Kadija Seck
Humphreys Street Studios, Uphams Corner
A Building of Art
Humphreys Street Studios (HSS) is a place where different artists come together to work in different spaces. Creative young artists put their minds to it and do what they love. It was founded in 2002 on Humphreys Street in Dorchester, MA, by Joe Wheelwright and Gneal Widett. When you go to HSS you will get a chance to see all of what the different artists do, and how they work, and maybe you could even buy from them! When you enter Humphreys Street Studios, the first thing you will notice is the art around the inside of the building. You will see unpainted wood on the structure inside the studio. There are different rooms and different equipment that the artists need for work. Your experience will be interesting and fun. The people at HSS are very kind and honest. Andy the blacksmith is one of the artists. He takes blazing hot metal and bends and mashes it to make a piece for a fence. A sculptor named Gillian at HSS also bent and mended metal to make a metal leaf.
In the early twentieth century the Daloz family turned the building into a dry cleaners. A leak of chemicals they used for the dry cleaners went into the soil. It was bad to breathe in, which is why nobody lived there full-time. In 2002 Humphreys Street Studios was founded by Joseph Wheelwright and Gneal Widett. HSS today is where different artists go to work, making new creations with their creative minds. They all pay for their own space and respect each other. In 2019 HSS went up for sale for 3.5 million dollars. The reason they are selling it is because the previous founders sadly passed away. But they have been having a hard time selling HSS due to the soil contamination. Today HSS has up to 40 tenants. These tenants don’t want HSS to get sold because they might get kicked out, or their rent will be raised.
This building is important to its tenants and their customers. People can do what they love and spread it around to have other people love it too. HSS is a local landmark that has been here for many years, and hopefully many more to come. People come and visit and even write articles about HSS. People buy from the different artists and recommend them to their family and friends. This is the reason why Humphreys Street Studios is important to the Boston community.
