Beacon Theatre (Boston)

Last updated

The Beacon Theatre was a cinema on Tremont Street in Boston, Massachusetts built in 1910 and closed in 1948. [1] Jacob Lourie established it. [2] Architect Clarence Blackall designed the building, with its 500-seat auditorium [2] which a contemporary critic described as "showy." [3] It had a staff of 26 in 1910. [4] In 1948 the "refurbished" building became the Beacon Hill Theater. [2] [5] The building existed until 1970.

Portrait of Jacob Lourie, 1913, manager 1913 Jacob Lourie USA.png
Portrait of Jacob Lourie, 1913, manager
Advertisement for Modern Theatre and Beacon Theatre, 1921; both run by Jacob Lourie 1921 Modern Beacon theatre BostonGlobe 31March.png
Advertisement for Modern Theatre and Beacon Theatre, 1921; both run by Jacob Lourie

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tremont House (Boston)</span> Former hotel in Boston, 1829–1895

Tremont House, sometimes called the Tremont Hotel, was a hotel designed in 1829 by Isaiah Rogers in Boston, Massachusetts. Notable guests included Davy Crockett and Charles Dickens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park Street, Boston</span> Road in Boston, Massachusetts

Park Street is a short but historic road in the center of Boston, Massachusetts. It begins at the top of Beacon Hill, at the intersection of Beacon Street, where it is lined up with the front of the Massachusetts State House. It then spills down the hill toward Tremont Street, with Boston Common to its west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tremont Street</span> Road in Boston Massachusetts

Tremont Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Street (Boston)</span> Street in Boston, U.S.

Charles Street is the name of a north-south street in the city center of Boston, Massachusetts. It begins in the north at Leverett Circle, where it connects with Nashua Street and Monsignor O'Brien Highway. Science Park station on the MBTA Green Line is located there. Charles Street runs south and gives its name to the Charles/MGH station on the MBTA Red Line, connecting via the Charles Circle rotary to Cambridge Street and the Longfellow Bridge which leads to Cambridge. This segment is a one-way street, with traffic heading northwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shubert Theatre (Boston)</span> Former theater in Boston, Massachusetts

The Shubert Theatre is a theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, at 263–265 Tremont Street in the Boston Theater District. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarence H. Blackall</span>

Clarence Howard Blackall was an American architect who is estimated to have designed 300 theatres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Street (Boston)</span>

Federal Street is a street in the Financial District of Boston, Massachusetts. Prior to 1788, it was known as Long Lane. The street was renamed after state leaders met there in 1788 to determine Massachusetts' ratification of the United States Constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Court Street (Boston)</span> Street in Boston, Massachusetts, US

Court Street is located in the Financial District of Boston, Massachusetts. Prior to 1788, it was called Prison Lane (1634–1708) and then Queen Street (1708–1788). In the 19th century it extended beyond its current length, to Bowdoin Square. In the 1960s most of Court Street was demolished to make way for the construction of Government Center. The remaining street extends a few blocks, near the Old State House on State Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pemberton Square</span> Mixed-use Boston area

Pemberton Square in the Government Center area of Boston, Massachusetts, was developed by P.T. Jackson in the 1830s as an architecturally uniform mixed-use enclave surrounding a small park. In the mid-19th century both private residences and businesses dwelt there. The construction in 1885 of the massive John Adams Courthouse changed the scale and character of the square, as did the Center Plaza building in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Vernon Church, Boston</span> Historic church in Boston

Mount Vernon Church in Boston, Massachusetts, was a Congregational church located on Beacon Hill (1844–1891) and later in Back Bay (1892–present).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Opera House</span> Opera house in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

The Boston Opera House, also known as the Citizens Bank Opera House, is a performing arts and esports venue located at 539 Washington St. in Boston, Massachusetts. It was originally built as the B.F. Keith Memorial Theatre, a movie palace in the Keith-Albee chain. The chain became part of RKO when it was established just before the theater opened on October 29, 1928, and it was also known as the RKO Keith's Theater. After operating for more than 50 years as a movie theater, it was rededicated in 1980 as a home for the Opera Company of Boston, which performed there until the opera company closed down in 1990 due to financial problems. The theater was reopened in 2004 after a major restoration, and it currently serves as the home of the Boston Ballet and also hosts touring Broadway shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith's Theatre</span> Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, US

B.F. Keith's Theatre (1894–1928) in Boston, Massachusetts, was a vaudeville playhouse run by B.F. Keith. It sat across from Boston Common in the city's theatre district, with an entrance on Tremont Street and another on Washington Street. Personnel included Keith, E.F. Albee and H.E. Gustin. Virgilio Tojetti painted some of the interior decorations. In 1939, the theater was converted to a movie theater named the Normandie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selwyn's Theatre</span>

Selwyn's Theatre (1867–1870) of Boston, Massachusetts, was established by British-born actor John H. Selwyn. Architect Benjamin F. Dwight designed the building. Personnel included Dexter H. Follet, Arthur Cheney, H.A. M'Glenen, Charles R. Thorne Jr., and Charles Koppitz. In 1871 Selwyn's was renamed the "Globe Theatre."

