Congress Hall
220 West Broadway,
South Boston,
MA
02127
220 West Broadway,
South Boston,
MA
02127
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Scenic Temple
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Congress Hall in South Boston was a meeting and function hall, possibly dating back to the 19th Century, which was converted into a very early motion picture theater. It may have been on the second floor. Around 1918-1920 it was one of the Scenic Temple film theaters. It was still open as late as 1927 but may not have been converted to sound after that.
Contributed by
Ron Salters
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
This 1908 book mentions the Congress Hall Scenic Temple in South Boston, managed by James F. Powers. Apparently the house used both names simultaneously, probably to differentiate itself from other theaters in the area called the Scenic Temple.
There are many references to Scenic Temples in Boston, but there were multiple theaters using the name and I’ve been unable to sort them out. A 1914 Moving Picture World item concerns a William Bradstreet, who was planning to rebuild his Scenic Temple Theatre in Boston. He was said to be the owner of a chain of theaters in the area, so he might have operated the Congress Hall house and other Scenic Temple locations as well.
Yes, someone who was familiar with film distribution in Boston many years ago told me that these “Scenic Temples” were affiliated with one another. I wrote up a partial list of them which I posted last month under Scenic Temple, Boston (CT 30432). I have seen the Congress Hall in South Boston listed in old street directories under “Public Halls”.
In the 1919 Boston Police Reports which Ed Findlay linked to on the page for the Day Square Th. in E. Boston, there is mention that one William Sweeney was appointed Special Police Officer at Congress Hall Theatre, 220 Broadway in South Boston for the year ending March 31, 1920. This appointment was made on the application of James F. Powers, owner of the Congress Hall Theatre. So James Powers was still there 11 years after the publication of the book which Joe Vogel mentions above.
Open ~1935? Can anyone verify the exact dates?
Owned by Smith, Phillip Theatrical Enterprises.
More info and photos always welcome/
Joe Cifre, who was a theater professional and a Boston theater historian in the mid-20th Century, wrote that Congress Hall was one of the early Boston movie venues. Some of the cinemas he mentions were store-front nickleodeons (he calls them “Store-Show Theaters”). I don’t know where some of these were located, such as the “King Theatre”, “Queen Theatre”, Back Bay theatre, Empire Th., Court Street Theatre. I know that the Monaco Theatre was near North Station.
The 1927 Film Daily Yearbook lists Congress Hall, with 500 seats.
In the Boston business and street directories for both 1918 and 1921, this theater is listed at 220 West Broadway as “Congress Hall Scenic Temple.”
This theater is not to be confused with an earlier Congress Hall which, according to Don King’s books, was located downtown starting in the 1830s in or near the Globe Hotel at Hanover & Commercial streets.