Former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s family has chosen the Boston University Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center to organize and house the official Thomas Menino Archive, the family announced Tuesday at a press conference.
Approximately 20 BU administrators were present for the official announcement at BU’s Initiative on Cities on Bay State Road, where Menino was a founding co-director until his death, one year ago on Friday.
“Even if Tom Menino had not joined Boston University as a faculty member, we still would be here today saying that we were privileged to honor him,” BU President Robert Brown said at the beginning on the conference. “And as an institution, to have enjoyed a great working relationship with him, during his blessedly long period as mayor, a relationship that translated into tangible and endearing achievements that benefited Boston and Boston University.”
According to the archive’s website, the collection consists of photographs, digital manuscripts and videos. The archive “will grow to include more physical and digital material that will be a rich resource for students of urban studies, politics, and of course, of the life, family and career of Boston’s extraordinary ‘Mayor for Life,’ Thomas M. Menino,” the website states.
Angela Menino, Thomas Menino’s wife, said all the pictures in the archive are special, reflecting wonderful times she enjoyed with her husband.
“Right now we’re going through the process of going through these things and at some point we’ll see a lot of those items,” she said. “It’s hard to let go of certain things but it’s there and I think it’s important that people see this collection of all of the things that he did for so many years, not just during his 20 years as mayor but the things that he did even as a city councilor and before that. It will be on display for people to see and that’s important.”
As of now, Menino’s archives will be available online. Eventually, the physical archives will be publicly available at the HGARC for students to go to for research and pleasure, BU spokesperson Tom Testa said after the press conference.
Vita Paladino, director of the HGARC, said the archive will work fluidly and collectively.
“[The archive] will continue to grow and I can tell you that as the press release [about the archive] went out, I’ve already been contacted today by people who have photographs and they have certain items they would like to add to the archive so it may become a city archive and it’s almost a communal archive,” Paladino said.
Brown said Menino was a visionary whose work focused on improving the lives of Bostonians.
“[Menino] came to Boston University to establish the Initiative on Cities to help others learn how to be an urban mechanic, how to plan and govern great urban centers in the world,” Brown said. “We’re proud and delighted that we will become the caretakers and curators of Tom Menino’s archives so that new generations of scholars and students can learn about his exceptional legacy.”
IOC Executive Director Katharine Lusk said Menino was actively involved at BU on a daily basis, so it is fitting for his archives to be housed at the university.
“Immediately after he stepped down from office he only took one week off of work before he showed up at BU to start working,” she said afterwards. “I think he was really committed to BU because he knew that BU and President Brown [are] really committed to the city. I think he knew he could do something different. There are a lot of urban research centers at universities but we are very fortunate in that we get to work with the whole university.”
Following the conference, members of the press and administration went to the second floor of the IOC building to Menino’s old office overlooking the Charles River. His office housed some of Menino’s personal possessions such as his famous “No Whining” desk sign, which he also had sign on his desk as mayor. Family portraits, several drawings by his grandchildren and clippings of his news coverage were laid on his desks.
“My husband dedicated his life to the people of our city and it is my hope that others will learn, research and strive for a better tomorrow to the lessons and materials that will be available here at Boston University,” Angela Menino said. “Boston University and the Initiative on Cities were an important part of Tommy’s life … He was able to share his lifetime of experience and knowledge with others from around the country and the world.”
