After experiencing the museum, Montgomery felt different. My class was silent. Nobody cared to crack any jokes. The air even started to smell different — like rotting garbage, reminiscent of the Southern Magnolia that Billie Holiday sung about decades prior. 

To me, “Swing Time” is one of those places in Boston that makes me forget I’m in a bustling city. To the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, “Swing Time,” a project opened in the beginning...