Boston’s Gaiety Theatre May Become Condos

BOSTON, MA — The Gaiety Theatre, nearly abandoned for 20 years, is now threatened with the wrecking ball. According to this report from the National Trust, a developer is close to obtaining a demolition permit from the city of Boston.

Preservationists have appealed to the Boston Landmarks Commission, but the group recently chose not to grant the Gaiety landmark status. “The Boston Landmarks Commission stated that while the building deserves to be preserved, it doesn’t meet the standards for landmark designation,” says Ellen Lipsey, the commission’s executive director.

The Friends of the Gaiety, which is spearheading efforts to the save theater, plans to appeal the landmark decision and ask the state’s historical commission to intervene. “We are determined to protect this theater,” says Stephen Landrigan, one of the group’s members.