William K. Porter was an old West Ender who had made millions in real estate by the early twentieth century. Although Porter and his family moved to Commonwealth Avenue in 1906, he continued to manage a livery stable and all of his properties in the West End.
Elizabeth Peabody was a teacher, publisher, and writer, who introduced kindergarten in the United States on Pickney Street.
George Parkman was a prominent businessman and philanthropist in Boston. He is best known for donating land to Harvard Medical College (now part of MGH) and his murder in that very location.
Samuel Parkman, Esquire, was a prominent businessman in Boston. Samuel commissioned a notable portrait of George Washington, the bell of Old South Church, and a Bulfinch mansion.
John Osborn was a painter, paint dealer, and member of the Ancient & Honorable Artillery Company who purchased the first Harrison Grey Otis House from Otis when he moved to Mt. Vernon Street in 1801.
Leonard Nimoy was an actor best known for his iconic role as Mr. Spock on the original Star Trek. He grew up in the West End, and was trained in performance at the Elizabeth Peabody House.
William Cooper Nell, the United States’ first Black historian, was an intellectual and abolitionist who became an integral part of The Liberator’s staff and advocate for Black rights. He was also the first Black person to serve in the federal civil service, and was deeply involved in desegregating Boston schools.
Elizabeth Mott and her husband, Dr. Richard Dixon Mott, were nineteenth-century British immigrants who established a botanical medicine practice at the Otis House, located in today’s West End.
