With reference to the cinema visit mentioned above, I just looked in my travel log, where I sometimes entered movie and theatre visits, and found that I attended “Cinema 3 near North Station” on Tuesday, December 2, 1980. This implies that there was a “Cinema 1 and 2” nearby.
Further information that I have is that it was sold to Showcase in 1964, twinned in 1968 and quadded sometime after that. I knew that it remained open after 1990, but didn’t realize that Showcase operated it all the way to 1998. I understand that National Amusements donated it to the city for conversion into a PAC. I know that there were work crews inside it in early-2005, but what is happening there now ?
The Poli Palace was apparently the largest of the downtown Worcester theatres when it opened November 15, 1926. I have a seating capacity of 3196 seats. It had a Hall organ. The info I have is that it was built on the site of the Poli Grand Theatre of 1904, but it was built at an axis of 90 degrees to the old theatre. The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for this house has a photo taken in 1941.The long marquee has 4 lines with white letters on a black background. Movies are Jean Arthur in “The Devil and Miss Jones”, and Kay Francis in “Playgirl”. Next is “That Night in Rio”. The Report states that the theatre is a MGM customer, that it is in “DeLuxe” condition; with the following seating: Orchestra: 1691; Balcony: 748; 2nd Balcony: 399; Loges: 317; Boxes: 84, Total: 3239.The marquee says “Loew’s Poli” but does not have the word “Palace”. I wonder if what they call “2nd Balcony” in the REport is actually the upper part of one big balcony ??
The architect of the Old Howard in October 1846 was Isaiah Rogers. It was said to have 2000 seats when it opened but that seems like an exaggeration, even in those days of small seats spaced close together.
The theatre was built by George “Doc” Lothrop, who was a colorful character who ran theatres and produced shows in eastern New England including in Boston and Providence. He presented second-run or second-string shows, plays and musicals, and minstrel troupes. Later, vaudeville and early movies. Like many smaller American theatres of the 19th Century, this one is an “upstairs house”, with the main floor one flight up. The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for this house has a photo taken in May 1941, when it was the Olympia Theatre. There was a vertical sign above and a triangular marquee with 3 lines. Movies playing are Fred MacMurray in “Virginia” plus “Man I Married”. Walton’s Restaurant is to the right. The Report states that the Olympia has been a MGM customer for over 10 years; that it’s in Good condition; and that it has 650 seats on the main floor and 536 seats in the balcony, total: 1186. It became an E.M. Loew house, perhaps sometime in the 1930s ?? In the post-War era a number of EML theatres were “modernized” and given the name “Fine Arts”, and this apparently was one of them. I understand that it’s under the same management as the Paris Theatre nearby.
The engagement of “Don Juan in Hell” on stage mentioned above took place from Monday Nov. 24 to Sat. Nov.29, 1952. Charles Boyer played Don Juan, and Vincent Price played the Devil. The program states that there will be one performance of “John Brown’s Body” by Stephen Vincent Benet on Wed. evening, December 17, 1952 at the RKO Boston. Cast included Tyrone Power, Judith Anderson and Raymond Massey. That production also played a longer engagement at the Boston Opera House on Huntington Avenue in Nov. 1953. Between Dec. 1952 and the opening of Cinerama one year later, there may have been other attractions on stage, in addition to movies.
The original name was Lothrop’s Opera House and the architects were Cutting and Forbush. It opened on August 17, 1891 with the play “The Spectre Bridegroom”. Doc Lothrop specialized in what could be called “2nd-run” or “2nd-string” plays. He also presented minstrel troupes, and later vaudeville and early movie-shorts.
Like many 19th century theatres, it’s an “upstairs” house, on the 2nd floor. Its builder, George “Doc” Lothrop, was involved with theatres and productions in Boston and Providence. The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for this theatre (when it was the Olympia) has a photo of the entrance taken in May 1941. The Olympia’s marquee has 3 lines: Fred MacMurray in “Virginia”, plus “The Man I Married” are the two films. Walton’s Restaurant is to the right of the theatre. In addition to the marquee, it also had a vertical sign. The Report states that the house has been presenting MGM product for over 10 years, that it is in Good condition, and that it has 650 seats in the orchestra and 536 in the balcony, total: 1186. Some of the E.M. Loew houses were redecorated after WW II and renamed “Fine Arts”, and this is one of them.
