List of former theatres in Boston

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The following is a partial list of former theatres in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It includes multi-purpose public spaces that functioned at least in part as venues for theatrical performances, including vaudeville. Most venues also served at one time or another as concert halls, lecture halls, meeting spaces, etc. Some operated as dime museums, and some as motion picture houses. Some of the buildings that formerly housed theatres have survived to the present day. However, most of the buildings no longer exist.

Contents

Former theatres in Boston

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NameYear establishedYear closedLocationNotesImage
Adelphi Theatre19th century Washington Street
Alhambra1878 [1] [2]
Allston Hall19th century Tremont Street
Allston Theatre20th centuryBrighton Avenue [3]
Apollo Theatre20th century Washington Street [3] 1920 Arlington theatre TremontSt BostonGlobe August30.png
The Arena19th centuryChandler Street
Arlington Theatre20th century Tremont Street
Austin and Stone's Dime Museum 1883Tremont Row [4] Austin and Stone Boston USA ca1900.png
Austin's Nickelodeon18881891 circa Court Street [4]
Barnum's Aquarial Gardens 18621863Washington Street
Beach Street Theatre19th century
Beacon Theatre 20th century Tremont Street [3]
Beethoven Hall 18741878 Washington Street
Bijou 18821943 Washington Street BijouTheatre Boston.jpg
Board Alley Theatre 17921793 Hawley Street
Boston Aquarial and Zoological Gardens 18601862Central Court
Boston Arena20th centuryStreet Botolph Street [3]
Boston Hippodrome20th century Tremont Street [3]
Boston Museum 18411903 Tremont Street Boston Museum 1851.png
Boston Olympic Theatre1845 Court Street
Boston Opera House 1909 Huntington Avenue
Boston Theatre 18541925 Washington Street BostonTheatre BalPict.JPG
Bowdoin Square Theatre 19th centuryBowdoin Square
Bowdoin Theatre1858 circa [1]
Boylston Hall 18101887Boylston and Washington Streets
Boylston Museum 18751885667 Washington St at the corner of Boylston and Washington streets.Founded by George E. Lothrop in 1875. [5] Opened May 1875 as the Boyston Museum, both a variety theatre and dime museum. [6] Later known as the Star Novelty Theatre at the New Boylston Museum. [7] Lothrop acquired the 661, 663, and 665 Washington St properties, and the theatre and museum were substantially expanded into the new World's Museum (1885-1892); [8] also a theatre and dime museum. [9] Boylston Museum.png
Buckley's Minstrel Hall1863 [1] Corner of Summer and Chauncey StreetsAKA Buckley's New Minstrel Hall and Aquarial Gardens. AKA Buckley's Serenaders [10]
Casino Theatre19th century Hanover Street [11]
Casino Theatre1909 [11]
Castle Square Theatre 18941932 Tremont Street CastleSquare Theatre Boston Massachusetts postcard.png
Chickering Hall 18831890sTremont Street
Chickering Hall 19011912Huntington Avenue ChickeringHall ca1900s Boston MA postcard.png
Cobb Theatre20th century Washington Street [3]
Columbia Theatre 18911957 circa Washington Street ColumbiaTheatre Boston Bacon1892.png
Columbian Museum 17951825 Tremont Street
Concert Hall 17521869 Hanover Street
42°21′37″N71°03′37″W / 42.360414°N 71.060342°W / 42.360414; -71.060342 (Concert Hall) 		1869 Concert Hall Boston.jpg
Continental Theatre1860s Washington Street [12]
Copley Theater [11] 20th centuryDartmouth Street [3]
Cort Theatre19141915 Park Square
Donnelly TheatreMarch 12, 19221968205 Mass. Ave. formerly Back Bay Theatre, Jimi Hendrix may have played here with Little Richard's band
Dudley Street Opera House19th centuryDudley Street [4]
Dudley Theatre20th century Washington Street [3]
Eagle Theatre1840sHaverhill and Traverse Streets [12]
Eagle Theatre20th century Washington Street [3]
Egleston Theatre20th century Washington Street [3]
Everett Square Theatre20th centuryFairmount Avenue [3]
Exeter Street Theatre 19141984Exeter Street
Faneuil Hall 18th century
Federal Street Theatre 17941852 Federal Street
42°21′20″N71°03′23″W / 42.355547°N 71.056522°W / 42.355547; -71.056522 (Federal Street Theatre)
Fenway Theatre 20th century Massachusetts Avenue [3]
Forest Garden1879 circa Roxbury
Franklin Park Theatre20th centuryBlue Hill Avenue [3]
Gaiety Theatre 18781882Washington StreetBecame the Bijou Theatre
Gaiety Theatre 19081949Washington Street 1920 GayetyTheatre ad ThisWeek in Boston Sept5.png
