Berklee Performance Center

URL is http://www.berkleebpc.com/ . (I thought I had included that when I submitted this theatre yesterday).

http://www.berkleebpc.com/history.html has some history of the theatre, and a couple of old photos.

The interior is now thoroughly modern, as shown in this photo and this one .

This page describes a Captain Beefheart show at the Fenway Theatre in 1972. It must have been one of the last events held there before Berklee bought it and began gutting it for renovation.

The Fenway was an art house in the early 1960s. In April of 1963 I saw the French SUNDAYS AND CYBELE here and Antonioni's IL GRIDO in June. Also in June of 1963 the theatre was used for an early version of the Boston Film Festival. I remember seeing the Brazilian THE GIVEN WORD. In November of 1963 there were programs of nudies like BABES IN THE WOODS and KIPLING'S WOMEN. The place went from art fare to nudie/exploitation flicks.

Gerald, I also saw "Sundays and Cybele" at the Fenway Theater. I was in high school, and our French class went to see it. I was 16 and a month away from getting my driver's license. I didn't know Boston at all. We went in at night by bus. It's like revisiting a dream to know I was there.

The Fenway Theatre was used for rock shows briefly in the early 70's. I saw both Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart there (in seperate shows) in '70, '71. It was closed when I went to Berklee in '73.

According to Donald C. King's new book The Theatres of Boston: A Stage and Screen History, the Fenway Theatre opened on December 19, 1915, with 1500 seats. "Architect Thomas Lamb designed it in early Adam style." It was designed solely to show motion pictures, but also "had a fully equipped vaudeville stage, just in case."

On July 28, 1928, the Fenway and the Washington Street Olympia presented what was billed as "The First 100% Talking Motion Picture" -- Lionel Barrymore in The Lion and the Mouse, with a musical score plus a little dialogue.

Around 1969, the Theatre Company of Boston took over the Fenway's stage.

During the mid to late '50's the Fenway and Paramount ran the same features. The newspapers always listed the Paramount and Fenway in the same block ads. Either they had an agreement or were managed by the same company. I do recall this arrangement ending early in 1960 when art films were exhibited.

The Fenway was part of M&P Theatres, and as the "uptown" location, sometimes showed the same film as the Paramount. Much like Loews State & Orpheum. For example, on Sept 23, 1947, "Variety Girl" with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and "40 Stars!" along with the Co-hit! "Jungle Flight" was playing at both the Paramount and the Fenway. The Fenway was designed by Thomas Lamb and had 1373 seats (it has about 1220 seats now). I went into it a few times, a nice house with an oblong shape, and one balcony. It was sort of an art house in the early 1960s - I saw a Japanese film there. Oddly, when Berklee took it over as a live concert hall, they bricked up the original scene door and stage door at the rear of the stagehouse. Today, there is a stage door at stage-right, but no scene loading door. They also "modernized" the interior instead of restoring it.

After sitting dormant for what seemed like eons to me, this place at the intersection of Mass Ave and Boylston st, reopened with Zappa doing his fabulous Mudshark show (available as the Fillmore East recording of it) with Howard Kaylen and Mark Volmann - The Turtles! - as his vocalists. On this auspicious opening night, Mr Zappa ripped into the audience for being so obtuse and, as he aptly put it: "I often wondered where all the assholes went after the Fillmore closed in NYC."
Biting but true.
Don't recall many other shows there at all at that time.

Ron-I've only been to the BPC once for a benefit performance given by comedian Robert Klein. I remember the modern interior. I wish they'd done a restoration instead, though I suppose it's a miracle that the building is still standing.

Tom N is correct- it is a miracle that the building is still standing. If it were not for the fact that the Berklee School of Music is in the immediate area, the old Fenway Theatre would be "toast". Because the interior was "modernized", theatre enthusiast groups skip it. For example, the THSA did not visit it during their 1983 Boston tour and will not visit it during their 2006 tour. The LHAT did not visit it during their 1990 tour, although I believe they at least mentioned it in their guidebook. The CTA tour in April 2004 paused briefly to examine the exterior but did not arrange to go inside. I do not feel that the auditorium is not worth seeing just because it has been altered.

