Boston Center for the Arts
Encyclopedia
The Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) is a 501(c) nonprofit visual and performing arts complex in the South End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The BCA houses several performance and rehearsal spaces, restaurants, a gallery, the headquarters of the Boston Ballet
, the Community Music Center of Boston and several other arts organizations. The BCA also serves as home to four Resident Theater Companies and a number of artists. The BCA's main building, the Cyclorama
, is on the National Register of Historic Places
. Boston Ballet's headquarters was designed in 1991 by architect Graham Gund
.
, in an effort to revitalize the South End area, designated one city block for the development of a new arts center. The city of Boston purchased the old Cyclorama Building
and neighboring brownstone
buildings for the project and agreed to lease the property to the newly formed BCA for a nominal yearly fee. The BCA is fully responsible for the management of its historic campus. The Cyclorama, a large rotunda, was built in 1884 by Charles Amos Cummings
and Willard T. Sears
to house the Battle of Gettysburg
, a panoramic painting
by the French artist Paul Philippoteaux
.
The building’s original façade included a number of turrets and towers, and a stately arch at the entrance, giving it the appropriate appearance of a fortress.
Between 1899 and 1922, the Cyclorama building had many uses, including incarnations as a garage, a boxing ring, and an automobile workshop. The Boston Flower Exchange
purchased the Cyclorama building in 1922 to use the space as its headquarters and venue for its flower shows. During the Flower Exchange’s tenure, the façade was renovated, the turrets removed and the arch demolished. The copper dome that sat atop the Cyclorama was replaced by a glass skylight. In 1967, the Boston Redevelopment Authority
, spurred by Royal Cloyd, a South End resident and chairman of the Urban Renewal Committee, began planning the development of a new center for the arts in Boston. Cloyd, the founder and eventual first president on the BCA, realized the need for affordable space for artists to work during a visit to the Atlanta Arts Center. Under Cloyd's advice, the BRA designated the Cyclorama building, the National Theater, the Pennock and Tremont Estates buildings as the site of the new arts center. The BCA has grown exponentially since its birth, becoming one of Boston’s premiere arts organizations and venues. In 2004, the BCA entered into a partnership with the Huntington Theatre Company
, building the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion, the first new theater venue built in Boston in over 75 years. The Calderwood Pavilion stands on the site of the old National Theater, a vaudeville
theater that attracted the likes of Sammy Davis Jr. and Duke Ellington
.
Boston Ballet
Boston Ballet, founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams, was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. Boston Ballet’s national and international reputation developed under the leadership of Artistic Directors Violette Verdy , Bruce Marks , and Anna-Marie Holmes...
, the Community Music Center of Boston and several other arts organizations. The BCA also serves as home to four Resident Theater Companies and a number of artists. The BCA's main building, the Cyclorama
Cyclorama Building
The Cyclorama Building is an 1884 building at 543-547 Tremont Street in Boston, Massachusetts that is operated by the Boston Center for the Arts.-History:...
, is on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Boston Ballet's headquarters was designed in 1991 by architect Graham Gund
Graham Gund
Graham de Conde Gund is an American architect and the president of the Gund Partnership, an American architecture firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and founded by Gund in 1971...
.
History
The BCA began operation in 1970 when the Boston Redevelopment AuthorityBoston Redevelopment Authority
The Boston Redevelopment Authority is the municipal planning and development agency for Boston, working on both housing and commercial developments.The BRA was established by the Boston city council and the Massachusetts legislature in 1957...
, in an effort to revitalize the South End area, designated one city block for the development of a new arts center. The city of Boston purchased the old Cyclorama Building
Cyclorama Building
The Cyclorama Building is an 1884 building at 543-547 Tremont Street in Boston, Massachusetts that is operated by the Boston Center for the Arts.-History:...
and neighboring brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
buildings for the project and agreed to lease the property to the newly formed BCA for a nominal yearly fee. The BCA is fully responsible for the management of its historic campus. The Cyclorama, a large rotunda, was built in 1884 by Charles Amos Cummings
Charles Amos Cummings
Charles Amos Cummings , is a nineteenth century American architect and architectural historian who worked primarily in the Venetian Gothic style. Cummings followed the precepts of British cultural theorist and architectural critic John Ruskin...
and Willard T. Sears
Willard T. Sears
Willard Thomas Sears was a prominent New England architect of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who worked primarily in the Gothic Revival and Renaissance Revival styles....
to house the Battle of Gettysburg
Gettysburg Cyclorama
The Battle of Gettysburg, also known as the Gettysburg Cyclorama, is a cyclorama painting by the French artist Paul Philippoteaux depicting "Pickett's Charge", the climactic Confederate attack on the Union forces during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863...
, a panoramic painting
Cyclorama
For the classical album Cyclorama, see Jonathan Goldstein; For the rock album Cyclorama by Styx, see Cyclorama ; for the theatrical backdrop, see Cyclorama...
by the French artist Paul Philippoteaux
Paul Philippoteaux
Paul Philippoteaux was a French artist. He is best known for a cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg.-Life and career:Paul Philippoteaux was born in Paris, the son of the French artist Henri Emmanuel Felix Philippoteaux...
.