Gem Theatre20th centuryMeridian Street [3]
Germania Theatre1876 [1]
Globe Theatre 18711894 Washington Street
Globe Theatre 1903 Washington Street
Gordon's Old South20th century Washington Street, near Milk Street 1920 Gordons OldSouthTheatre BostonGlobe August30.png
Gordon's Olympia Theatre 20th century Washington Street [3]
Grand Dime Museum19th centuryDover Street
Grand Museum19th centuryDover Street and Washington Street [13]
Grand Opera House 18881930sWashington Street 1896 GrandOperaHouse Bostonian v2 no6.png
Grand Theatre1896
Gray's Opera House1878 [1]
Halleck's Alhambra1880 [1] City Point [14]
Harmony Hall19th century724 Washington Street [15]
Harrington's Museum18401842 Court Street
Haymarket Theatre 17961803 Tremont Street
Hollis Street Theatre 18851935Hollis Street
Horticultural Hall 18451860 School Street
Howard Athenaeum 18451953Howard Street
42°21′33″N71°03′37″W / 42.359167°N 71.060278°W / 42.359167; -71.060278 (Howard Athenaeum) 		1852 HowardAtheneum Boston McIntyre map detail.png
Huntington Avenue Theatre [3] 20th century Huntington Avenue
Ideal Theatre20th centuryDudley Street [3]
Jane English's New Tremont Theatre19th century Tremont Street
Keith and Bacheller's New York Dime Museum1883
Keith's Theatre 1894 Washington Street
Keith-Albee Boston Theatre 1920s Washington Street
Lancaster Theatre20th centuryLancaster Street [3]
Lion Theatre18361839 Washington Street [12] Became the Melodeon
Lothrop's Grand Museum19th centuryDover Street
Lyceum Theatre1892 Washington Street [13]
Magnet Theatre20th century Washington Street [3]
Melodeon 18391878 Washington Street Became the Gaiety Theatre
Metropolitan Theatre 1925 Tremont Street See Wang Theatre [16]
National Theatre 18361863Portland Street, West End
National Theatre 19111978 Tremont Street, South End
New Dime Museum1882
New England Museum 18181840 circa Court Street
Nickelodeon20th century Hanover Street [3]
Nickelodeon Musee and Parlor Theatre1894 Hanover Street
Novelty Theatre19th centuryDover Street
Oakland Garden1879 circa Roxbury [17]
Ocean Garden1880 [1]
Olympic Saloon1841 [1]
Ordway Hall 1852 Washington Street
P. T. Barnum's Museum and Aquarial Gardens19th century Washington Street
Palace Theatre 19th century Court Street
Palais Royal1878 [1]
Park Garden1879 [1]
Park Square Theatre 19151921 Park Square
Park Theatre 1879 Washington Street
Plymouth Theatre 19111957Stuart Street
Pompeiian Amphitheater19th century Huntington Avenue
Puritan Theatre1905 circa1960s Washington Street [3]
RKO-Boston 1930s1950s Washington Street, corner Essex Street
Scenic Temple20th centuryBerkeley Street and Warren Avenue [3]
School-Street Opera House [1] 19th century School Street
Scollay Square Olympia Theatre20th century
Scollay Theatre19131962 Tremont Row
Seville Theatre1930 circa1970 circa East Boston
Siege of Paris Opera House1879 [1]
Selwyn's Theatre 18671870 Washington Street
Selwyn Theatre1921 Park Square
Shawmut Theatre20th centuryBlue Hill Avenue [3]
St. James 20th century Huntington Avenue [3]
Star Theatre20th century Tremont Row [3]
St. James Theatre19th century Washington Street StJamesTheatre Boston 19thc.jpg
Suffolk Drive-In1955 circa1970 circa East Boston
Superb Theatre20th century Columbus Avenue [3]
Theatre Comique 1860s Washington Street
Theatre Comique1906 Tremont Row
Toy Theatre1914Dartmouth Street
Tremont Theatre 1827 Tremont Street
Tremont Theatre, Studio Building 1860s [12] Tremont Street
Tremont Theatre 1889 Tremont Street
Union's Opera House1879 [1]
Unique Theatre20th century Washington Street [3]
Vaudeville Saloon1840 [1]
Waldron's Casino20th century Hanover Street [3]
Washington Gardens 19th century Common Street
Washington Hall1833 Washington Street
Washington Theatre20th century Washington Street [3]
Washingtonian Hall1842 Court Street
Williams Hall1855 circa Washington Street
Windsor Theatre1881 circaDover Street [17]
World's Museum 18851892661-667 Washington Street The successor to the theatre and dime museum Boylston Museum which existed at 667 Washington St. The adjacent properties were purchased by the Boylston Museum's owner, George E. Lothrop, for the purposes of expanding both the theatre and museum. The newly expanded enterprise opened as the World's Museum on November 9, 1885. It is also known as the World's Theatre. It was sold and became the Lyceum Theatre in 1892. [8]
The Zoo1896 Boylston Street