I think the reason that the Fine Arts did so well as an art-film house many decades ago was because it was located in an area with many educated people. That entire area was full of them – not so much people with money, but people with a taste for artistic and literary things. I worked at nearby Symphony Hall in the early 1950s as an usher and ticket-taker and it really was a tony area, completely safe at night, too. As for Henry Jewett and his repertory troupe— although they performed in various venues, I don’t think that they would have appeared at both the Fine Arts and the Boston University theaters simultaneously.
The Capitol’s architect was Roger Garland. It had about 2000 seats when it opened in Dec. 1926 (I have an opening date of Dec. 11th). I have heard that it was the first Atmospheric in New England. The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for this theatre has a photo taken in May 1941. The marquee had 2 panels each with 3 lines. The attraction is Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in “Road to Zanzibar”. The report states that the theatre is not a MGM customer, that it is in Good condition; and that the seating is: Orchestra 1110; Balcony: 490, and Loges: 284. Total: 1884 seats.
In the early 1980s, I attended a straight xxx film at a little cinema on either Friend St. or Portland St. It was on the east side of the street, a few doors down from Causeway St. You went in and turned right to face the screen. I think it was a single-screen operation. It was in an existing building.
The RKO Grand on N. Clark Street was a historic theatre. It opened in 1880 on the site of an earlier theatre and was called the Grand Opera House. It had about 1500 seats. After 1900 it was under the direction of Fred and H.L. Hamilin, theatrical managers and producers. It was the scene of the first production of two huge hit musicals aimed at children. In June 1902, the original production of “The Wizard of OZ” had its premier there. One year later, in June 1903, came the premiere of Victor Herbert’s “Babes in Toyland”. Both of these shows were big hits and ran thru the summer. (Did this theatre have an early form of air-conditioning?? – most theatres then closed for the summer.) I believe it later was under the management of the actor/producer George M. Cohan. It became a RKO movie house later (by 1941?). It closed around 1958. I understand that it was not demolished until long after it closed.
Although short-lived, it was a famous Vaude theatre in its day. Early film shorts proved very popular at vaudeville houses like this. Bravo to Damien Farley for profiling here what is now a long-forgotten theatre.
I have a program for the Orpheum Theatre for the week of Monday January 4, 1909. The theatre then was under the direction of the up and coming William Morris. The program mentions that tickets are sold at both the Washington Street and the Hamilton Place entrances. It’s also possible to arrange a weekly subscription for tickets. There is elevator service to each floor of the theatre, and a diagram of exits shows that there are 2 balconies, and there is a “dress circle” at the rear of the orchestra. At the right rear is an exit to Washington St., and at the left rear is an exit to Hamilton Place. The first half of the program consists of 5 assorted acts, preceeded by an overture from the house orchestra. After the intermission, there are 3 more acts, including the headliner, Vesta Victoria, the British music hall star. At the very end is “Morriscope”, a series of motion picture comedy shorts. Next week’s headliner is Harry Lauder. There is a note that last week at the Orpheum there were 25,672 admissions. There were 2 shows, 6 days a week. Plus a concert on Sunday evenings.
There are 2 photos taken inside the tunnel under Mason Street in 1970 on page 147 of the new book “Theatres” by Craig Morrison. When Savoy II, the 2nd screen of the Sack Savoy, was created on the stage of the theatre, it was accessed from the west end of the arcade. It’s possible that the Opera Company of Boston used this access doorway for their new stage entrance for performers, musicians and technicians. At about the time that the Savoy II opened, I heard that the old KM dressing rooms, which were at the rear of the south end of the stage, were converted into tiny studio rental apartments. I don’t know if this actually happened, or if it was only a plan.
