Berklee Performance Center
136 Massachusetts Avenue,
Boston,
MA
02115
136 Massachusetts Avenue,
Boston,
MA
02115
3 people
favorited this theater
Built as the Fenway Theatre in 1915, this is now a concert hall owned by Berklee College of Music, which extensively renovated it and reopened it in 1976.
Contributed by
Ron Newman
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Recent comments (view all 37 comments)
The Globe has more detail on this: Berklee breaks ground on 16-story dorm, performance center
Only a single one-story building was demolished to make way for this project. The new building will contain a “400-seat student performance venue”. That’s a lot smaller than the existing Performance Center and I think it serves a different purpose.
The Fenway in the early 50’s was mostly a moveover from the Paramount. Same could be said of the Downtyown Loews Orpheum and Lowes State. Sometimes they played day and date.
My name is Cathy and I am the director of the Berklee Performance Center (formerly the Fenway Theatre). The theater is celebrating its 100-year anniversary this year! I’ve been trying to find history on the venue, but there seems to be very little available at the library, historical societies, etc. Do you all have any leads?
Coincidentally, I am also the great, great granddaughter of theater designer/builder EC Horn, who built many theaters around the same time as the Fenway Theatre was built.
Have you visited the Boston Athenaeum? They have a collection of materials from old Boston theatres, possibly including yours.
Cathy- Try the Theatre Historical Society’s library/archive in Elmhurst IL. www.historictheatres.org. They almost certainly have a file on the Fenway, although I don’t know what’s in it. Also, the Harvard Theatre Collection which is in one of the libraries in the Harvard Yard -they might have a file, too.
Thank you both! We have tried the Athenaeum and Harvard, but not the Theatre Historical Society. I will reach out to them. Thanks again.
Later this month, the Fenway will reach its 100th birthday, having opened on Monday night, December 20th, 1915. Congratulations!
Thank you!
Will they have any special event to observe this anniversary?
We had one event last night – 100 Year of Popular Music. There’s another anniversary event on 12/16 – 100 Year of Musical Theater. Nothing related to the venue’s roots as a movie theater, unfortunately.