Tiny Story: Pump Up the Music
We continue our series of tiny stories that uplift the soul.
Preservation is more than saving buildings. People and community add just as much character to a place as cornices and capitals. Few places have more neighborhood character than Engine 40, now better known as Zumix.
The Engine 40 building dates to 1923 and originally serviced the Jeffries Point neighborhood of East Boston and eventually housed the Boston Fire Boat. The site was a firehouse from 1891 until it was decommissioned in 1981. It then sat vacant for decades until foot tapping, guitar strumming, music loving Zumix filled the building with joy. Zumix empowers young people to build successful futures for themselves, transforming lives and community through music, technology, and creative employment.
Zumix continues to run their programming virtually, staying deeply connected to their students and families, and keeping spirits high. Teaching artists help students focus their creative energy to find beauty in chaos and create space for hope. They offer classes in music including songwriting, creative media, instrumental music, and radio. Tune in at 94.9FM. All of their normal programming takes place in their preservation prize-winning, LEED Gold certified, adaptively reused firehouse.
To learn more about Zumix, sign-up for a class, and fill yourself with joy, follow this link.
Continue reading about how a Zumix student’s Dream Came True.
