About Mosesian Arts

The Mosesian Center for the Arts is a performing and visual arts venue on the Charles River in Watertown, Massachusetts. The 30,000 square foot facility, located in an historic 1894 manufacturing shop on a former U.S. Army arsenal, houses a 339-seat main stage theater, a flexible black box theater, exhibition galleries, art classrooms, and a rehearsal studio. Mosesian Arts is located six miles from downtown Boston, borders Brighton and the Charles, and is easily accessible from surrounding suburbs and MetroWest.

Programming includes professional and community theater and musical performances, comedy, gallery exhibitions, literary and art discussions, and performing and visual arts classes and workshops for all ages. Watertown Children’s Theatre, Mosesian Arts’ performing arts education program, provides exceptional classes and performances for youth and families. The venue also hosts celebrated and cutting-edge performing arts companies from throughout the Greater Boston region and New England.

Our Mission

The Mosesian Center for the Arts enriches the lives of diverse audiences and participants by providing exceptional experiences in theater, visual, and literary art.

Our History

OUR HISTORIC PAST

In 1816, the U.S. Army purchased forty acres on the northern banks of the Charles River for a new arsenal. The Army chose Watertown for its proximity to Boston and its easy accessibility by land and water.

Over the following decades, the Watertown Arsenal grew from military storage to a major manufacturing facility. In 1894, a new machine shop—our Building 312—was constructed to assemble larger modern weapons. Built at a cost of $35,000, and recalling earlier Federal architecture, the structure was a tall, single story building with a large open floorplan and floor-to-ceiling windows to illuminate the interior for intricate assembly work.

In 1995, decades after research and testing had replaced manufacturing at the Arsenal, the Army closed the facility. Original windows and doors had been covered over and several other buildings had been demolished. Building 312, however, still stood when the Arsenal was finally designated a National Historic District.

In a redevelopment plan for commercial use, the Town of Watertown purchased the Arsenal and resold it to a developer. An architectural restoration returned windows and doorways to their original designs, and tree-lined green spaces became reminiscent of early Arsenal parade grounds.