The RKO Boston Theatre was a movie theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, located at 616 Washington Street, near Essex Street in the Boston Theater District. It opened as the Keith-Albee Boston Theatre on October 5, 1925.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fenway Theatre</span>

The Fenway Theatre (1915–1972) of Boston, Massachusetts, was a cinema and concert hall in the Back Bay, located at no.136 Massachusetts Avenue at Boylston Street.

The National Theatre (1911-1978) of Boston, Massachusetts, was a 3,500-seat multipurpose auditorium on Tremont Street in the South End. It functioned as a cinema, lecture hall, and stage. Performers included Jehovah's Witness founder Joseph F. Rutherford and "big-name entertainers like Duke Ellington and Ray Bolger." Movie screenings included The Battle of Gettysburg in 1913. The English High School held graduation exercises in the National. Around 1919 it was known as the "Waldorf Theater." In 1992, it was purchased by Philip Smith.

The St. James Theatre (1912–1929) of Boston, Massachusetts, was a playhouse and cinema in the Back Bay in the 1910s and 1920s. It occupied the former Chickering Hall on Huntington Avenue near Massachusetts Avenue, adjacent to Horticultural Hall. For some years Loew's theatre chain oversaw the St. James. In 1929 the theatre "became part of the Publix (Paramount) chain, and was renamed the Uptown."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horticultural Hall (Boston, 1865)</span> Building in Boston, Massachusetts, US (built 1865)

Horticultural Hall (1865–1901) of Boston, Massachusetts, was the headquarters of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in the later 19th century. It stood at no.100-102 Tremont Street, at the corner of Bromfield Street, opposite the Granary Burying Ground. Architects Gridley J.F. Bryant and Arthur Gilman designed the building. Sculptor Martin Milmore created horticulturally-themed statuary for the building's exterior: "three ancient Roman goddesses ... Ceres, goddess of agriculture; Flora, goddess of flowers; and Pomona, goddess of fruit trees." In the 1880s: "the ground floor [was] occupied by stores; the second story by the Library Room of the society and a hall for the weekly exhibitions; and the upper story by a large and elegant hall used ... at the annual and other important exhibitions. Both of these halls [were] often used for concerts and the better class of entertainments. The society's library, comprising over 4,000 volumes, [was] the most valuable collection of horticultural works in the United States. The halls [were] adorned with portraits and busts of the presidents, founders, and benefactors of the society."

The Gaiety Theatre (1878-1882) of Boston, Massachusetts, was located on Washington Street on the block between West and Avery Streets. J. Wentworth oversaw its operations. It occupied the former Melodeon. The Gaiety's 800-seat auditorium featured "walls and ceiling ... panelled in pink, with buff, gold and purple borders; the balcony fronts ... bronze, gray, and pink." In 1882 it became the Bijou Theatre.

Hotel Touraine (1897-1966) in Boston, Massachusetts, was a residential hotel on the corner of Tremont Street and Boylston Street, near the Boston Common. The architecture firm of Winslow and Wetherell designed the 11-story building in the Jacobethan style, constructed of "brick and limestone;" its "baronial" appearance was "patterned inside and out after a 16th-century chateau of the dukes of Touraine." It had dining rooms and a circulating library. Owners included Joseph Reed Whipple and George A. Turain.

References

  1. Boston Register and Business Directory, 1918
  2. 1 2 3 Donald C. King (2005), The Theatres of Boston: a Stage and Screen History, Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co., ISBN   0786419105, OL   3392044M, 0786419105
  3. Edwin M. Bacon, rev. by Le Roy Phillips (1922), Boston: a guide book to the city and vicinity, Boston: Ginn and Company, OCLC   1191992, OL   7231564M
  4. Moving Picture World, Nov. 26, 1910, cited in: Desirée J. Garcia. "Subversive Sounds: Ethnic Spectatorship and Boston's Nickelodeon Theatres, 1907-1914." Film History, Vol. 19, No. 3, Movie Business (2007)
  5. CinemaTreasures.org. Beacon Hill Theatre, 1 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108. Retrieved 2012-03-10

42°21′28.88″N71°3′37.62″W / 42.3580222°N 71.0604500°W / 42.3580222; -71.0604500