Help the Boston Athenaeum identify people in photos from the 1970s ‘Where’s Boston?’ multimedia exhibit

The Boston Athenaeum wants to turn back time, and it needs the help of Bostonians to do it. In 2026 the historic private library in Beacon Hill will launch an exhibition of photographs by Constantine Manos inspired by his participation in the 1976 installation “Where’s Boston?” But beyond just showing old photos, the Athenaeum wants to identify the people in them. That’s where you come in.

The 1976 exhibition “Where’s Boston?” was hosted at the Prudential Center Plaza to commemorate the city during the United States Bicentennial. It included dozens of black and white photos Manos had taken in nearly every section of the city.

“Manos’ photographs from the ‘Where’s Boston?’ project offer a really poignant portrait of Boston in the ’70s, in the midst of so much political and social turmoil that is not unlike what we’re kind of experiencing today,” said curator Lauren Graves.

The crux of the 2026 exhibition, “50 Years Later: Where’s Boston?” will be these black and white photographs. The Athenaeum wants to take it deeper by identifying as many people in the images as possible and hearing their stories. Part of that expansion is an oral history project that will allow exhibition viewers to hear stories from the people in the photographs or from those who were at the same event or lived in the same neighborhood during that time.

“We’re seeing this series of Bostonians through his lens, and I think he brings a lot of nuance and empathy in his work,” said Graves. “But also, we’re not hearing from the perspective of the people in the photographs. We miss that when we see just through his vision.”

Many of the photographs were taken in predominantly Black neighborhoods in Roxbury, Dorchester and the South End. There are two students captured at the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts in Roxbury, a jovial gathering of friends in Franklin Park, a stylish man in a library playing chess and a young, costumed girl preparing to march in a parade.

Through a little sleuthing, the Athenaeum has identified a few subjects already, but hopes to find many more. A few Manos images are printed with this article, and you can see the full collection through the Athenaeum digital collections website (see below). In addition to visiting memory lane, Graves hopes the exhibition is an opportunity to reflect on the five decades that have passed and the next five to come.

“While the photos are a celebration of Boston, they, to me, seem to be a true reflection on the city, and with that, the complications and the problems that were a part of the city,” said Graves. “We wanted to look 50 years later and think about how Boston has changed evolved and also how it hasn’t.”

ON THE WEB

View the Manos collection and see if you recognize anyone at cdm.bostonathenaeum.org/digital/collection/p16057coll59

If you recognize someone in a photograph, please reach out to curator Lauren Graves at [email protected] to tell your story.