HISTORY
Background
Carter Barron Amphitheatre (CBA) is located in Rock Creek Park. Initial
plans for an amphitheatre in the Brightwood area of Washington, DC
began in 1943 when Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. reviewed and commented
on the site selection for an amphitheatre. The original plan called
for benches to seat about 1,500 and a stage equipped with a movie
screen.
This plan
was expanded upon by Carter T. Barron in 1947 as a way to memorialize
the 150th Anniversary of Washington, DC as the Nation's Capital. As
Vice Chairman of the Sesquicentennial Commission, Barron envisioned
an amphitheatre where "all persons of every race, color and creed"
in Washington could attend musical, ballet, theater and other performing
arts productions. The Commission approved the drawings of National
Capital Parks (now known as the National Capital Region of the National
Park Service (NPS)) Architect William M. Hausman for the new 4,200
seat Sesquicentennial Amphitheatre. Plans called for outfitting the
amphitheatre with state-of-the-art technology including a communication
system which allowed the stage manager to speak to any actor or stagehand
from his desk and the best lighting and sound equipment available
at the time. (The original construction cost estimate was $200,000
but the actual cost totaled $563,676.90.)
The amphitheatre opened on August 5, 1950. Paul Green, Pulitzer Prize
winning playwright and author of the symphonic outdoor drama "The
Lost Colony", was commissioned to write the opening season production.
"Faith of Our Fathers"was a tribute to George Washington.
It met with mixed reviews while the press and theater professionals
hailed the Sesquicentennial Amphitheatre itself as the best outdoor
theater ever seen. The placement of the amphitheatre maximized the
natural acoustics of the bowl of the hill and it quickly became known
as a theater with "not a bad seat in the house." In 1965,
a curtain and track were added to the stage. In the 1970s, the Feld
Brothers added a three-pole circus tent to cover part of the stage
which was changed to a truss and canvas roof system by the Shakespeare
Theater in cooperation with NPS in 1993. In the early 1990s, the NPS
renovated the public restrooms, repaired the roofs, and did some electrical
upgrades in the backstage area. A major renovation project is scheduled
to begin in the near future.
Performance History
After the first two seasons of "Faith of Our Fathers," the
CBA began to feature a variety of acts and performances. In 1952,
CBA hosted military bands and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. In
1953, Washington Festival, Inc. operated by local television celebrity
Constance Bennett Coulter, won the contract for the summer season
which featured "Show Boat," "Annie Get Your Gun,"
and "Carousel." Audiences did not attend in large numbers
and Washington Festival lost $200,000 in its first and only season.
CBA was left in search of a savior.
It found two . . . the Feld brothers, Irvin and Israel, won the contract
to host the 1954 season. Their company, Super Attractions, hosted
performances such as the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), "The
Mikado," and numerous musicals. Their 1963 lineup changed performances
to include more music and less ballet. Acts included the Kingston
Trio, Victor Borge, Nat King Cole, Benny Goodman, Ethel Merman, Henry
Mancini, Harry Belafonte, Andy Williams, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald,
and Peter, Paul, and Mary. Israel Feld died in December 1972 and his
wife, Shirley, took over management of CBA. The venue began to include
soul and rock 'n' roll acts like Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, B.B.
King, the O'Jays, Smokey Robinson, and the Four Tops.
Due to competition from other centers for performing arts and changes
in production values, the Feld's company Super Attractions began to
incur heavy losses and asked to be released from its contract and
in 1976 Cella-Door-Dimensions, Inc. was hired as new management. They
scheduled acts such as Kool and the Gang, Bruce Springsteen, U.S.
Navy Band, NSO, Shakespeare Festival, Richard Pryor, Chick Corea,
and the D.C. Black Repertory Co. in order to attract a more diverse
audience. Washington Post reporter Jacqueline Trescott wrote "The
hordes of teenagers were back, but scattered among the visors and
t-shirts were family groups, black and white couples in their 20s
and 30s and a large number of women dressed in the latest fashions."
At the end of the 1976 season, the NPS decided to operate the theater
on its own and continues to do so today. CBA continues to host a variety
of performances. Shows today include reggae, Latin, classical, gospel,
musical, pop, R&B, jazz, new age, theater, and dance. Ticket prices
are still the best entertainment bargain in town and many of the performances
are provided free of charge. The NPS still follows Carter T. Barron's
original mission of providing quality performances to all residents
in Washington, D.C. Partnerships, such as the Shakespeare Theater
"Free for All", the National Symphony Orchestra and the
Washington Post "Weekend's Weekend Concerts" help fulfill
this goal.
Carter
T. Barron
Carter T. Barron, the Vice-Chairman for the Sesquicentennial Commission,
was born in Clarksville, Georgia on January 30, 1905. He attended
Georgia Tech where he played football for three years until a knee
injury ended his career. He moved to Washington, D.C. in 1932 and
remained until his death from cancer on November 16, 1950, just three
months after the opening of the amphitheater. Barron was a community
activist, and participated on numerous boards. He was manager of Lowe's
Eastern Division of Theaters, MGM's point main in Washington, and
an active promoter of the arts. He was known as "everyone's friend
- the burly, red-headed, blue-eyed, smiling giant." President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt and President Harry S. Truman both claimed
Barron to be a great friend. Barron organized twelve birthday balls
for President Roosevelt and worked on both Roosevelt's and Truman's
inaugurations.
President
Harry S. Truman dedicated the Sesquicentennial Amphitheatre on August
4, 1950, but following Barron's death, he rededicated the amphitheatre
the Carter T. Barron Amphitheater in an official ceremony on May 25,
1951. Many people considered Carter Barron the link between the performing
arts and the government. The amphitheatre is a legacy to his dedication.
Last update 3/4/03
