West End House (Boston, Mass.)

The West End House of Boston was a Boys and Girls Club that provided services and programs to help urban and immigrant youth in the city of Boston to better their own lives through numerous and varied channels. The organization was founded in 1903 by children of Eastern European Jews, most of whom left Europe to escape the pogroms. The group of thirty-five boys named their club the Excelsior Club. The group met in whatever open spaces they could find and worked to enrich their lives through “moral, mental, and physical advancement” and to prepare for a productive and meaningful future.

The club sought aid and assistance from the Jewish Federation of Boston. They were given Mitchell Freiman as a temporary advisor as well as use of a room at the Federation’s premises. In 1906, after seeing a production of Hamlet performed by the club, philanthropist James J. Storrow and his wife Helen funded the club by paying for rent and maintenance for a meeting place and to keep Mitchell Freiman on as a full time director for the newly reformed West End House.

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