An active and growing community theatre with a broad educational program in performance arts, Riverside Theatre Works has been a magnet in Hyde Park’s Cleary Square neighborhood for twenty-five years. The theatre currently occupies an historic Masonic Hall with a full proscenium arch stage; however, RTW’s continued expansion and success are stretching the seams of this once grand home, and have led all participants to dream of a new state of the art facility.

The proposed new building will be located a short walk from the theatre’s present location, on the bank of the Neponset River, adjacent to the Fairmount Line commuter rail transit stop. This spectacular location, once occupied by a chemical packaging and shipping operation, is now a brownfield site, in need of remediation. The theatre’s design addresses this requirement, touching the ground lightly to allow continued natural and assisted ventilation of soil VOCs once critical levels have been reduced.

The new performance arts facility will have an enlarged proscenium arch theatre with raked seating, orchestra lift, and the latest in back-stage equipment. In addition, a smaller experimental Black Box theatre is proposed, as well as studios specifically equipped for dance performance.