Era
Organizational category for historical articles

AbolitionAfrican AmericansImmigrant NeighborhoodSchools & EducationSocial & Religious InstitutionsWest BostonWomen Photograph of a woman sitting in profile with her hair tied back.

Eliza Gardner: A Life Dedicated to Activism and Service

Raised in a West End home which served as a refuge for fugitive slaves, Eliza Ann Gardner learned the power of social activism at an early age. She dedicated her long life to the struggle for abolitionism, women’s rights, temperance, and still managed to run a successful business. She contributed significantly to the transformation of Black women’s roles in churches and public culture, and served as an inspiration to millions around the world, including her younger cousin, academic and civil rights leader W.E.B. DuBois.

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BusinessMedicineModernPolitics & Law Photograph of the front of a four story brick building at an intersection with cars parked on the right side. Other

Thomas L. Jenks and the Jenks Building

Thomas L. Banks left New Hampshire for Boston in 1845 to pursue a degree in medicine from Harvard University. He settled in the West End where he built a successful medical practice and forged a career in local and state politics. The site of his successful apothecary business, formerly known as the Jenks Building, still stands today at 132 Portland Street and is noted as one of the more architecturally unique historic buildings in the Bulfinch Triangle.

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BusinessImmigrant Neighborhood Photograph of a multi-story brick factory building with a facade covered in windows.

The West End’s “Bakery with a Thousand Windows”

The Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company (previously Austin Biscuit Company, and later Sunshine Biscuit) opened its “bakery with a thousand windows” in the West End in the early 1900s. The company’s location on Causeway Street was an ideal spot to do business in Boston. Workers at the Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company formed a mutual aid association and formed close relationships through both work and play.

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City PlanningModernNeighborhood LifeNew BostonNew FieldsUrban RenewalWest Boston

The Secrets of Ridgeway Lane

Easily missed as one trundles down Cambridge Street or behind the golden dome of the Massachusetts State House, Ridgeway Lane in the historic West End is one of Boston’s longest and narrowest streets. Often mistaken for a simple alley, it has served ropewalk workers, residents, Suffolk University students, and the occasional criminal on the run for over 250 years. As one walks the length of this dark road, surrounded by brick on both sides and heavy paving stones below, it is hard to imagine much life here. Yet, hidden, urban pathways like Ridgeway Lane hold many stories worth telling.

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AbolitionAfrican AmericansImmigrant NeighborhoodNeighborhood LifeSchools & EducationSocial & Religious InstitutionsWest BostonWomen photograph of the title page of The Memoir of James Jackson by Susan Paul, published by James Loring of Boston in 1835

Susan Paul: Abolitionist, Educator and Author

Susan Paul (1809 -1841) worked as an abolitionist, educator, and author from the north slope of Beacon Hill in the West End. She fought against slavery in every aspect of her professional life through her education of African American students, the inspirational music performed by her choir, and her landmark work, The Memoir of James Jackson, the earliest known prose narrative and biography by an African American woman in the United States.

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BusinessImmigrant NeighborhoodModernNew BostonTransportation & IndustryWest BostonYankees & Brahmins Photograph of a ten story brick and glass building along a body of water and dock with a sign at the top that says "Converse"

Converse Businesses in the West End

In 2015 Converse Inc. moved its world headquarters to Lovejoy Wharf in the West End. Its 214,000 square foot facility was a major part of an effort to rejuvenate the former industrial area bordering the Charles River and the North End. This was, however, not the first time a business founded by members of the Converse family chose the West End as an advantageous place to set up business.

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BusinessCity PlanningTransportation & IndustryWest Boston Photograph of a row of multi-story brick buildings with a dug out area of earth framed by wooden boards with workmen around it.

The Middlesex Canal: Massachusetts’ First Big Dig

Two hundred years before construction began on the Ted Williams tunnel, businessmen in post-revolution Boston sought to improve upon dirt and gravel paths used to bring inland goods to the growing port city. The result not only helped New England become an economic driver in the early 19th century, but acted as a blueprint for future engineering endeavors in the young United States of America.

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