Ukrainians of the West End
Far from their country of origin, Ukrainian immigrants and their descendants in the West End maintained connections and advocated for justice in their mother country.
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Topic: Neighborhood Life
Street corner society, urban villagers, peer group society, life in the immigrant era
Joseph Lee, Jr. and the Founding of Community Boating
Joseph Lee, Jr. founded the “Community Boat Club” in 1937 so that West End youth could sail out from the Charles River Esplanade. Community Boating, Inc. was officially incorporated in 1946, and remains the oldest continuously operated public boating organization in the United States.
An Appeal for Children’s Recreation and Community-Led Development in the 1930s West End
Ten-thousand West Enders received a creative New Year’s greeting card demanding improvements in children’s recreational opportunities, from William F. Brophy, a lawyer who worked in the West End, and James Lee, Jr., the son of the “Father of the Playground Movement” in America.
Historic New Year’s Celebrations in the West End
Historic New Year’s Celebrations in the West End The West End was home to many New Year’s celebrations at sites of community for the neighborhood’s Black residents, Polish Catholic residents, and Jewish residents. Like all neighborhoods of Boston, and the entire country, the West End has been home to many distinct celebrations of the new…
Harry “Buddo” Greenberg
Harry “Buddo” Greenberg, a long-time West End resident, was an experienced basketball referee who liked to call a fast-paced game. The way he called games helped shape the direction of what became the NBA.
Sgt. Salvatore J. Cassaro Receives the Flag of Boston
Sgt. Salvatore J. Cassaro was a West Ender who served in the United States Army during the Korean War. Mayor John Hynes honored Cassaro’s request for a flag of the City of Boston that he could fly over his gun position, demonstrating pride in where he came from.
The American Waltham Watch Company Band and the West End’s “Pop” Concert in 1911
One night in the summer of 1911, West Enders enjoyed a free concert on the Esplanade by the American Waltham Watch Company Band, one of the many in-house corporate bands performing at the turn of the twentieth century.
Marilyn Hurvitz’s Vegetable Garden
Marilyn Hurvitz, an eleven-year-old girl of Polish descent in the West End, took pride in growing a vegetable garden that was ordinarily inaccessible in tenement life.