RE: the discussion above of Donald King’s recent Boston theatres book. He did not leave the Boston area in the 1970s or 1980s, but way back in the early 1950s! Or maybe in the 1940s. The original Beacon Theatre was opened about Feb.1910, designed by Clarence Blackwell and had 700-plus seats. It was on the west side of Tremont St., a short distance north of Beacon. It had a big verical sign, and was similar in size to the Modern/Mayflower. It had a balcony. I remember seeing the first Brigit Bardot film there in the late-1950s and there was a full house on a Friday evening, as she had generated a great deal of publicity. I seem to recall that the office building which stood just south of the theatre and which was located at the corner of Tremont and Beacon had originally been a famous Boston department store. When all of this was torn down, the entrance for the new Beacon cinema was approximately on the same site. I saw “Caligula” in there in the Fall of 1980. It had 3 screens then, and I recall that it was spotless, immaculate inside.
The entrance on Tremont Street was located right next to the south wall of Tremont on the Common. It was constructed in the mid-1890s for the original Keith’s Theatre which had opened in 1894. I don’t know if it was an adaptation of an existing building, or if it was new construction. It was very ornate in appearance. I don’t know what was located in the upper floors. One went in, purchased a ticket, and then went downstairs into a tunnel under Mason Street and then up into the north side of the Keith’s Theatre. The entire structure including the tunnel was beautifully decorated. When the Keith Memorial was built, this entrance on Tremont Street was adapted for it. At some point the tunnel ceased to be used, and one had to go outside and cross Mason Street on the surface. Sometime in the mid-1940s, the structure was “modernized” inside and out. The tunnel staircase was covered over. I used this entrance many times. There was a boxoffice there- you bought a ticket, then went out the rear door and crossed Mason St. to enter the rear of the Keith Memorial arcade. The two doors on Mason street were not opposite one another- you walked a diagonal in a northeasterly direction. But at night, both doors were brightly lit, in contrast to the general darkness of Mason St. You could not get lost ! You then walked east down the arcade and turned left to enter the Grand Foyer and have your ticket taken. The arcade and Tremont St. entrance continued in use right into the Opera Company of Boston era. However, there was no longer a box office in the structure. I last used it on April 11, 1984 to leave after a performance of “Madame Butterly”. A large number of other audience members also exited through it. The original stage door of the KM was on Mason Street, just north of the arcade entrance. But the Opera Company did not use it; instead they created a new stage entrance in the west end of the arcade itself. The old tunnel was still there in the 1980s: You could access the east end of the tunnel from the basement under the arcade and stage.It was still fancily decorated, but pitch-dark. I went into it for a few yards during an open house at the theatre around 1978 and again in 1983. In March 1987, the Tremont St. lobby was demolished. I went by the site and noted that heaps of bricks had been pushed into the west end of the tunnel. I don’t know what happened to the east end of the tunnel when the Opera House stage was reconstructed in 2004. In 2003, I was astonished to see that the Tremont Street lobby building had been recreated on the original site. Although not fancey like the 1895 original, it has a theatrical look. Someone told me that it is possible that the developers for that site were required to recreate the entrance, even though the Opera House no longer has access for audience members from Mason St. Does anyone know anything about why that structure was built ?
Around 1980 or 1981 a youngster who worked part-time in the mail room at my office told me that the previous Saturday night he and a friend had gone to an event at the Boston Garden which had been cancelled at the last minute. So they decided to go down the street to the West End Pussycat. He was astonished to find that the theatre was so full that they had to take seperate seats; moreover, most of the patrons there seemed to be couples on dates which further astonished him as he did not think that the Pussycat was a proper place to escort a young lady !
The Opera House does indeed sit on the site of the old Boston Theatre (1854-1925), a big legit house with over 3000 seats, 3 balconies and a huge stage. The Opera House entrance facade on Washington Street is in the exact location of the Boston Theatre’s entrance. After about 1908, the Boston was run by the Keith organization. Next to the Boston’s north wall on Mason Street was a firehouse, which later closed. When Ed Albee decided to build the Keith Memorial Theatre, he acquired the firehouse and demolished both it and the Boston Theatre. This provided a larger site which means that the Opera House is wider than the Boston Theatre was. I first went to this theatre in the late-1940s with older brother and his friends. The main floor was full so we had to sit in the balcony. As we started up the grand staircase, I noted with glee that some wit had placed two pieces of popcorn in the eyes of the B.F. Keith bust on the stair landing making it appear that he had two cat eyes or lion eyes. (Well, he was a lion of show business!) This big heavy bronze bust was removed for safekeeping in the mid-1970s and was stored at the Teele Sq. Theatre in Somerville. Now, it’s back in place where it belongs.
