Era: Immigrant Neighborhood (~1880-1960)
Immigration, first, second, and third-generation Americans, Settlement Houses, Irish politics, etc.
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.
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.
Dr. Tony Minichiello was a dentist who turned a love of jazz into a specialty – operating on jazz musicians.
Annie Londonderry was a Latvian Jewish immigrant who became the first woman to bike around the world, and the first internationally recognized female athletic star.
Joseph Levine grew up in a Russian Jewish immigrant family in the West End, and became one of the most successful movie producers and distributors in the United States during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.
Kittie Knox was a mixed-race cyclist who used her skills as a seamstress and cyclist to challenge gender and racial perceptions taking over the League of American Wheelman in the 1890’s.
The West End was a backdrop of national history, in addition to local memory. President John F. Kennedy’s life as a veteran and public servant intersected with the West End community in subtle yet significant ways.
