The Stockbridge Casino is a historic building at the junction of East Main Street and Yale Hill Road in
Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Built in 1887, it is a prominent local work of architect
Stanford White
Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in addition ...
, and has served as a cultural center in the community since its construction, despite being moved in 1928. Now a part of the grounds of the
Berkshire Theatre Festival, the building was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1976.
Description and history
The former Stockbridge Casino is set east of Stockbridge's Main Street downtown, at the northwest corner of Yale Hill Road and East Main Street. It is a two-story wood-frame structure, with a hip roof and clapboarded exterior. The roof is capped by a cupola, mounted in eight small round columns which are surrounded by a low balustrade. On the front roof face, the cupola flanked by round-headed dormers. The main facade has a projecting two-story center section, composed of three bays articulated by engaged round columns. Each of these bays has a paneled first floor and a rounded window on the second. Entrances are located flanking this projecting bay, accessed via stairs at differing elevations. The interior has undergone some alterations from its original appearance, due to its conversion to a theatrical performance space.
Designed by
Stanford White
Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in addition ...
, the casino was built in 1887 near the western end of Main Street at the base of Prospect Hill, and for many years was a popular recreational and social attraction (according to older usages of the word "
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
", it was not necessarily a gambling establishment). After falling into decline, the property was purchased in 1927 by
Mabel Choate, owner of the nearby
Naumkeag
Naumkeag is the former country estate of noted New York City lawyer Joseph Hodges Choate and Caroline Dutcher Sterling Choate, located at 5 Prospect Hill Road, Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The estate's centerpiece is a 44-room, Shingle Style ...
estate. She sought the property as a location for the
Mission House
The Mission House at Kerikeri in New Zealand was completed in 1822 as part of the Kerikeri Mission Station by the Church Missionary Society, and is New Zealand's oldest surviving building. It is sometimes known as Kemp House.
Samuel Marsden est ...
, and was not interested in the casino building. She sold it for $1
to businessman and artist
Walter Leighton Clark
Walter Leighton Clark (1859–1935) was an American businessman, inventor, and artist based in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and New York City.
Biography
Among other achievements, in 1923 he founded with John Singer Sargent the Grand Central Art ...
on the condition that it be moved. Together with sculptor
Daniel Chester French and Dr. Austen Fox Riggs, he founded the Three Arts Society, which purchased the building and moved it to its current location. The building was renovated and reopened in 1928 as the Berkshire Playhouse, which later became the
Berkshire Theatre Festival.
See also
*
*
Theater of the United States
Theater in the United States is part of the old European theatrical tradition and has been heavily influenced by the British theater. The central hub of the American theater scene is Manhattan, with its divisions of Broadway, Off-Broadway, and ...
References
External links
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{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Buildings and structures in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
1887 establishments in Massachusetts
Queen Anne architecture in Massachusetts
Event venues established in 1887