The Strand in Uphams Corner was one of the largest of the dozen or so Nabes in various sections of Dorchester. It had 1819 seats, was designed by Funk & Wilcox, and opened Nov. 11, 1918. Opening attractions were “Queen of the Sea” and “Out of a Clear Sky” on screen and a singer on stage. Supposedly, it had the first Wurlitzer organ installed in Boston, and also supposedly, it’s still there in the theatre. It was run by various Paramount affiliates. The rear half of the orchestra floor is stadium-style, with a large balcony above and an inner foyer below. I’m not certain, but I think it was still operating in the early 1960s. I was inside it shortly after it reopened and it was not in too bad condition; I’ve seen much worse.One neat thing that they did in the 1980s was to restore the large painted sign on the rear of the stagehouse. It’s unfortunate that the theatre is nowhere near a subway station. Most people in the greater Boston area probably don’t have a clue about where it is or how to get to it.
It was a very popular uptown cinema with emphasis on art-house product. I went there several times mostly in mid- and late- 1950s. It was just outside Kenmore Square and was located at the bridge over the Boston & Albany RR tracks. The street level was higher than the main floor level, so one went downstairs to the orchestra floor. It had a very modern look, both inside and out. The railroad tracks became the route for the Mass. Turnpike extension in the early-1960s. The right-of-way had to be widened considerably to accomodate both the new highway and the old railway route. So the Kenmore was closed and demolished.
The theatre opened, as the Keith Albee Boston, on Oct. 5, 1925, with 3231 seats. Arthur Bowditch, architect. Constructed within the rear of an existing building, more or less on the footprint of the Globe Theatre of the 19th century, an elaborately decorated legit house with over 2000 seats. Like the RKO Boston, the Globe also had an entrance on Washington Street, and a rear foyer exit on Essex Street, as well as a scene door facing toward Hayward Place. But it must have been shorter in length, because its scene door was a short distance in from Hayward Place, rather than right on it, like the RKO’s. In the 1980s, that scene door became a garage entrance for pushcart vendors. Since the stage floor was a drop down below Hayward Place, they must have built a false floor in the stage house. Around this time, one day the stage door was wide open and I observed a notice affixed to the inside of the door which said something like “Attention Performers: Beware of Confidence men on the streets of Boston.” Since there are several floors of offices directly above the auditorium and stage, this is one closed-up theatre where there is no danger from a leaky roof. I understand that the building management uses it for storage and that’s why there are lights on in the auditorium. The front portion of the lobby entrance on Washington St. is now a MBTA Orange Line exit. There was a marquee and vertical sign above it in the old days.
We knew this theatre circa 1950 as the “RKO Boston” or “RKO Keith Boston” (never “Keith’s”). There were attractions on stage there from time to time, even though the Vaude era was long over. For example, late-January 1951: Jack Carson, Don Cherry, Janis Carter, Honey Bros., Cece & Bud Robinson on stage with “Under the Gun” on screen. The following bill, in Feb. 1951, included Mel Torme, Maxie Rosenbloom, DeMarco Sisters, and Harmonica Rascals; movie unknown. On Saturday May 19, 1951, “Snow White”, a touring musical version, was presented on stage several times during the day. I saw “Don Juan in Hell” by George Bernard Shaw on stage at a Sat. matinee, November 29, 1952, starring Vincent Price, Charles Boyer, Agnes Morehead, and Cedric Hardwick. This was really a glorified poetry reading.But it stayed at the RKO Boston for at least one week, maybe two. One year later, a similar poetry reading, “John Brown’s Body” was presented at the old Boston Opera House, with Tyrone Power, Raymond Massey and Anne Baxter.(Nov. 1953). I don’t know when the last stage use occured at the RKO Boston, sometime between Nov. 1952 and the Fall of 1953 when it was converted into a Cinerama operation. I went to a number of Cinerama showings there, which were very popular in the 1950s. I believe that it was the only Cinerama venue in the Boston area.
to: dwodeyla – I have reports only for the Gorman Th. in Framingham and the Colonial Th. in Natick, both filled out in 1941.
