Guthrie Center — Alice's Restaurant, Great Barrington

The Guthrie Center at 4 Van Deusenville Road in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, is a community centre operated by Arlo Guthrie — Woody Guthrie's son — in a former church building that was the subject of his celebrated 1967 talking blues song 'Alice's Restaurant Massacree'. The song — 18 and a half minutes long, one of the most extended compositions in folk music history — recounts a Thanksgiving 1965 incident in which Arlo was arrested for illegally dumping garbage in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and how this minor infraction was later cited during his Selective Service induction physical as evidence of criminal tendencies. The story is told with comedic detail and builds to a gentle anti-war conclusion.

The church in the song was the home of Alice and Ray Brock, friends of Arlo's family who had converted it into a residence. The song made the church and the surrounding Berkshire Hills landscape famous. After the Brocks moved on, the church eventually came into Arlo Guthrie's possession and he established the Guthrie Center as a non-denominational, interfaith organisation offering community programming, concerts, and various services. He has also operated a smaller venue called the Guthrie Center for concerts.

The Guthrie Center hosts public events and tours, and the surrounding Berkshire Hills landscape — including the site of the original garbage dump in Stockbridge — is documented in various heritage accounts of the song. Great Barrington is a small town in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, accessible from both New York City and Boston. 'Alice's Restaurant' is traditionally played on Thanksgiving Day on radio stations across the United States.