The Edward A. Hatch Memorial Shell, commonly referred to as the Hatch Shell, is an outdoor concert venue on the Charles River Esplanade in the

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on Land reclamation, reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the ...

section of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Built in 1939–1940, it is one of the city's prominent examples of

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

architecture. The Hatch Shell is best known for hosting the

Boston Pops The Boston Pops is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orc ...

annually for the Boston

Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...

celebration, but is also used for free concerts most weekends and many weeknights during the summer months. The grass pavilion in front of the stage has no permanent seating. There is a memorial nearby to

Arthur Fiedler Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was an American Conductor (music), conductor known for his association with both the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestra, Boston Pops orchestras. With a combi ...

, first permanent conductor of the Pops.

Name

The Hatch Shell is named in memory of Edward Hatch, the descendant of a family with deep roots in colonial Massachusetts and a fortune made in foreign trade. Hatch died in 1910, and his sister Maria died without issue in 1926, leaving a substantial portion of her estate in a trust which was to be used for "a park, playground or memorial" in or near Boston that would be "open to the public at such times and under such circumstances as may from time to time best minister to the public need for a beauty spot." The executor of Maria Hatch's estate died before the terms of the trust could be executed, and it remained undiscovered until 1936, when Massachusetts Attorney General Paul A. Dever discovered it and instituted probate action to complete its terms. New trustees, selected by the court, determined that a permanent concert shell on the Charles River Esplanade would satisfy the terms of the trust.

History

The original, wooden shell was built in 1928 as a temporary venue for the Pops with expectations of construction of a permanent structure in the near future. It was first used for a concert on July 4, 1929, with

conducting the

Boston Pops Orchestra The Boston Pops is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orc ...

. A second, temporary shell, made of metal, was built in 1934. The permanent shell was designed by architect Richard J. Shaw, and was dedicated on July 2, 1940. In preparation for its 50th anniversary in 1991, it underwent significant renovation and repair along with modernization of its

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

by Boston architecture firm Notter Finegold & Alexander. Bostonian Howard Brickman, a master craftsman specializing in wood floors, re-created the intricate interior paneling of the shell by hand. An bronze statue of George S. Patton, by James Earle Fraser, commemorates the general's June 7, 1945 address at the site before a crowd of 20,000 persons. Uses of the Hatch Shell include concerts, movie showings and speeches, and as a meeting place for large events, such as AIDS Walk Boston and the Larry Kessler 5K Run. The grass pavilion is used for picnics, casual sports and sunbathing, in a manner typical of urban parks. The Hatch Shell underwent a $2.4 million renovation in 2018, the first since 1989. The exterior panels of the shell were replaced, which required a laser scan of the shell and fabrication of 673 separate panels in 93 different shapes.

Architecture

The Hatch Shell is a wood-frame structure with a semicircular arched opening that is high and wide. It is fronted by a stone platform with stairs that extend the structure's width to . On the front of this platform are engraved the names of famous (at least through the period of its construction) composers. The exterior of the shell is finished in

terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bind ...

tile, and the interior is finished in wood. The interior floor consists of stepped tiers in semicircular form. The outside of the shell is ringed by a single-story flat-roof structure housing dressing rooms and storage facilities for performers. :Front ::Half left :::

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SULLIVAN

STRAUSS Strauss, Strauß, or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is usually spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" most com ...

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LOEFFLER MACDOWELL FOSTER

DEBUSSY Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

BEACH A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

HERBERT

GLUCK Christoph Willibald ( Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire at ...

CHOPIN RAVEL

WAGNER Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

WEBER RIMSKY-KORSAKOV VERDI

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MONTEVERDI DVORAK

LISZT Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

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::Half right :::

BACH Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

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MUSSORGSKY FOOTE

HANDEL George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

MENDELSSOHN Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

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GERSCHWIN

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BIZET CHADWICK WILLIAMS BRAHMS FRANCK SAINT-SAENS

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OFFENBACH

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:Rear ::: COUPERIN DINDY

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DELIBES

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BUXTEHUDE

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CORELLI

LASSO A lasso or lazo ( or ), also called reata or la reata in Mexico, and in the United States riata or lariat (from Mexican Spanish lasso for roping cattle), is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when ...

SCARLATTI

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BOCCHERINI CHERUBINI GRETRY LULLY BORODIN BRUCKNER CHABRIER SMETANA DUKAS FAURE GLAZUNOV RESPIGHI ROUSSEL SCRIABIN BELLINI

DONIZETTI Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera ...

HUMPERDINCK

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MAHLER Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

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References

* Martha Burnham Humphrey, ''The Edward Hatch Memorial Shell: Richard Shaw, architect, William R. Barss, acoustic consultant, Maurice Reidy, structural engineer : dedicated July 2, 1940'', published in 1940. * Jim Vrabel, ''When in Boston: a time line & almanac'', Bostonian Society, Northeastern University Press, 2004, page 294.

External links

Official site

Fan site
{{Charles River Esplanade 1928 establishments in Massachusetts Art Deco architecture in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Boston Charles River Esplanade Culture of Boston Landmarks in Back Bay, Boston Amphitheaters in the United States Music venues completed in 1928 Music venues completed in 1940 Music venues in Boston