
Suffolk Downs Race Track - Boston, MA
Posted by:
NorStar
N 42° 23.567 W 071° 00.082
19T E 335271 N 4695328
On August 16th, 1966, the Beatles played their final concert in Boston at the Suffolk Downs race track before more than 25,000 fans, including one person who would become a rock star, himself.
Waymark Code: WM9D59
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 08/03/2010
Views: 8
In Boston, in the East Boston section of the city, is Suffolk Downs, a race horse track that was the venue for the Beatles on August 18, 1966, during what turned out to be the last tour for them.
Suffolk Downs, Boston, was in the middle of a summer tour through the U.S. (with one stop in Toronto, Canada), that included Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Washington, Philadelphia, Memphis, Cincinnati, St. Louis, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, and, finally, San Francisco.
In the link from the Christian Science Monitor, there is a first-hand account of that concert. From the account, the concert lasted 35 minutes - 11 songs.
Another source relates how a man named Brad Delp had initially become hooked on Beatles during the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, then attended the concert at Suffolk Downs in 1966. He would later become the lead singer to the supergroup Boston, and would found a Beatles tribute band called Beatlejuice.
Today, Suffolk Downs itself is dedicated to horse racing, though, at the time of the visit, Suffolk Downs was hosting a barbeque as part of its 75th anniversary celebration. Since the Beatles concert, the track has gone through a lot of changes, including major alterations to the stands.
To see the track, from the main entrance plaza, walk right and follow the fence. The stage (gauging from one of the photographs from a link, below) was inside of the track, facing the stands.
Sources:
Suffolk Downs:
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visit link)
Wikipedia (Brad Delp):
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visit link)
(Beatles Live Performances):
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visit link)
Christian Science Monitor (The Beatles Play Boston, 40 Years Ago Friday):
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visit link)