It’s great to hear from you. Do you happen to know what the theatre’s original name was, before Sack owned it? Or when the main auditorium was split into separate upstairs and downstairs screens?
This may well have been the first movie theatre I ever attended. The movie was 101 Dalmatians, which came out in 1961, so I must have been 4 years old. I recall being taken to a “Cry Room” some time during or after the film, and possibly also visiting the projection booth.
Lots of exterior photos are linked from the comments on the Publix Theatre page here at CinemaTreasures. (Publix Theatre was its name from 1949 until it closed in 1983.)
The link to “demolition photos” above actually goes to a discussion forum that has some pre-demolition photos too.
Also take a look at these documents, which contain more photos, a few even of the interior:
I don’t know how long the last two are going to stay around, since the site they’re on belongs to an organization that unsucessfully tried to save the theatre.
Three theatres further up Washington Street — the Paramount, Opera House (aka Savoy, RKO Keith Memorial), and Modern — have gotten much more attention, from both preservation organizations and the city.
The Opera House reopened last year after a lovely restoration job by Clear Channel. Emerson College just announced plans to renovate the Paramount and subdivide it into two live stages. The Modern is in sad shape and remains very much in limbo, but the city prevented its imminent demolition two years ago, seizing it from a neglectful owner by eminent domain.
This photo (described here) shows Stuart Street in the 1930s, looking east from Huntington Avenue towards Dartmouth Street. The Copley Theatre is on the left side.
A few weeks ago, before the Emerson announcement, someone started a thread about this theatre at CinemaTour.com . I posted a message there, linking to all the photos taken by Downtown Dave, Ian, and jmorong. It got a long response, which you can read here:
The Publix is the fifth downtown theatre building to be demolished in the past 30 years. I hope it is also the last. The others:
Gary (originally Plymouth) – demolished circa 1978 to make way for the State Transportation Building
Astor (originally Tremont) – demolished circa 1983 after being first converted to a “juice bar” and then abandoned. The site remained empty for a decade and a half, but eventually one of the Ritz-Carlton Towers, including the new Loews Boston Common multiplex, was built here.
State (originally Park, then Hub, then Trans-Lux) – demolished in 1991, soon after a proposal to redevelop the site, “Commonwealth Center”, financially collapsed. This site also became part of the Ritz Towers complex.
Pilgrim (originally Olympia) – demolished in 1996 by the property owner after strong encouragement from the city, which wanted to eliminate what it considered to be a undesirable X-rated use. It became a parking lot for most of the following decade. A residential tower called “Park Essex” is now rising on its site.
1955: [bryant Haliday and Cyrus Harvey Jr.,, the theatre’s owners] challenge Massachusetts’s blue laws when the state’s Public Safety Commissioner attempts to halt the Sunday showing of the film Miss Julie on the grounds that it “would disturb the peace of the Lord’s Day.” The Brattle wins, and the Massachusetts Supreme Court lifts the 1908 laws.
Sadly, by the time it closed, the 57 was anything but classy. In the cinema’s final decade, a good rule of thumb was that if it was playing at the 57, you probably didn’t want to see it.
It’s great to hear from you. Do you happen to know what the theatre’s original name was, before Sack owned it? Or when the main auditorium was split into separate upstairs and downstairs screens?
If you do this, you should show at least some of Vanya on 42nd Street …
Clear Channel has announced plans to spin off its live-entertainment division. I don’t know what effect, if any, this will have on the Opera House.
Clear Channel has announced plans to spin off its live-entertainment division. Will this affect plans for the Boyd in any way?
Thanks. Does the Film Daily Yearbook have an exact street address, so I can go to the site and report on what is now there?
If it was at Blue Hill Avenue and Morton Street, many people would call that Mattapan rather than Dorchester.
This may well have been the first movie theatre I ever attended. The movie was 101 Dalmatians, which came out in 1961, so I must have been 4 years old. I recall being taken to a “Cry Room” some time during or after the film, and possibly also visiting the projection booth.
Another demolition photo, from the Boston Phoenix.
Another demolition photo, from the Boston Phoenix.
