BOARDING HOUSE PERFORMANCE PAVILION

Designed by Alan Joslin (with a prior firm) in collaboration with Brown, Richardson & Rowe, the Lowell Performance Pavilion in Boarding House Park, is part of the Lowell National Park managed by the National Park Service. It serves as an outdoor performing arts venue, a site for ethnic festivals, a green space in the heart of downtown Lowell, and a destination along the 5.5 mile long city-wide canal system.

The park design includes a forecourt for the Morgan Cultural Center (housed in one of the original boarding houses), a terraced lawn with seating steps, and a grand pavilion, serving as stage, outdoor market, and trolley stop. A 100-foot long steel frame, clad in metal grille work and covered with wisteria vines, the pavilion draws upon the history of Lowell and evokes the ironwork characteristic of the city. The venue is home to the annual Lowell International Folk Festival and was recognized in 1995 by the National endowment for the Arts with a Federal Design Achievement Award. (Alan Joslin, as Project Architect with William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc.)