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Citys Zeiterion Performing Arts Center receives
$250,000 Bank of America grant
Bank takes center stage at the 'Z' with $250,000
gift
By Joe Cohen
Standard-Times staff writer
 NEW
BEDFORD Robert E. Gallery took to the Zeiterion
Theatre stage Wednesday the same stage that George
Jessel and Rudolph Valentino stepped out on decades ago
in the glow of carefully staged lighting.
Unlike famous entertainers who preceded him and filled
the downtown theater's 1,200 seats for 85 years, Mr.
Gallery was playing to an invitation-only audience of
60. Attired in a gray pinstripe suit and red tie, Mr.
Gallery was not on stage to make the audience laugh or
cry. He was, however, ready to make a strong impression.
Mr. Gallery, president of Bank of America Massachusetts,
had the starring role in a presentation of a $250,000
grant to the Zeiterion. Despite a lack of tears or cries
of "bravo," there was much applause for the gift, the
largest private grant to the Zeiterion in its history.
The supporting cast Zeiterion Executive Director
Katherine Knowles, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank and Mayor
Scott W. Lang were effusive in their praise of Mr.
Gallery's performance.
Subplots also coursed through the performance. The
Zeiterion hopes the gift by the Bank of America
Charitable Foundation encourages other organizations to
step up as contributors to the theater, considered by
many to be the heart of SouthCoast arts and culture.
Bank of America also hopes the gift will positively
influence current and potential customers, legislators
and other public officials and regulators as it goes
about the business of banking.
Mr. Gallery, whose office is in Boston but who has a
second home in Mattapoisett, said the grant serves all
three priorities that Bank of America has for
gift-giving decisions: economic development, children
and the arts. He called the grant a "triple-header,"
saying it "touches all three."
"Tell all your friends to join in. ... We hope this
helps to prime the pump," Mr. Gallery said of the desire
by the bank and Zeiterion to see other organizations
support the theater.
"Our commitment to New Bedford is not unique," he said,
noting that the Bank of America Charitable Foundation
gives about $200 million a year to many recipients. He
said the bank is committed to New Bedford, and he
checked off support for the whaling museum, symphony,
the SMILES mentoring program, baseball clinics and
affordable housing.
Rep. Frank noted that Bank of America's presence in
Massachusetts can be traced to mergers. Those would
include Fleet Bank, BankBoston, Bank of Boston, BayBank,
Shawmut Bank and the New Bedford Institution for Savings
all of which have been absorbed into Bank of America.
At the time Bank of America whose headquarters are in
North Carolina bought Fleet, Rep. Frank recounted,
some in Congress were concerned how communities such as
those in Southeastern Massachusetts would be treated. He
said Bank of America has kept its commitment to remain
involved in community programs where it does business,
and that is reflected in the grant to the Zeiterion.
Rep. Frank is one of the most powerful overseers of U.S.
banks in his role as chairman of the House Financial
Services Committee.
Mayor Lang said, "Some of our most important allies ...
are in the financial community." He said the gift is an
investment in the "creative economy" of the city.
Ms. Knowles said, "All I have to say is many thank you's.
Only together can this be all that it can be ... only as
partners will we be able to do this."
"It is amazing ... I believe in saying yes ... thank you
for saying yes," Ms. Knowles said.
The Zeiterion Theatre opened in April 1923 for the live
performance of vaudeville. It has transitioned over the
years from a live theater to a movie house, last known
as the State Theater, then back to live performances.
In the early 1980s, it almost was demolished. It was
saved by the Waterfront Historic Area League and
renovated with more than $1 million, much of it from the
state. The building now is owned by the city. Zeiterion
Theatre Inc. is a not-for-profit that manages the
building and programming.
Ms. Knowles said in an interview after the check passing
Wednesday that the not-for-profit has an annual budget
of $2.1 million and has tended to slip back and forth
between small operating deficits and surpluses.
She said the Bank of America grant can help stabilize
the organization's finances and, it is hoped, "kick off
a multimillion-dollar campaign."
Although Bank of America has made no commitment for
future funding for the Zeiterion and none is expected,
Ms. Knowles said the $250,000 grant is the "beginning of
a relationship." The largest private grant previously
was $50,000.
Contact Joe Cohen at jcohen@s-t.com
March 20, 2008 6:00 AM |
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