With reference to the cinema visit mentioned above, I just looked in my travel log, where I sometimes entered movie and theatre visits, and found that I attended “Cinema 3 near North Station” on Tuesday, December 2, 1980. This implies that there was a “Cinema 1 and 2” nearby.
Further information that I have is that it was sold to Showcase in 1964, twinned in 1968 and quadded sometime after that. I knew that it remained open after 1990, but didn’t realize that Showcase operated it all the way to 1998. I understand that National Amusements donated it to the city for conversion into a PAC. I know that there were work crews inside it in early-2005, but what is happening there now ?
The Poli Palace was apparently the largest of the downtown Worcester theatres when it opened November 15, 1926. I have a seating capacity of 3196 seats. It had a Hall organ. The info I have is that it was built on the site of the Poli Grand Theatre of 1904, but it was built at an axis of 90 degrees to the old theatre. The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for this house has a photo taken in 1941.The long marquee has 4 lines with white letters on a black background. Movies are Jean Arthur in “The Devil and Miss Jones”, and Kay Francis in “Playgirl”. Next is “That Night in Rio”. The Report states that the theatre is a MGM customer, that it is in “DeLuxe” condition; with the following seating: Orchestra: 1691; Balcony: 748; 2nd Balcony: 399; Loges: 317; Boxes: 84, Total: 3239.The marquee says “Loew’s Poli” but does not have the word “Palace”. I wonder if what they call “2nd Balcony” in the REport is actually the upper part of one big balcony ??
The architect of the Old Howard in October 1846 was Isaiah Rogers. It was said to have 2000 seats when it opened but that seems like an exaggeration, even in those days of small seats spaced close together.
The theatre was built by George “Doc” Lothrop, who was a colorful character who ran theatres and produced shows in eastern New England including in Boston and Providence. He presented second-run or second-string shows, plays and musicals, and minstrel troupes. Later, vaudeville and early movies. Like many smaller American theatres of the 19th Century, this one is an “upstairs house”, with the main floor one flight up. The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for this house has a photo taken in May 1941, when it was the Olympia Theatre. There was a vertical sign above and a triangular marquee with 3 lines. Movies playing are Fred MacMurray in “Virginia” plus “Man I Married”. Walton’s Restaurant is to the right. The Report states that the Olympia has been a MGM customer for over 10 years; that it’s in Good condition; and that it has 650 seats on the main floor and 536 seats in the balcony, total: 1186. It became an E.M. Loew house, perhaps sometime in the 1930s ?? In the post-War era a number of EML theatres were “modernized” and given the name “Fine Arts”, and this apparently was one of them. I understand that it’s under the same management as the Paris Theatre nearby.
The engagement of “Don Juan in Hell” on stage mentioned above took place from Monday Nov. 24 to Sat. Nov.29, 1952. Charles Boyer played Don Juan, and Vincent Price played the Devil. The program states that there will be one performance of “John Brown’s Body” by Stephen Vincent Benet on Wed. evening, December 17, 1952 at the RKO Boston. Cast included Tyrone Power, Judith Anderson and Raymond Massey. That production also played a longer engagement at the Boston Opera House on Huntington Avenue in Nov. 1953. Between Dec. 1952 and the opening of Cinerama one year later, there may have been other attractions on stage, in addition to movies.
The original name was Lothrop’s Opera House and the architects were Cutting and Forbush. It opened on August 17, 1891 with the play “The Spectre Bridegroom”. Doc Lothrop specialized in what could be called “2nd-run” or “2nd-string” plays. He also presented minstrel troupes, and later vaudeville and early movie-shorts.
Like many 19th century theatres, it’s an “upstairs” house, on the 2nd floor. Its builder, George “Doc” Lothrop, was involved with theatres and productions in Boston and Providence. The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for this theatre (when it was the Olympia) has a photo of the entrance taken in May 1941. The Olympia’s marquee has 3 lines: Fred MacMurray in “Virginia”, plus “The Man I Married” are the two films. Walton’s Restaurant is to the right of the theatre. In addition to the marquee, it also had a vertical sign. The Report states that the house has been presenting MGM product for over 10 years, that it is in Good condition, and that it has 650 seats in the orchestra and 536 in the balcony, total: 1186. Some of the E.M. Loew houses were redecorated after WW II and renamed “Fine Arts”, and this is one of them.
