Situated in the “near North End,” Ward 2 is home to approximately 9,200 people in a geographically diverse section of Manchester.
Stretching from Webster Street in the north to Pearl Street in the south, and from Union Street in the west all the way up Wellington Road to the Auburn town line in the east, Ward 2 has a more urban feel in the west and a more suburban feel the farther east one travels.
Ward 2 is home to some of the Manchester’s best public schools, including Smyth Road School and Hillside Middle School, which are a draw for young families moving to the area and help to maintain and increase property values here. St. Catherine of Siena, a great parochial school, and North End Montessori School, a public charter school, are also located in Ward 2.
Seniors also make up a significant portion of the population of the ward, which is home to several senior living and rehabilitation facilities including Evergreen Place and Mt. Carmel Rehabilitation & Nursing Center. One of the city’s leading medical facilities — Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center — is also located in Ward 2.
The ward is also home to some of the city’s top cultural and recreation facilities, including the world-class Currier Museum of Art and Manchester Community Theatre Players; to the beautifully-landscaped Wagner Memorial (“Pretty”) Park; to the 76-acre Derryfield Park and the Weston Observatory; and to McIntryre Ski Area, the region’s only municipally-owned ski area.
Likewise, Ward 2 is home to a wide array of houses of worship including Manchester Christian Church — the city’s largest church — as well as Temple Adath Yeshurun, two Roman Catholic parishes, a United Methodist Church, a Unitarian Universalist congregation, and a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints meeting house.
Ward 2 also has a small, but bustling business community which includes professional offices, a bakery, several hair salons, an automotive shop, and two bodegas. Likewise, the ward boasts several nonprofits including The Webster House, Liberty House, and a Red Cross Blood Donation Center.
Ward 2 is connected to downtown and the rest the city via two Manchester Transit Authority bus routes: Route 1, which traverses the Bridge Street/Wellington Road/Mammoth Road area; and Route 5, which plys Union Street.