'Framingham was the bomb.' Carousel Theatre drew Jack Benny, Jimi Hendrix

FRAMINGHAM — LD Glover was 16 years old when he started working as a house crew member at the Carousel Theatre.  

He was one of many local residents in the late '60s who helped set up the stage for the likes of Jimi Hendrix, The Supremes, Led Zeppelin and others. 

"We were all 16, 18 years old and it was the best job ever," he said. "We would put up the tent, take care of the grounds, load the bands in and out, take care of the dressing rooms, do security, stagehands for the shows and roll the tent up at the end of the season."

The Carousel was a popular summer music venue on Old Connecticut Path that was in business from 1958 to 1969. Travelers on the Mass Pike could see it from the highway. The large theatrical tent, which was reportedly the largest in the United States at the time, could accommodate between 2,500 and 3,000 people, according to former Daily News arts writer Bob Tremblay. New England theatrical producer Francis Connelly was the owner.

The venue was a theatre in the round, meaning the stage was surrounded by the seated audience. The first performance at the venue was the musical "New Girl in Town" with Joan Blondell on June 30, 1958. 

Glover said Framingham was a popular nightspot throughout the 1950s, '60 and '70s — a "hub of entertainment."  

Mr. Know-It-All: When music made the rounds in Framingham

Alongside Route 9, popular spots like the restaurant and nightclub Maridor were very popular, he said. 

"That area was jumping back in the day," Glover said. "Framingham was the bomb. In between Ken's Steakhouse and the Maridor and the Carousel, you had the season." 

Glover found his love for the concert scene just a year before he started working at the Carousel, when his dad brought him to see American pianist and composer Duke Ellington there. 

"About a year or so later, I went up to the Carousel to buy some tickets to Simon & Garfunkel, and there was a little note on the box office that said 'Help Wanted,' so I applied. Four seasons later, we were still there." 

Glover, now 70, went on to have a career working as a roadie for bands throughout the country. He attributes the Carousel for setting him down that path. 

To celebrate the Carousel Theatre, Glover created a Facebook page that now has 459 followers.   

Music in modern times:Boch Center offers rapid COVID-19 testing before Saturday's performances at Wang, Shubert

One of them is Richard Alberty. He was 13 when he saw his first show at the Carousel. He snuck out of his house to see Hendrix. He jumped from his bedroom window in Southborough, then walked several miles from his house to the venue.

It was a life-changing experience, he said. 

"It was a magical place," Alberty said. "They really had a lot of great talent." 

He went on to see numerous shows at the Carousel, including Iron Butterfly, Led Zeppelin and Orpheus.    

He compared that area of Framingham to the Las Vegas Strip. Like Glover, he pursued a career working as roadie for a number of popular rock bands. 

"It was just magical," he said of the Carousel. "It was a real cool place." 

Ruthann Tomassini, a volunteer at the Framingham History Center, worked as a hostess at the Sea n Surf Restaurant along Route 9 between 1960 and 1970. She remembers people eating at the restaurant before heading to a show at the Carousel. On occasion, musicians and other celebrities stopped by. 

'As cautious as possible':Framingham's atac requires proof of vaccination

Italian actress Anna Maria Alberghetti, who won a Tony Award in 1962 as Best Actress (Musical) for "Carnival," would often rent a room in the back of the restaurant, Tomassini recalled. 

"It was exciting times for sure," she said. 

Mary McCann worked as a property mistress at the Carousel. She was in charge of making sure the talent had the props they needed when they were on stage. She worked throughout high school and college, she said. 

She loved the job and did it for about five summers. McCann saw the Carousel change from having more Broadway and classical music to rock concerts. She kept a few of the printed programs, but recently donated them to the Framingham History Center. 

One of her most memorable moments was getting to meet entertainer Jack Benny. 

"He was huge at the time," she said. "Instead of being this arrogant jerk who had something to prove, here was this guy who everybody in the world knows and here he is just sitting here chatting with me and being nice and low-key."  

After closing in 1969, the venue was destroyed in a fire shortly afterward, according to Tremblay.  

Today, office buildings sit on the property, which nevertheless pays tribute to its history — the Carousel Office Park at 500 Old Connecticut Path.

Cesareo Contreras can be reached at 508-626-3957 or ccontreras@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @cesareo_r.