location.

In his Boston Nazarene Chapel personal account archival history, Boston Chapel stalwart Dr. Charles Gailey remembers, “Dover Street was known as one of the worst streets in the city of Boston. It was Boston's 'skid row'."

Dr. Hazel Goodwin writes: "My memories of Boston Chapel include going to homes to bring children to Sunday School. They were crowded and run down apartments..." Amy (Mrs. Robert) Landers writes, "Attending Boston Chapel from 1955-1959 was an integral and valuable experience during my ENC years. My task was to walk to the apartments in the Dover Street area, bring women and children to the Chapel, attend the services, and then take them home. Most of the stairwells were foul-smelling and dark. A few times the male students, including my future husband, voiced their concern for my safety."

According to official Boston Redevelopment Agency police records, "The shaded areas of the map are considered by Captain Mahoney (Boston Police Department) as worst areas in South End for crime and vice."

It was there that Eastern Nazarene College student-selected 26 Dover Street in Boston’s long-notorious South End -- their chosen site for their Boston Chapel ministry.