University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at the University of Massachusetts Boston is pleased to announce that the film Boston – Harbor/City/Islands (1969), part of the records of the Volunteers and Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands, has been digitized and is available for viewing. This rare footage gives viewers a close-up look of the city and of the Boston Harbor and islands before the cleanup efforts of the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s. The film is by Derek Lamb and Lawrence Rosenblum, and was produced by Stanley Jacks and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969.
The Volunteers and Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands, Inc., is a non-profit environmental and educational organization that encourages public use of the islands, balanced with the need to protect their fragile ecosystem and historic environment. The Friends provides services to the Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area through volunteer programs, public education, and advocacy efforts. The records of the Volunteers and Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands document the organization’s various activities and includes files kept by staff, as well as by-laws, conference planning materials, correspondence, notes, publications, and ephemera.
View the finding aid for the Volunteers and Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands records here. And view the film Boston – Harbor/City/Islands here.
For questions about this collection or to schedule a research appointment, please contact library.archives@umb.edu or 617-287-5469.
University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston collects materials related to the university’s history, as well as materials that reflect the institution’s urban mission and strong support of community service, notably in collections of records of urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, and local history related to neighboring communities.
University Archives & Special Collections welcomes inquiries from individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in donating materials of an archival nature that that fit within our collecting policy. These include manuscripts, documents, organizational archives, collections of photographs, unique publications, and audio and video media. For more information about donating to University Archives & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.
What a gift this film is! Not only do we get to look at Boston and the Harbor Islands but we have a clear reminder the level of pollution that was happening in Boston at the time of the filming. I am glad that someone stepped in and made the change. The Boston Harbor Islands are a wonderful resource.
It sure was worth the effort cleaning up the Harbor, and treating the raw sewage at Deer Island.
Did anyone recognize a completely denuded Gallops Island? or Bumpkin Island ? hardly a tree or bush ! I find it remarkable how wooded they are 48 years later.
And now, deer and coyote are on Peddocks island !