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Featured Program

Weston Historical Society Spring Lecture
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Weston Public Library Community Room
Refreshments 7:15 pm; lecture 7:30

Author David Kruh will speak to us on his 2003 documentary, Building Route 128, co-authored with Yanni Tsipis.

Route 128 traces its origins to the late 1920s, when the Massachusetts Department of Public Works cobbled together a makeshift network of existing roads through Boston's suburbs. Between 1947 and 1956, during a statewide push to build new highways, Route 128 was reconstructed as a major regional expressway. The new highway immediately fueled explosive growth in many of the region's once bucolic suburbs. What was once "the road to nowhere" quickly became a major commercial nexus for eastern Massachusetts and a critical link in the region's highway network.

The visionary highway project vigorously promoted by William F. Callahan permanently altered the character of the two dozen towns through which it passed. Building Route 128 vividly documents the highway's construction and its impact on towns such as Waltham, Dedham, Lynnfield, and Gloucester.

Drawing on previously unpublished images from the Massachusetts Department of Public Works and archives from many of the cities and towns affected, Building Route 128 tells the story of a region forever changed by the highway's construction. (Description courtesy Arcadia Publishing).

Featured Exhibit

The Weston Historical Society is featuring Friendly Society photos and memorabilia in current exhibits. The first exhibit covered the years from 1885 through 1950 (December 22, 2009 through January 31, 2010 at the Weston Public Library and February 1, 2010 to March 15, 2010 at Town Hall). The second exhibit will cover 1950 to the present (February 1, 2010 to March 15, 2010 at the library and March 16, 2010 to April 30, 2010 at Town Hall). Click here for more on this exhibit.