Boston Center for the Arts and the Cyclorama
Why is it significant?
You stand before the monumental castellated brick facade of the Cyclorama building, the vibrant centerpiece of the Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) complex on Tremont Street.
Key Facts
| Place | Boston Center for the Arts and the Cyclorama |
|---|---|
| Address | 539 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116, United States |
| Geo Coordinates | 42.34380, -71.07050 |
| Part of Walk | South End, Victorian Squares and SoWa Arts: Boston's Brownstone Heritage |
| Generated | Generated |
You stand before the monumental castellated brick facade of the Cyclorama building, the vibrant centerpiece of the Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) complex on Tremont Street. Completed in 1884 to designs by architect Charles Amos Cummings, this extraordinary round building was engineered specifically to exhibit French artist Paul Philippoteaux's colossal circular panoramic painting depicting the Battle of Gettysburg.
The circular brick rotunda features a breathtaking 127-foot-wide central skylit copper dome supported by radial wrought-iron trusses. When opened in 1884, thousands of spectators walked into the darkened center of the rotunda onto a raised viewing platform to experience the 360-degree painting, which measured four hundred feet in circumference and fifty feet in height, complete with real cannons, stone walls, and sod in the foreground.
Over its colorful history, this remarkable building underwent several astounding transformations: in the 1890s, it hosted indoor bicycle races and boxing matches, including legendary fights by champion John L. Sullivan; in the 1920s, it served as an automobile garage for Albert Champion, inventor of the spark plug; and for four decades, it operated as the main headquarters of the Boston Flower Exchange, filling the colossal rotunda with millions of fragrant blossoms daily. In 1970, the Boston Redevelopment Authority rescued the building from demolition, establishing the non-profit Boston Center for the Arts, which today provides performance theaters, artist studios, and contemporary art galleries for local visual artists.
Standing beneath the grand central dome where natural light pours through the glass skylight, the cavernous space inspires wonder. The Cyclorama embodies Boston's ability to repurpose monumental nineteenth-century entertainment venues into flourishing civic centers for contemporary performing arts. The historic exhibition hall stands as an inspiring monument to the power of community arts organizations to preserve beloved architectural landmarks for future generations.
Walk southwest along Tremont Street to the tranquil residential oasis of Union Park.