Built in 1890, the Academy of Music Theatre (pictured) was given to the city of Northampton in 1892 by Edward Lyman, a Northampton native who spent most of his adult life in New York City, but viewed himself as a "trustee" of Northampton. The first municipally owned theater in the country, the Academy has seen the likes of magician Harry Houdini, scrappy sexpot Mae West, actress Ethel Barrymore and musician John Philip Sousa grace its stage.
The 803-seat theater, designed by Hartford-based architect William Brocklesby, has presented thousands of first-run nightly films and numerous yearly film festivals, including Kids' Best Fest and the Northampton Independent Film Festival, as well as played host to countless other musicians, comedians, magicians, thespians and dancers.
The Academy's stage was revamped in the 60s when it had fallen into a state of disrepair. It features a plush velour curtain which adds to the extravagant ambience it's almost impossible not to feel when seated in the audience, as well as a spacious balcony and old-school style theater boxes (think of what the Muppet curmudgeons Statler and Waldorf sat in while they heckled The Muppet Show).
While the Academy still occasionally features films, most of its current shows are musicals, concerts and theater performances. So far this year, the 118-year-old theater, originally built as an opera house with excellent acoustics to match, has welcomed the Pioneer Valley Symphony, the Alloy Orchestra and a slew of accordion players. Coming up this month and next is Pioneer Arts Center of Easthampton's hip-hop adaptation of West Side Story (April 23-27) and Commonwealth Opera's presentation of Man of La Mancha (May 9-11).
