Leon W. Bishop
Leon Bishop lived in the West End in 1902 when he became one of the first amateur radio pioneers in Boston and the United States, broadcasting wireless radio concerts to listeners throughout the city.
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Topic: Art & Literature
Art, fine arts, artists, books, film, authors, actors, other creative forms
Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin and George Ruffin
Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin and George Ruffin were eminent African-American residents of the West End in the late nineteenth-century. Josephine’s newspaper, The Woman’s Era, was published from her home and instrumental to the founding of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) in 1896. She was its first vice president.
Richard H. Recchia
Richard H. Recchia, an Italian-American sculptor, achieved early artistic success growing up in the West End before achieving fame at major exhibitions.
Elizabeth Peabody
Elizabeth Peabody was a teacher, publisher, and writer, who introduced kindergarten in the United States on Pickney Street.
John Osborn
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
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.
Joseph Levine
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.
Sarah Josepha Buell Hale
Sarah Josepha Hale was one of the most successful women in writing and publishing in nineteenth-century America, and her letters and editorials were instrumental to the creation of Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Hale is connected to the old West End because one of her poems, “Mary’s Lamb,” was set to music by Lowell Mason at the Bowdoin School.