West End Apartments for Rent

Small but lively, the West End is a private neighborhood north of Beacon Hill along the Charles River. Wealthy Bostonians began to settle the area in the late 1700s and stately mansions began to grace the landscape. One of those mansions, built by Charles Bulfinch in 1796, was the first Harrison Gray Otis House (in all, Bulfinch built three homes for Otis). The house, now operating as a museum, is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a US National Historic Landmark.

Although many of the houses were torn down during the 1950s and 1960s as part of an urban renewal project, some of the other buildings to survive include the Charles Street Jail, built in 1851 – it is now a hotel. Massachusetts General Hospital is another example of architect Charles Bulfinch’s work; it was built in 1811 and is the third-oldest general hospital in the nation. This hospital, ranked as one of the top five in the country, is a teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School.