I don't know Berklee's motivation for modernizing it, but it's possible that the old theatre was not acoustically appropriate for its new function as a concert hall.

On this 1928 map, you can barely make out the FENWAY THEATRE near the map's bottom left corner. It's on Masschusetts Avenue, one building to the right (south) of Boylston Street.

Modern front view and I assume this would be the rear of the theater.

Yes, the second photo posted above by Lost Memory shows the rear stage wall and the left exterior auditorium wall. You can clearly see the scar on the rear wall caused by bricking-up the old scene loading door at the time that Berklee College took over the Fenway Theatre. In the front view, in the far right distance, is Symphony Hall.

Berklee has announced plans for new buildings, which unfortunately appear to include tearing down this theatre and replacing it with a new one:

Berklee seeks to build dorm tower and theater

A report on local TV news tonight stated flatly that the "30-year-old" theatre would be torn down and replaced with an up-to-date new concert hall. A photo was shown of the Berklee's auditorium ( The theatre may have been used by the music school for 30 years but it is, of course, much older.)

If the city allowed the Gaiety Theater to be demolished in the theater district, it seems highly unlikey that this isolated theater will be saved, particularly since the interior has been drastically altered. Boston could have been developed as a midrise city with careful preservation of a wide range of buildings that could have been woven into a fabric including new construction puncutated by the occasional high rise. Instead, we seem to be getting more and more towers.

The Performance Center is heavily booked by concert promoters such as World Music. If Berklee is allowed to demolish it, I hope the same promoters will be able to use its new theatre.

Most likely the new performance center will accomodate World Music and others. That's surely part of the business plan. Ironically, if the Gaiety had remained to be used as a performance space, the concert series could have continued there during construction.

I wrote to bpc@berklee.edu with this question:

"From recent newspaper reports, it sounds like Berklee is about to demolish and replace the Performance Center. Is this true? If so, what will be its last day of operation?"

Within minutes, I got this reply:

"The project is in the initial discussion phase. I believe it will be at least several years before actual demolition occurs. Thanks for your interest in our theater."

The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Fenway Theatre has an exterior photo dated April 1941. There was a long elaborate rectangular marquee with the name in big letters in the center. Attractions are Humphrey Bogart in "The Wagons Roll at Night" plus "Las Vegas Nights". There must have been a pool hall upstairs because the word "Billiards" is posted in 2 windows over the marquee. The Report states that the Fenway is at 136 Mass. Ave., that it is not a MGM customer; that it's in Good condition; and has the following seating: Orchestra- 822, Balcony- 490, Loges- 61; total: 1,373 seats.

The Fenway was an ornate, beautiful theatre, though certainly not as impressive as the RKO Keith Memorial, the Metropolitan, the Lowe's State, and the Lowe's Orpheum. There was also a small bowling alley underneath the theatre and accessed through a door to the left of the main entrance.

Photos can be seen here.

The following comes from The Moving Picture World July 1915:

"The work on construction of the new Fenway Theater at the corner of Boyleston Street and Massachusetts Avenue is progressing rapidly. If the present plans work out successfully, the house will be opened to the public on October 15.

This house is being erected by the Colonial Realty Company at a cost of $400,000. In addition to the theater there will be bowling alleys, two stores and two floors of offices. The theater will be run by the Fenway Amusement Company, of which A. Abrams is the president and M. F. Eisenberg is the secretary. Mr. Eisenberg will personally manage the playhouse.

The lobby of the theater will be of marble and mosaic. Every modern equipment will be used. The installation of a $15,000 organ is planned. The company operating the theater intends to operate a chain of picture houaes throughout New England. They have already secured control of the Webster theater at Webster, Mass.

When the house is completed, it will have a seating capacity of 1,700 persons, with one balcony. High class features and select songs are to be used. The house is fully equipped and should the management desire to use vaudeville, it can easily be done".

The Fenway apparently did not actually open until December 19, 1915, so the October estimate in the article above proved unrealistic. And it had 1,373 seats originally.