RKO Boston Theatre

To Dennis Obrien. Just to let you know that when the RKO switched to Cinerama in Dec 1953 it had 3 booths not one booth for 3 projectors. The sound man sat in front of the Center booth and the booth for the sound was down on the right hand of the theatre. The balcony was huge with aboutn 1400 seats. I sat in the front row of the balcony for How The West Was won. Sat in the floor seats for many other presentations. When Windjamer played it was not in Cinemiracle it was presented in 3 strip and was converted into Cinerama by Cinerama when they aquired the process. There were ony a half a dozen or so Cinemiracle equipped theatres. 1 in N.Y. 1 in Chicago and I believe 1 in Philly. A few others maybe. Boston was not one of them. Boston did not go to a single booth until 70mm and It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad world. Boston was one of the only Major Cities that had only one real Cinerama theatres from beginning to end. When they Re-released This Is Cinerama in 1973 it played lousily at the Beacon Hill theatre on a Flat or almost Flat screen. More people walked out than the line coming in. The Beacon Hill was NOT a Cinerama theatre or even a facsimile of one.

Brad Smith. The picture with the Paramount in the distance doe not show the Boston Cinerama. It is across from the Paramount and at the bend on Washington, St.

Link to map image above

Hello I’m currently working on a book about the film 2001: A Space Odyssey and am looking for photos and programs/newspaper clippings etc from each city in which the film premiered in originally in 1968. If you saw the film in it’s initial run in the theater have a good memory of your experience, I’d love to interview you about seeing it. To date I have interviewed over 20 people that have worked on the film, and several close members in the Kubrick camp as well. If you can help please email me at

The large building which contains the RKO Boston predates the theater by some 20 years or so. There is a photo of the building under construction on page 122 of the Arcadia Press book “Boston in Motion” by Cheney and Sammarco, 1999. The photo looks north on Washington Street and was taken June 26, 1905. The 600 Washington Street building was well along in the photo, but not yet completed. There is a huge temporary sign on it advertising the Henry Siegel Company department store which went into the building.

In a 1918 Boston street directory, there was a Bacon and Company department store on the site of the RKO Boston.

That building seen in the lower right (that reads, “Delicates…”) is now the RMV.

In the photo which J.F.Lundy has posted, note the attraction, the Fadettes Women’s orchestra. They played at Keith’s for the entire summer of 1906. This very nice photo shows the Tremont Street entrance for B.F Keith’s Theater (later the Normandie and the Laffmovie) on Washington St. This entrance was later adapted for the RKO Keith Memorial Theater (now the Opera House). After WW II, the structure was “modernized.” The 2 theaters are not to be confused with the subject of this page, the RKO Boston Theatre. In the photo, note how people overdressed in the old days— hey, it’s summer and they all have jackets and coats on !

Yes, Chuck1231’s photo is of the grand staircase in the lobby of the RKO Keith Memorial/Opera House.

I walked around the building yesterday for the first time in a while. On the east side, the right side-wall, the fire escapes have been removed and most of the exit doors have been concreted-over. On the north wall, the rear stage wall, the stage door now has a metal roll-up cover over it. The scene door has been reduced in height. It is now harder to tell that there is a theater inside.

Ron, thanks as always – you sure know your Boston theater stuff!

I know this isn’t the right location, but once again i’m curious and hoping people and point me in the right direction….

My wife is from up here and she tells me there used to be a cinema at the end of Washington Street, near, above, or behind the parking garage that is across the street from the high rise condos next to the old state house where the State Street T entrance is. The parking garage entrance still has a poster box for movie posters at it’s entrance. Was this where the RKO was, or is this another theater entirely?