The Carter Barron Amphitheatre is a 4,200-seat outdoor performance venue in

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, United States. Located in

Rock Creek Park Rock Creek Park is a large urban park that bisects the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The park was created by an Act of Congress in 1890 and today is administered by the National Park Service. In addition to the park proper, the Rock Cr ...

, the amphitheatre opened in 1950, in honor of the 150th anniversary of Washington, D.C. as the United States' capital. The

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

has operated Carter Barron, having offered a variety of quality performances, including reggae, Latin, classical, gospel, musicals, pop, R&B, jazz, new age, theater, and dance. Many of the performances have been provided free of charge. The adjacent

William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center The William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center is a tennis venue located in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. It is named after William H. G. FitzGerald, a Washington-based private investor who was active in philanthropies and served as United Stat ...

is part of the Carter Barron recreational facility. The Carter Barron Amphitheatre closed for repairs following a February 2017 inspection. The National Park Service (NPS) found that the stage's substructure was structurally unsound to handle the onstage weight of performers and equipment. If the NPS has the requisite funding, the construction phase of the process has been planned for 2021–2022.

History

The Carter Barron Amphitheatre (CBA) is located in Rock Creek Park. Initial plans for an amphitheatre in the Brightwood neighborhood of Washington, D.C., began in 1943, when

Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (July 24, 1870 – December 25, 1957) was an American landscape architect and city planner known for his wildlife conservation efforts. He had a lifetime commitment to national parks, and worked on projects in Acadia, t ...

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.

Sesquicentennial Amphitheatre

This plan was expanded upon by Carter T. Barron in 1947, as a way to memorialize the 150th anniversary of Washington, D.C., as the U.S. national 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 4, 1950. Paul Green,

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

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 George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

. 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." The original design has been changed little. 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 Theatre Company The Shakespeare Theatre Company is a Regional theater in the United States, regional theatre company located in Washington, D.C. The theatre company focuses primarily on plays from the William Shakespeare, Shakespeare canon, but its seasons inc ...

in cooperation with NPS in 1991. In the early 1990s, the NPS renovated the public restrooms, repaired the roofs, and did some electrical upgrades in the backstage area. Between the 2003 and 2004 summer performance seasons, all new seats were installed and the drainage in the seating area was improved. Electrical service and wiring was also updated. A major renovation project to the stage area is planned for the 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 The company Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo (with a plural name) was formed in 1932 after the death of Sergei Diaghilev and the demise of Ballets Russes. Its director was Wassily de Basil (usually referred to as Colonel W. de Basil), and its a ...

. 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 Irvin is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Irvin J. Borowsky (1924-2014), American publisher * Irvin Cobb (1876–1944), American author *Irvin Dorfman (1924–2006), American tennis player *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

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Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary ''Variety'', February 22, 1984. ...

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

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, and

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. 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 Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

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, and the

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the ...

. 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,

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, Shakespeare Festival,

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, and the D.C. Black Repertory Co. in order to attract a more diverse audience. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' 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

"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

Clarkesville, Georgia Clarkesville is a city that is the county seat of Habersham County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 1,911, up from the 2010 census population of 1,733, up from 1,248 at the 2000 census. History Clarkesvill ...

on January 30, 1905. He attended

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

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 man 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 Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

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.

References

External links