Jerome Lyle Rappaport
| Jerome Lyle Rappaport | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
August 17, 1927 New York City |
| Residence | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Spouse(s) | Phyllis Rappaport |
Jerome Lyle Rappaport (born August 17, 1927) is a lawyer, developer, political leader, and landlord. who is best known today for his philanthropy in Boston, Massachusetts, and as the general partner of one of the most controversial developments of the urban renewal era, the West End Project from which he created a 48-acre (19 ha) urban neighborhood known as Charles River Park.
Born and raised in the Bronx and Manhattan's Upper West Side, being the son of a clothier of Romanian Jewish extraction. Rappaport entered Harvard University at 16 years old and received his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws at 21 in 1949. He earned a Masters of Public Administration from the Littauer School (today the Harvard Kennedy School) in 1963.
As a student Rappaport founded the Harvard Law School Forum, which was originally dedicated to the memory of Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. and 102 other Harvard Law School graduates and former students on leave who had died in World War II. The Forum's Friday evening radio broadcasts on WHDH in 1946 garnered positive press and inspired the participation of Harvard's then President, Law school Dean, faculty members and student peers.
In the early 1950s Rappaport quickly emerged as one of Boston's most well-known political leaders. The peak occurred when Rappaport succeeded Congressman John F. Kennedy in receiving the Massachusetts Jaycees "Distinguished Service" award as Massachusetts' most Outstanding Young Leader for 1952. Kennedy's award was one of many stepping stones on the road to his becoming a United States Senator. Rappaport's acceptance speech in January 1953 was mostly geared towards inspiring wealthier and more seasoned local businessmen to invest everything they could in Boston's then-languishing economic development program, and "to give more time, energy, and thought to community affairs."
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