Moving from Park Square to Columbia Point: Records document the search for a permanent UMass Boston campus

Buildings on the newly opened Columbia Point Campus of UMass Boston, circa 1974.

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston is pleased to announce the availability of a set of records that document the search in the late 1960s for a permanent campus site for the University of Massachusetts Boston.

The University of Massachusetts Boston was established in 1964, with its first campus opening in downtown Boston at Park Square. Shortly thereafter, the University began a search for a permanent campus location elsewhere in the Boston area. The search culminated with the establishment of the Columbia Point campus in 1974. These records document the search for a new campus, the various sites that were considered, and the public’s reactions to the move away from Park Square.

Materials span 1966-1969 and include consultants’ reports, maps, memoranda, press releases, correspondence, and statements for and against the establishment of a University of Massachusetts campus at Columbia Point.

View the finding aid for this collection.

These records have been reprocessed and reorganized by Jessica Holden, Special Projects Archivist/Librarian, as part of the University Archives & Special Collections’ activities in preparation for the University’s upcoming 50th anniversary celebrations.


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.

Gaining Political Ground in the Twenty-First Century: Latest issue of the Trotter Review available

President Barack Obama and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick

The most recent issue of the Trotter Review, which focuses on issues of the political representation of African Americans in local, state, and national politics, is now available in ScholarWorks, the institutional repository for scholarship and research at UMass Boston.

The Trotter Review has been published since 1987 by the William Monroe Trotter Institute for the Study of Black Culture at UMass Boston.

The contents of this issue include

To view the full issue, and to explore back issues of this publication (which the ScholarWorks team is in the process of posting to the site), click here.

ScholarWorks is the University of Massachusetts Boston’s online, open access institutional repository for scholarship and research. ScholarWorks serves as a publishing platform, a preservation service, and a showcase for the research and scholarly output of members of the UMass Boston community. ScholarWorks is a service of the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston.