West End Stories Project

West End Stories Project Presents Alexis Kidd, Executive Director of Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses, one of the Library’s many community partners. Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses is one of the last neighborhood houses or settlement houses in Cincinnati. Founded in 1945, Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses provides basic needs assistance, advocacy for victims of crime and trauma, youth programming, ev...

Retired Aviation Technician and United States Air Force Veteran Jarreld Parks grew up in the in the Lincoln Court housing projects in the 1960s. Hear his story on this episode of the West End Stories Project. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email  westend@cincinnatilibrary.org &nbs...

If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email westend@cincinnatilibrary.org for more information.

Navy Veteran David Daniels grew up in the West End during World War II and lived on Fifth and Mill Streets and Cutter Streets with his mother, little sister, uncle, and grandparents. When he returned from the Navy in the late 1950s that section of Fifth and Cutter was gone, and Mill Street was eliminated completely. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West...

If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email  westend@cincinnatilibrary.org  for more information.

West End Community Council Beautification Chair, Fannie Shaw, moved to the West End from Whitfield, Georgia, when she was eight years old. When her family first moved to the West End, they lived in a building on Clark Street in what became the Laurel-Richmond Urban Renewal Project. She attended Dyer Elementary, Stowe Elementary, Porter Junior High, and Taft High Schools. If you or someone you know...

If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email  westend@cincinnatilibrary.org  for more information.

James Starks developed his musical talents at Sands Elementary School, Lafayette Bloom Junior High School, and Taft High School. During most of his time in the West End, he lived with his family on Wilstach St., which was slated for redevelopment in the 60's. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-690...

If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email  westend@cincinnatilibrary.org  for more information.

In conjunction with the opening of the Black Music Walk of Fame, the West End Stories Project is sharing a new limited series highlighting Cincinnati’s musical influencers who have impacted music worldwide. For the first episode of the West End Stories Project Presents, we spoke to the founder and Creator of the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame, Hamilton County Commissioner Reece. Intro an...

Retired secretary, Margaret Haley, shares her experience living in the West End during the fifties and early sixties. She lived with her mother and father at 1805 Freeman Ave across from Findlay Street and attended Heberle Elementary School. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email  w...

If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email  westend@cincinnatilibrary.org  for more information.

Former West End resident Herbert Winston lived with his family in Richmond Village (now The Arts Apartments of Music Hall) from the mid-sixties to mid-seventies. During his brief time in the neighborhood, he attended St. Joseph Catholic School, and frequented LeBlond’s Boy’s Club, which was close by in Over the Rhine. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the We...

If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email  westend@cincinnatilibrary.org  for more information.

For our twenty-second episode of the West End Stories Project, we spoke to former youth football coach, Mayso Stevenson Jr., who lived in the West End from the early 1950s to the 1980s. While living in the community, he attended St. Joseph Catholic School, Washburn Elementary School, Lafayette Bloom Junior High School, McMillan Adult Center, and Robert A. Taft High School. If you or someone you kn...

If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email  westend@cincinnatilibrary.org  for more information.

For our twenty-first episode of the West End Stories Project, we spoke with retired educator and advocate, Dr. Sylvia G. Rousseau, whose family resided and worked in three Cincinnati neighborhoods with historic Black communities; Madisonville, Walnut Hills, and the West End. Although Dr. Rousseau lived in Madisonville, she attended Harriet Beecher Stowe School , and briefly lived at Park Town in t...

With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are being conducted over the phone. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email  westend@cincinnatilibrary.org  for more information.

The West End Stories Project is back! Tune in to another season full of stories from Cincinnati's historic West End community. Catch new episodes every last Thursday of the month starting on March 30, 2023. The West End Stories Project is an award-winning podcast presented by the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library. Listen to hear experiences of individuals who lived in Cincinnati's We...

For our 20th episode and season finale, I spoke with my Dad, David Parks, who lived in the Lincoln Court Housing Project with his mother and seven siblings from the 1960s to early 1970s. During his short time in the neighborhood, he attended both Hays Elementary School, which was surrounded by Cutter, Clark, Mound, and West Court Streets; and Sixth District School on Elm Street in Over-The-Rhine....

With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are being conducted over the phone. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email  westend@cincinnatilibrary.org  for more information.

Cheryl Meadows, who served as the Village Manager for Lincoln Heights, Director of Employment and Training for the City of Cincinnati, and Interim Executive Director of the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, spent her formative years in Cincinnati’s West End. Her family owned a home at 928 Gest Street, which was part of the Kenyon Barr Urban Redevelopment Project that was demolished for the co...

With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are being conducted over the phone. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email  westend@cincinnatilibrary.org  for more information.

Walter Longmire and his family moved to the West End from Avondale in 1955. They lived in the Laurel Homes Housing project and he attended Washburn Elementary, Bloom Junior High School, and Taft High School before he entered the military at the height of the Vietnam War. With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are...

With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are being conducted over the phone. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email  westend@cincinnatilibrary.org  for more information.