is a website that celebrates and explores Massachusetts Cultural and Social History. Our main – but not sole – focus is telling stories about Massachusetts in the latter half of the 20th Century.
 
Subject- and topic-wise, we will always give extra love and attention to stories from lesser-known people, organizations and institutions. We always root for the underdog.
 
ABOUT THE NAME:
 
Mass
Massachusetts. It also signifies that we want to reach as many people as possible with these stories.
 
Cult
Culture / Cultural. It also signifies that we are devoted to and obsessed with these people, places and stories.
 
617
The area code for present day Boston proper. And, at one point, for a much wider swath of the state.
 
Mass Cult 617 will strive to be a central point on the Massachusetts Cultural History wheel. Over our archival travels we have consistently noticed that many archives, archivists, historians and other cultural movers-and-shakers don’t know what their peers and neighbors are doing. We hope the site can bridge this gap by becoming a central node in the network of information, images, stories and connections.
 
Most of the material on this site is not owned by, housed or archived by us. We are fortunate to have an amazing network of institutions, historians and “friends who kept a lot of stuff” in the Commonwealth, and we will also shine a light on their work. Our collections are primarily digital.
 
As you navigate the site, you should note that almost all of the topic feature pages here should be considered works-in-progress. We will keep adding to them as we gain access to more information and images. If you helped to create, or are a fan of, the cultural and artistic history of Massachusetts, we want to hear and share your stories.
 
Finally, although we have 617 in our name, but we are not solely focused on Boston. We both live in the Boston area, so it’s an easy and obvious starting point. But we want to – and will – cover a much broader area.
 
Explore, enjoy, spread the word and feel free to let us know what you think!