The Mahaiwe Block is a commercial and theater building in the heart of downtown Great Barrington, Massachusetts. In addition to smaller businesses, it houses the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, the town's only major performance space. It has been in virtually continuous operation since its construction in 1905. The building is located at 6-14 Castle St. and 314-322 Main St, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The building's condition and fate in the 1990s was a major contributing factor in the establishment of local preservation ordinances. The building takes its name from an earlier structure on the site, which its owner called "Mahaiwe House".[2]
The Performance Center opened in September 1905 as a vaudeville house, it became a movie theater in the mid 1920s. The last company that showed first run films there, the Hoyts Theater chain, sold it to the Berkshire Opera Company and today shows classic films.[3]
Architectureedit
The Mahaiwe Block is a roughly rectangular three-storey building, presenting long facades to both Main and Castle Streets. Its exterior is finished in pale brick, with marble trim elements and a pressed metal entablature. White marble belt courses separate the floors. The Main Street facade includes two storefronts and an Art Deco building entrance, the product of a 1929 remodeling by a banking tenant. The Castle Street facade has a row of round-arch windows, three commercial storefronts, and the main entrance to the theater. The theater entrance has three sets of double doors, set in a large two-story round-arch opening, which is sheltered by the theater's 1930 marquee. The marquee is supported by chains and has a scrolled top. The street-facing portion of the marquee bears the theater's name in illuminated letters, a detail repeated in compressed form on the sides, above the panels showing the facility's current offerings.[2]
mahaiwe, block, commercial, theater, building, heart, downtown, great, barrington, massachusetts, addition, smaller, businesses, houses, mahaiwe, performing, arts, center, town, only, major, performance, space, been, virtually, continuous, operation, since, co. The Mahaiwe Block is a commercial and theater building in the heart of downtown Great Barrington Massachusetts In addition to smaller businesses it houses the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center the town s only major performance space It has been in virtually continuous operation since its construction in 1905 The building is located at 6 14 Castle St and 314 322 Main St and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places Mahaiwe BlockU S National Register of Historic PlacesShow map of MassachusettsShow map of the United StatesLocationMain amp Castle Sts Great Barrington MassachusettsCoordinates42 11 38 N 73 21 46 W 42 19389 N 73 36278 W 42 19389 73 36278Arealess than one acreBuilt1905 1905 NRHP reference No 08000898 1 Added to NRHPSeptember 12 2008The building s condition and fate in the 1990s was a major contributing factor in the establishment of local preservation ordinances The building takes its name from an earlier structure on the site which its owner called Mahaiwe House 2 Contents 1 History 2 Architecture 3 See also 4 ReferencesHistory editThe Performance Center opened in September 1905 as a vaudeville house it became a movie theater in the mid 1920s The last company that showed first run films there the Hoyts Theater chain sold it to the Berkshire Opera Company and today shows classic films 3 Architecture editThe Mahaiwe Block is a roughly rectangular three storey building presenting long facades to both Main and Castle Streets Its exterior is finished in pale brick with marble trim elements and a pressed metal entablature White marble belt courses separate the floors The Main Street facade includes two storefronts and an Art Deco building entrance the product of a 1929 remodeling by a banking tenant The Castle Street facade has a row of round arch windows three commercial storefronts and the main entrance to the theater The theater entrance has three sets of double doors set in a large two story round arch opening which is sheltered by the theater s 1930 marquee The marquee is supported by chains and has a scrolled top The street facing portion of the marquee bears the theater s name in illuminated letters a detail repeated in compressed form on the sides above the panels showing the facility s current offerings 2 See also editGreat Barrington Station National Register of Historic Places listings in Berkshire County MassachusettsReferences edit National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service April 15 2008 a b NRHP nomination for Mahaiwe Block Commonwealth of Massachusetts Retrieved 2012 12 04 Cinema Treasures Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mahaiwe Block amp oldid 1171418260, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
