Golden Bough Playhouse

[
Pacific Repertory Theatre, located on the site of the historic Arts & Crafts Clubhouse, Carmel's first theatre and cultural center.] The Golden Bough Playhouse is a U.S. historic theatre in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. In 1905, to foster the arts in the village of Carmel-by-the-Sea, the Carmel Arts and Crafts Club was formed. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the village received an influx of artists and other creative types escaping the disaster area. Jack London describes the artists' colony in a portion of his novel, "The Valley of the Moon"; Among the noted writers and poets who thrived here were Mary Austin, George Sterling, Robinson Jeffers and Sinclair Lewis.

In 1906-07, the club built the town's first cultural center and theatre, The Carmel Arts & Crafts Clubhouse. Poets Austin and Sterling often performed their works there.

The site continues today as the historic Golden Bough Playhouse, with the current facility built in 1951. It is owned and operated by Carmel's only professional theatre, Pacific Repertory Theatre. The facility includes the 330-seat Golden Bough and 99-seat Circle Theatre, presenting over 175 performances in Carmel every year.

As of 2006, the Carmel Historic Resources Board gave approval for PacRep to make modifications to the current building, including remodeling or demolition. [http://www.carmelpinecone.com/061222-1.html]

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