History of the BCA

In the late 1960s, the Boston Redevelopment Authority purchased a 4-acre parcel of historic land in Boston’s South End to create an art center, and designated the BCA as its developer. The land included the Cyclorama, the BCA’s most renowned space, which had been built in 1884 to house a cycloramic painting of the Battle of Gettysburg.

The BCA became an affordable space for working artists, and as well as a fringe theater venue. The BCA Gallery, originally formed to show work by BCA studio artists, became the Mills Gallery. The BCA Plaza Theatres were joined, in 2004, by the two new theaters at the Calderwood Pavilion.

Download an architectural history of the Cyclorama.