The City is sponsoring a “Create a Park Legacy for Elma Lewis Community Workshop”

NEW DATE! Saturday, November 23rd from 9:30-12:30

Franklin Park Golf Clubhouse

9:30 - Breakfast refreshments

10:00 - Family-friendly Performances

10:30 - Program and visioning input

11:30 - Walk or drive to Overlook for on-site tour

Arts and crafts, outdoor games, and snacks for children all morning.

A fabulous landscape architecture and engagement firm has been hired by the Boston Parks Department to work with community stakeholders about their vision for the Overlook Shelter Ruins, home of the original Elma Lewis Playhouse in the Park. Many at FPC hope we can re-create a performance space at the site.

Elma Lewis was one of Boston’s most revered cultural icons. In the 1950s, she founded the Elma Lewis School for Fine and Performing Arts, where thousands of African-American children and adults learned cultural history, explored their creativity, and cultivated their artistic skills. In the 1960s, Miss Lewis and her students cleared an overgrown area in Franklin Park where the Overlook Shelter had burned and then erected the Playhouse stage to create an open-air performance venue.

From 1966–1978, Playhouse events were held every single night from July 4th through Labor Day. Musical legends like Duke Ellington, Olatunji and his drum of Africa, the Billy Taylor Trio, and Odetta, graced the Playhouse stage.

Come participate and dream of what you want in this area of the park!