I think the reason that the Fine Arts did so well as an art-film house many decades ago was because it was located in an area with many educated people. That entire area was full of them – not so much people with money, but people with a taste for artistic and literary things. I worked at nearby Symphony Hall in the early 1950s as an usher and ticket-taker and it really was a tony area, completely safe at night, too. As for Henry Jewett and his repertory troupe— although they performed in various venues, I don’t think that they would have appeared at both the Fine Arts and the Boston University theaters simultaneously.
The Capitol’s architect was Roger Garland. It had about 2000 seats when it opened in Dec. 1926 (I have an opening date of Dec. 11th). I have heard that it was the first Atmospheric in New England. The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for this theatre has a photo taken in May 1941. The marquee had 2 panels each with 3 lines. The attraction is Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in “Road to Zanzibar”. The report states that the theatre is not a MGM customer, that it is in Good condition; and that the seating is: Orchestra 1110; Balcony: 490, and Loges: 284. Total: 1884 seats.
In the early 1980s, I attended a straight xxx film at a little cinema on either Friend St. or Portland St. It was on the east side of the street, a few doors down from Causeway St. You went in and turned right to face the screen. I think it was a single-screen operation. It was in an existing building.
The RKO Grand on N. Clark Street was a historic theatre. It opened in 1880 on the site of an earlier theatre and was called the Grand Opera House. It had about 1500 seats. After 1900 it was under the direction of Fred and H.L. Hamilin, theatrical managers and producers. It was the scene of the first production of two huge hit musicals aimed at children. In June 1902, the original production of “The Wizard of OZ” had its premier there. One year later, in June 1903, came the premiere of Victor Herbert’s “Babes in Toyland”. Both of these shows were big hits and ran thru the summer. (Did this theatre have an early form of air-conditioning?? – most theatres then closed for the summer.) I believe it later was under the management of the actor/producer George M. Cohan. It became a RKO movie house later (by 1941?). It closed around 1958. I understand that it was not demolished until long after it closed.
Although short-lived, it was a famous Vaude theatre in its day. Early film shorts proved very popular at vaudeville houses like this. Bravo to Damien Farley for profiling here what is now a long-forgotten theatre.
I have a program for the Orpheum Theatre for the week of Monday January 4, 1909. The theatre then was under the direction of the up and coming William Morris. The program mentions that tickets are sold at both the Washington Street and the Hamilton Place entrances. It’s also possible to arrange a weekly subscription for tickets. There is elevator service to each floor of the theatre, and a diagram of exits shows that there are 2 balconies, and there is a “dress circle” at the rear of the orchestra. At the right rear is an exit to Washington St., and at the left rear is an exit to Hamilton Place. The first half of the program consists of 5 assorted acts, preceeded by an overture from the house orchestra. After the intermission, there are 3 more acts, including the headliner, Vesta Victoria, the British music hall star. At the very end is “Morriscope”, a series of motion picture comedy shorts. Next week’s headliner is Harry Lauder. There is a note that last week at the Orpheum there were 25,672 admissions. There were 2 shows, 6 days a week. Plus a concert on Sunday evenings.
There are 2 photos taken inside the tunnel under Mason Street in 1970 on page 147 of the new book “Theatres” by Craig Morrison. When Savoy II, the 2nd screen of the Sack Savoy, was created on the stage of the theatre, it was accessed from the west end of the arcade. It’s possible that the Opera Company of Boston used this access doorway for their new stage entrance for performers, musicians and technicians. At about the time that the Savoy II opened, I heard that the old KM dressing rooms, which were at the rear of the south end of the stage, were converted into tiny studio rental apartments. I don’t know if this actually happened, or if it was only a plan.