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Richard Herndon; Edwin M. Bacon, eds. (1892), Boston of To-day, Boston: Post Publishing Company, OCLC   4430662, OL   6905766M
  2. ↑ Sketches of living celebrities. Griffith and Farran. January 1, 1882.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Boston Register and Business Directory. Boston: Sampson & Murdock. 1918.
  4. 1 2 3 "Theatres and Places of Amusement". Boston Almanac and Business Directory. Boston, Mass.: Sampson, Murdock & Co. 1889.
  5. ↑ Clark, Eugene Francis, ed. (November 1922). "Medical School Class of 1871". The Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. XV (1): 75.
  6. ↑ "The Stage and Platform". The Boston Globe . May 14, 1875. p. 5.
  7. ↑ "New Boylston Museum". The Boston Globe . October 26, 1876. p. 5.
  8. 1 2 King, Donald C. (2005). The Theatres of Boston: A Stage and Screen History. McFarland & Company. p. 87.
  9. ↑ Bacon, George Edward Ellis, Edwin Monroe (1886). "Dime Museums". Bacon's Dictionary of Boston. Houghton Mifflin.
  10. ↑ "Playbills and programs from Boston theaters, 1775-1988: Guide". oasis.lib.harvard.edu. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 "Theater History". Boston Athenaeum . Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  12. 1 2 3 4 William W. Clapp (1881), "The Drama in Boston", in Justin Winsor (ed.), The Memorial History of Boston, vol. 4, Boston: Ticknor and Company, OCLC   1838124
  13. 1 2 Boston Almanac and Business Directory. Boston, Mass.: Sampson, Murdock & Co. 1894.
  14. ↑ Musical Courier. Blumenberg & Floersheim. January 1, 1881.
  15. ↑ The Lyceum Banner. January 1, 1867.
  16. ↑ "Met Center gets a $4m Gift from the Wang Family", Boston Globe, June 3, 1983
  17. 1 2 "Theatres and Places of Amusement". Boston Almanac and Business Directory. Boston, Mass.: Sampson, Murdock & Co. 1888.

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