And for photos of the Opera House, past and present, follow the link I posted above to its page here at CinemaTreasures.
Lots of exterior photos are linked from the comments on the Publix Theatre page here at CinemaTreasures. (Publix Theatre was its name from 1949 until it closed in 1983.)
The link to “demolition photos” above actually goes to a discussion forum that has some pre-demolition photos too.
Also take a look at these documents, which contain more photos, a few even of the interior:
View link
View link
View link
I don’t know how long the last two are going to stay around, since the site they’re on belongs to an organization that unsucessfully tried to save the theatre.
Boston has many organizations devoted to historic preservation — Historic New England, Historic Boston, The Bostonian Society, and The Boston Preservation Alliance are four that come to my mind immediately. For reasons I don’t fully understand, none of them decided to step up to the plate to lead a public campaign for this theatre.
Three theatres further up Washington Street — the Paramount, Opera House (aka Savoy, RKO Keith Memorial), and Modern — have gotten much more attention, from both preservation organizations and the city.
The Opera House reopened last year after a lovely restoration job by Clear Channel. Emerson College just announced plans to renovate the Paramount and subdivide it into two live stages. The Modern is in sad shape and remains very much in limbo, but the city prevented its imminent demolition two years ago, seizing it from a neglectful owner by eminent domain.
A 1930 night photo, described here, showing the Majestic’s marquee and the Metropolitan’s vertical sign.
A picture postcard of the Metropolitan, described here. It was made some time between 1925 and 1930.
A 1930 night photo, described here, showing the Majestic’s marquee and the Metropolitan’s vertical sign.
A 1947 photo, described here. You can’t see the marquee or the entrance, but you can see the vertical sign.
Actually, demolition started last week — on either Tuesday or Wednesday, April 19 or 20.
This photo (described here) shows Stuart Street in the 1930s, looking east from Huntington Avenue towards Dartmouth Street. The Copley Theatre is on the left side.
And here’s the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s press release about this project.
A few weeks ago, before the Emerson announcement, someone started a thread about this theatre at CinemaTour.com . I posted a message there, linking to all the photos taken by Downtown Dave, Ian, and jmorong. It got a long response, which you can read here:
CinemaTour.com forum: Restoring An ‘Original’ Boston Treasure
Auto Age and HoJo Land are good web sites for HoJo’s fans.
Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston all had theatres called “Bijou Dream”. Is your site named after one of these?
The Publix is the fifth downtown theatre building to be demolished in the past 30 years. I hope it is also the last. The others:
Gary (originally Plymouth) – demolished circa 1978 to make way for the State Transportation Building
Astor (originally Tremont) – demolished circa 1983 after being first converted to a “juice bar” and then abandoned. The site remained empty for a decade and a half, but eventually one of the Ritz-Carlton Towers, including the new Loews Boston Common multiplex, was built here.
State (originally Park, then Hub, then Trans-Lux) – demolished in 1991, soon after a proposal to redevelop the site, “Commonwealth Center”, financially collapsed. This site also became part of the Ritz Towers complex.
Pilgrim (originally Olympia) – demolished in 1996 by the property owner after strong encouragement from the city, which wanted to eliminate what it considered to be a undesirable X-rated use. It became a parking lot for most of the following decade. A residential tower called “Park Essex” is now rising on its site.
Amazon owns the A9.com search engine.
I’ve submitted a news item to Cinema Treasures, but I suspect it won’t run until Monday.
The history timeline of the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA includes this item:
1955: [bryant Haliday and Cyrus Harvey Jr.,, the theatre’s owners] challenge Massachusetts’s blue laws when the state’s Public Safety Commissioner attempts to halt the Sunday showing of the film Miss Julie on the grounds that it “would disturb the peace of the Lord’s Day.” The Brattle wins, and the Massachusetts Supreme Court lifts the 1908 laws.
Sounds like someone needs to change the Status on this one to Closed/Demolished.
Sadly, by the time it closed, the 57 was anything but classy. In the cinema’s final decade, a good rule of thumb was that if it was playing at the 57, you probably didn’t want to see it.