RE: the discussion above of Donald King’s recent Boston theatres book. He did not leave the Boston area in the 1970s or 1980s, but way back in the early 1950s! Or maybe in the 1940s. The original Beacon Theatre was opened about Feb.1910, designed by Clarence Blackwell and had 700-plus seats. It was on the west side of Tremont St., a short distance north of Beacon. It had a big verical sign, and was similar in size to the Modern/Mayflower. It had a balcony. I remember seeing the first Brigit Bardot film there in the late-1950s and there was a full house on a Friday evening, as she had generated a great deal of publicity. I seem to recall that the office building which stood just south of the theatre and which was located at the corner of Tremont and Beacon had originally been a famous Boston department store. When all of this was torn down, the entrance for the new Beacon cinema was approximately on the same site. I saw “Caligula” in there in the Fall of 1980. It had 3 screens then, and I recall that it was spotless, immaculate inside.
The entrance on Tremont Street was located right next to the south wall of Tremont on the Common. It was constructed in the mid-1890s for the original Keith’s Theatre which had opened in 1894. I don’t know if it was an adaptation of an existing building, or if it was new construction. It was very ornate in appearance. I don’t know what was located in the upper floors. One went in, purchased a ticket, and then went downstairs into a tunnel under Mason Street and then up into the north side of the Keith’s Theatre. The entire structure including the tunnel was beautifully decorated. When the Keith Memorial was built, this entrance on Tremont Street was adapted for it. At some point the tunnel ceased to be used, and one had to go outside and cross Mason Street on the surface. Sometime in the mid-1940s, the structure was “modernized” inside and out. The tunnel staircase was covered over. I used this entrance many times. There was a boxoffice there- you bought a ticket, then went out the rear door and crossed Mason St. to enter the rear of the Keith Memorial arcade. The two doors on Mason street were not opposite one another- you walked a diagonal in a northeasterly direction. But at night, both doors were brightly lit, in contrast to the general darkness of Mason St. You could not get lost ! You then walked east down the arcade and turned left to enter the Grand Foyer and have your ticket taken. The arcade and Tremont St. entrance continued in use right into the Opera Company of Boston era. However, there was no longer a box office in the structure. I last used it on April 11, 1984 to leave after a performance of “Madame Butterly”. A large number of other audience members also exited through it. The original stage door of the KM was on Mason Street, just north of the arcade entrance. But the Opera Company did not use it; instead they created a new stage entrance in the west end of the arcade itself. The old tunnel was still there in the 1980s: You could access the east end of the tunnel from the basement under the arcade and stage.It was still fancily decorated, but pitch-dark. I went into it for a few yards during an open house at the theatre around 1978 and again in 1983. In March 1987, the Tremont St. lobby was demolished. I went by the site and noted that heaps of bricks had been pushed into the west end of the tunnel. I don’t know what happened to the east end of the tunnel when the Opera House stage was reconstructed in 2004. In 2003, I was astonished to see that the Tremont Street lobby building had been recreated on the original site. Although not fancey like the 1895 original, it has a theatrical look. Someone told me that it is possible that the developers for that site were required to recreate the entrance, even though the Opera House no longer has access for audience members from Mason St. Does anyone know anything about why that structure was built ?
Around 1980 or 1981 a youngster who worked part-time in the mail room at my office told me that the previous Saturday night he and a friend had gone to an event at the Boston Garden which had been cancelled at the last minute. So they decided to go down the street to the West End Pussycat. He was astonished to find that the theatre was so full that they had to take seperate seats; moreover, most of the patrons there seemed to be couples on dates which further astonished him as he did not think that the Pussycat was a proper place to escort a young lady !
The Opera House does indeed sit on the site of the old Boston Theatre (1854-1925), a big legit house with over 3000 seats, 3 balconies and a huge stage. The Opera House entrance facade on Washington Street is in the exact location of the Boston Theatre’s entrance. After about 1908, the Boston was run by the Keith organization. Next to the Boston’s north wall on Mason Street was a firehouse, which later closed. When Ed Albee decided to build the Keith Memorial Theatre, he acquired the firehouse and demolished both it and the Boston Theatre. This provided a larger site which means that the Opera House is wider than the Boston Theatre was. I first went to this theatre in the late-1940s with older brother and his friends. The main floor was full so we had to sit in the balcony. As we started up the grand staircase, I noted with glee that some wit had placed two pieces of popcorn in the eyes of the B.F. Keith bust on the stair landing making it appear that he had two cat eyes or lion eyes. (Well, he was a lion of show business!) This big heavy bronze bust was removed for safekeeping in the mid-1970s and was stored at the Teele Sq. Theatre in Somerville. Now, it’s back in place where it belongs.
