WBUR Oral History Project: Mark Hagopian

Hagopian, Mark (Interviewee)

O'Brien, Joanna Shea (Interviewer)
Girdharry, Kristi (Recordist)
McDonough, Ryan (Contributor)

English

March 14, 2013

Sound recording

Interviews
Oral histories (document genres)

Sound Recording

born digital

Countless lives were affected by the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and their aftermath. The WBUR Oral History Project collects stories from individuals whose lives were immediately and irrevocably changed by these events. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of WBUR, our team of oral historians, and the participation of these interview subjects, Our Marathon has tried to ensure that these stories are not forgotten. We believe that these stories matter, and that they demonstrate the ways historical events transform the lives of the people who lived through them. Oral historians Jayne K. Guberman, Ph.D., and Joanna Shea O'Brien conducted the interviews for this project. Oral History Project Manager Kristi Girdharry, Our Marathon Project Co-Director Jim McGrath, and Community Outreach Lead Joanne DeCaro recorded the interviews and provided research assistance and post-interview processing. McGrath and Our Marathon Audio Technician Ryan McDonough provided sound editing and processing for all of the interviews and clips. Mark Hagopian grew up in Back Bay and is the owner of two independent Boston hotels. His boutique hotel, the Charlesmark, is on Boylston Street right by the finish line, and it is booked a year in advance by marathoners every year. The hotel also hosts parties for runners and guests. In his oral history, Mark discusses his professional background and what led him to hotel ownership, his love of Boston, his personal experience running the Boston Marathon four times, and what marathon day is typically like every year. Mark describes the bomb going off in front of Marathon Sports and how he and the guests reacted, what it looked like, and what they did in the immediate aftermath and the days that followed. He details how long it took for the hotel to be opened again and how he and his managers helped guests locked out of the Charlesmark cope by getting them back into the hotel, rebooking their rooms, or shipping their bags back to them. He discusses the financial impact on his business as well as the impact on his staff. Because the hotel was shut down for nine days, and he was responsible for his staff's salaries during that time, Mark is able to share an important perspective of how Boylston Street businesses were affected by the bombings.

The opinions and statements expressed in interviews and related content featured in the WBUR Oral History Project do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Our Marathon, WBUR, Northeastern University, or any employees or volunteers affiliated with these institutions and projects. Our Marathon and The WBUR Oral History project make no assertions about the veracity of statements made by participants in this project.

The WBUR Oral History Project. Mark Hagopian (Interview Subject), Joanna Shea O'Brien (Oral Historian), Kristi Girdharry (Recorder), Ryan McDonough (Sound Editing and Processing)

Our Marathon The Boston Bombing Digital Archive

Boston Marathon Bombing, Boston, Mass., 2013

Northeastern University Library

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