In the Making: Boston’s North End

On Thursday, January 18, 2024, we hosted a virtual conversation with two community members with deep neighborhood ties, Chris Pienta PC ’23 and Dominic Valente. They shared their long family histories in the North End and how the strong community they found in the neighborhood as children influenced them to keep creating community beyond the North End.

Preservation Carpentry graduate Chris Pienta PC ’23 had heard of NBSS long before they even applied. Their grandparents had immigrated to the United States and settled in the North End, and would often walk past the School with their mother, remarking that Chris would probably love going there. Several years and career paths later, Chris eventually enrolled, and enjoys sharing their uniquely long ties to our neighborhood home.

Born in the North End to second-generation Italian immigrants, Dominic Valente attended classes for kids at NBSIS in 1948, at age 10 and continuing until age 15. Building wooden chairs and puzzles at that time, in his community, surely impacted his later and long-time career as an architect and planner in the Boston area. Now retired, Dominic can still be seen strolling the streets of the North End weekly.

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“In the Making” is a public programs series where we connect with a range of new voices, fields, and perspectives. Learn more and view a full list of events on the series homepage.

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