Boston’s settlement house movement was one of the earliest in the country. Initiated in Boston by Robert A. Woods as Head Resident in 1891, the South End House had many locations in the South End and Lower Roxbury and included women’s and men’s residences. The present South End House is the headquarters of the United South End Settlements. Among the social workers who served at the South End House was Gladys Gusson (1935-88) who counseled families, was a tenant advocate, and ran after-school groups and girls’ clubs. The Children’s Art Centre, incorporated in 1914 and built in 1918, was the first fine arts museum for children in the country. The Centre offers a wide range of art and music for children under the sponsorship of the USES. Another South End institution, the Community Music Center of Boston at the Boston Center for the Arts, was founded in 1910 by Annie Endicott Nourse (1878–1965), a piano teacher.