Between 1899 and 1922, the Cyclorama building had many uses, including incarnations as a garage, a boxing ring, and an automobile workshop. The Boston Flower Exchange
Boston Flower Exchange
The Boston Flower Exchange is a wholesale flower market located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded as a marketplace that local growers could rent cooperatively to sell their products in a space more suited to their needs than Boston's historic Haymarket open-air marketplace. It has been the focal...
purchased the Cyclorama building in 1922 to use the space as its headquarters and venue for its flower shows. During the Flower Exchange’s tenure, the façade was renovated, the turrets removed and the arch demolished. The copper dome that sat atop the Cyclorama was replaced by a glass skylight. In 1967, the Boston Redevelopment Authority
Boston Redevelopment Authority
The Boston Redevelopment Authority is the municipal planning and development agency for Boston, working on both housing and commercial developments.The BRA was established by the Boston city council and the Massachusetts legislature in 1957...
, spurred by Royal Cloyd, a South End resident and chairman of the Urban Renewal Committee, began planning the development of a new center for the arts in Boston. Cloyd, the founder and eventual first president on the BCA, realized the need for affordable space for artists to work during a visit to the Atlanta Arts Center. Under Cloyd's advice, the BRA designated the Cyclorama building, the National Theater, the Pennock and Tremont Estates buildings as the site of the new arts center. The BCA has grown exponentially since its birth, becoming one of Boston’s premiere arts organizations and venues. In 2004, the BCA entered into a partnership with the Huntington Theatre Company
Huntington Theatre Company
The Huntington Theatre Company is a non-profit professional theater company in Boston, Massachusetts. The Huntington has garnered six Elliot Norton Awards and three Tony Award nominations for productions that were transferred to Broadway after critically acclaimed productions in Boston...
, building the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion, the first new theater venue built in Boston in over 75 years. The Calderwood Pavilion stands on the site of the old National Theater, a vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
theater that attracted the likes of Sammy Davis Jr. and Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
.
Facilities
- The Cyclorama BuildingCyclorama BuildingThe Cyclorama Building is an 1884 building at 543-547 Tremont Street in Boston, Massachusetts that is operated by the Boston Center for the Arts.-History:...
, the original building of the BCA’s complex, is now used as the main source of revenue for the Boston Center for the Arts. The Cyclorama is available on a rental basis for public and private events. It houses everything from fundraisers, trade shows and corporate events to exhibitions, performances, and weddings. Notable past installations include Judy ChicagoJudy ChicagoJudy Chicago is a feminist artist, author, and educator.Chicago has been creating artwork since the mid 1960s. Her earliest forays into the art world coincided with the rise of Minimalism, which she eventually abandoned in favor of art she believed to have greater content and relevance...
’s The Dinner PartyThe Dinner PartyThe Dinner Party is an installation artwork by feminist artist Judy Chicago depicting place settings for 39 mythical and historical famous women. It was produced from 1974 to 1979 as a collaboration and was first exhibited in 1979. Subsequently, despite art world resistance, it toured to 16 venues...
(1980) and Sarah CaldwellSarah CaldwellSarah Caldwell was a notable American opera conductor, impresario, and stage director of opera.- Life :Caldwell was born in Maryville, Missouri, and grew up in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She was a child prodigy and gave public performances on the violin by the time she was ten years old...
’s Louise. The bottom floor of the Cyclorama is home to C.P Casting, a major Boston casting firm, and the Community Music Center of Boston, which offers lessons to over 5,000 individuals each year.
- Built in 2004, the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion is a 36,000 SF complex containing the 372-seat Virginia Wimberly Theatre and the 200-seat Nancy and Edward Roberts Theatre, along with rehearsal rooms, a box office, public lobbies and back of house area. The Huntington uses the Wimberly Theatre as is secondary performance space, while the BCA’s Resident Theater Companies perform in the Roberts Studio Theatre. The SpeakEasy Stage Company mounts its entire season in the Roberts Studio Theatre.
- The Plaza Theaters serve as performance spaces for the Resident Theater Companies, which currently include: The Speakeasy Stage Company, Company One, The Theater OffensiveThe Theater OffensiveThe Theater Offensive is a Boston-based theatrical organization dedicated to the production of queer works. The Theater Offensive was founded in 1989 by Abraham Rybeck "to form and present the diverse realities of queer lives in art so bold it breaks through personal isolation and political...
, and The Pilgrim Theater. Available for performance are the Plaza Theater, a fixed-seat theater that holds about 150, and the Black Box Theater, a flexible performance space with a capacity of about 50.
- The Artist Studios are affordable workspaces for over 50 artists and arts organizations. They currently include the Commonwealth Shakespeare CompanyCommonwealth Shakespeare CompanyThe Commonwealth Shakespeare Company was formed in 1996 by artistic director Steven Maler and associate Joan Moynagh to bring free, outdoor Shakespeare to the people of the city of Boston. Since 1996, CSC has produced one full Shakespeare production each summer starting with A Midsummer Night's...
, the City Stage Company, The Art Connection, The Color of Film, South End Strings, FluteFX and Filkela Films.
- The Mills Gallery is a 2200 square feet (204.4 m²) noncommercial gallery with three separate spaces. It accommodates five major exhibitions each year, as well as a number of small exhibitions and events, showcasing the work of established and emerging visual artists from all over the world.
External links
- http://www.bcaonline.org/ Official Website
- http://www.huntingtontheatre.org/index.aspx
- http://www.speakeasystage.com/
- http://www.thetheateroffensive.org/
- http://www.pilgrimtheatre.org/
- http://www.companyone.org
- http://www.theartconnection.org/
- http://www.cmcb.org/
- http://www.cpcasting.com/ *http://www.citystage.org/
- http://flutefx.com/
- http://www.coloroffilm.com/