Prescott Townsend (1894-1973) was a gay activist who lived on the North Slope of Beacon Hill from the early 1920s until his death in 1973. He was outspoken and proud of his identity, from boasting about his pilgrim ancestors to organizing early LGBTQ+-oriented groups in Boston.
Walking tour of the West End neighborhood covering the area’s history from settlement through to modern times.
Walking tour of the West End neighborhood covering the area’s history from settlement through to modern times.
James Bowdoin II, scientist, politician, businessman and the namesake of the West End’s Bowdoin Square, embodied the powerful gentry class of his day.
In the late 1840s, Americans began to flock to the Spiritualist movement. Boston’s middle and upper class, in particular, became enthralled with Spiritualism, and the city became a center for séances, mediums, and spiritualist newspapers from the 1850s to the mid-1920s.
Entrepreneur Christiana Carteaux Bannister and artist Edward Mitchell Bannister married in Boston’s West End in 1857. Throughout the 1850s and 1860s, they were active in Boston’s abolitionist and artistic communities. During these years and beyond, their symbiotic financial and creative partnership helped to bolster both of their careers and their community connections.
A scanning party to help digitize and preserve historical West End materials.