The Strand in Uphams Corner was one of the largest of the dozen or so Nabes in various sections of Dorchester. It had 1819 seats, was designed by Funk & Wilcox, and opened Nov. 11, 1918. Opening attractions were “Queen of the Sea” and “Out of a Clear Sky” on screen and a singer on stage. Supposedly, it had the first Wurlitzer organ installed in Boston, and also supposedly, it’s still there in the theatre. It was run by various Paramount affiliates. The rear half of the orchestra floor is stadium-style, with a large balcony above and an inner foyer below. I’m not certain, but I think it was still operating in the early 1960s. I was inside it shortly after it reopened and it was not in too bad condition; I’ve seen much worse.One neat thing that they did in the 1980s was to restore the large painted sign on the rear of the stagehouse. It’s unfortunate that the theatre is nowhere near a subway station. Most people in the greater Boston area probably don’t have a clue about where it is or how to get to it.
It was a very popular uptown cinema with emphasis on art-house product. I went there several times mostly in mid- and late- 1950s. It was just outside Kenmore Square and was located at the bridge over the Boston & Albany RR tracks. The street level was higher than the main floor level, so one went downstairs to the orchestra floor. It had a very modern look, both inside and out. The railroad tracks became the route for the Mass. Turnpike extension in the early-1960s. The right-of-way had to be widened considerably to accomodate both the new highway and the old railway route. So the Kenmore was closed and demolished.
Thomas Lamb apparently advised Arthur Bowditch on the interior design of the Keith Boston- the foyers and auditorium definitely have a Lambesque look.
The theatre opened, as the Keith Albee Boston, on Oct. 5, 1925, with 3231 seats. Arthur Bowditch, architect. Constructed within the rear of an existing building, more or less on the footprint of the Globe Theatre of the 19th century, an elaborately decorated legit house with over 2000 seats. Like the RKO Boston, the Globe also had an entrance on Washington Street, and a rear foyer exit on Essex Street, as well as a scene door facing toward Hayward Place. But it must have been shorter in length, because its scene door was a short distance in from Hayward Place, rather than right on it, like the RKO’s. In the 1980s, that scene door became a garage entrance for pushcart vendors. Since the stage floor was a drop down below Hayward Place, they must have built a false floor in the stage house. Around this time, one day the stage door was wide open and I observed a notice affixed to the inside of the door which said something like “Attention Performers: Beware of Confidence men on the streets of Boston.” Since there are several floors of offices directly above the auditorium and stage, this is one closed-up theatre where there is no danger from a leaky roof. I understand that the building management uses it for storage and that’s why there are lights on in the auditorium. The front portion of the lobby entrance on Washington St. is now a MBTA Orange Line exit. There was a marquee and vertical sign above it in the old days.
We knew this theatre circa 1950 as the “RKO Boston” or “RKO Keith Boston” (never “Keith’s”). There were attractions on stage there from time to time, even though the Vaude era was long over. For example, late-January 1951: Jack Carson, Don Cherry, Janis Carter, Honey Bros., Cece & Bud Robinson on stage with “Under the Gun” on screen. The following bill, in Feb. 1951, included Mel Torme, Maxie Rosenbloom, DeMarco Sisters, and Harmonica Rascals; movie unknown. On Saturday May 19, 1951, “Snow White”, a touring musical version, was presented on stage several times during the day. I saw “Don Juan in Hell” by George Bernard Shaw on stage at a Sat. matinee, November 29, 1952, starring Vincent Price, Charles Boyer, Agnes Morehead, and Cedric Hardwick. This was really a glorified poetry reading.But it stayed at the RKO Boston for at least one week, maybe two. One year later, a similar poetry reading, “John Brown’s Body” was presented at the old Boston Opera House, with Tyrone Power, Raymond Massey and Anne Baxter.(Nov. 1953). I don’t know when the last stage use occured at the RKO Boston, sometime between Nov. 1952 and the Fall of 1953 when it was converted into a Cinerama operation. I went to a number of Cinerama showings there, which were very popular in the 1950s. I believe that it was the only Cinerama venue in the Boston area.