The Park Square Theatre was a theatre in Park Square in Boston, Massachusetts, designed by architect Clarence Blackall. It opened January 19, 1914, as the Cort Theatre, named for impresario John Cort. It was his first theatrical venue in Boston. [1]
In August 1915 the Cort Theatre was purchased by Archibald and Edgar Selwyn and renamed the Park Square Theatre. [2] [3] [4] [5] In 1921 it was renamed the Selwyn Theatre, one of many Selwyn theatres in the United States. [2] In time the building was replaced by a parking garage. [6]
The Cort Theatre opened Monday, January 19, 1914, with the musical comedy, When Dreams Come True. Joseph Santley starred, [1] reprising his role in the Broadway production. [7] Other shows include the following:
Thomas White Lamb (1871–1942) was a Scottish-born, American architect. He was one of the foremost designers of theaters and cinemas in the 20th century.
The American Airlines Theatre, originally the Selwyn Theatre, is a historic Italian Renaissance style Broadway theatre in New York City built in 1918. It was designed by George Keister and built by the Selwyn brothers. Used for musicals and other dramatic performances it was eventually converted for film. It was used briefly as a visitor's center but stood vacant for years until a 1997 renovation and restoration. It is located at 227 West 42nd Street.
The Times Square Theater is a former Broadway theater at 217 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City. It featured live shows from 1920 to 1933, then showed movies until the early 1990s.
June Elvidge was an early 20th-century silent film actress. She was of English and Irish descent.
Park Square in downtown Boston, Massachusetts is bounded by Stuart, Charles Street South, Boylston, and Arlington Streets. It is the home of the Boston Four Seasons Hotel, the Boston Park Plaza, and nearly a dozen restaurants. To the north across Boylston Street is the Boston Public Garden. To the east is the Washington Street Theatre District. The Bay Village neighborhood is to the south, and Back Bay is to the west.
Edgar Selwyn was a prominent figure in American theatre and film in the first half of the 20th century. An actor, playwright, director and producer on Broadway, he founded a theatrical production company with his brother, Archibald Selwyn, and owned a number of Selwyn Theatres in the United States. He transferred his talents from the stage to motion pictures, and directed a film for which Helen Hayes received the Academy Award for Best Actress. Selwyn co-founded Goldwyn Pictures in 1916.
Warren Cook was an American film actor of the silent era. Cook was born in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1901, he appeared in The Shaughraun at the Castle Square Theatre in Boston. He was part of the stock company based at Castle Square Theatre. On Broadway, Cook appeared in The Conspiracy 1912). He had minor roles and appeared in more than 60 films between 1914 and 1927.
Clarence Howard Blackall was an American architect who is estimated to have designed 300 theatres.
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. The theater serves as the home arena of the Boston Uprising of the Overwatch League.
Tremont Row (1830s-1920s) in Boston, Massachusetts, was a short street that flourished in the 19th and early-20th centuries. It was located near the intersection of Court, Tremont, and Cambridge streets, in today's Government Center area. It existed until the 1920s, when it became known as Scollay Square. In 1859 the Barre Gazette newspaper described Tremont Row as "the great Dry Goods Street of Boston."
The Bowdoin Square Theatre (est.1892) in Boston, Massachusetts, was a playhouse and cinema. It was located on Bowdoin Square in the West End, in a building designed by architect C.H. Blackall. Personnel included Charles F. Atkinson and William Harris. Audience members included future magician Julius Linsky and future actor Joseph Sicari
The Grand Opera House (est.1888) of Boston, Massachusetts, was a theatre in the South End. Architect George Snell designed the 2,600-seat building on Washington Street. Managers and proprietors included Proctor & Mansfield, A.H. Dexter, George W. Magee, and Stair & Wilbur. Performances included Glyn's Three Weeks.
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 Plymouth Theatre (1911–1957) of Boston, Massachusetts, was located on Stuart Street in today's Boston Theater District. Architect Clarence Blackall designed the building for Liebler & Co. Performers included Henry Jewett, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, 8-year-old Sammy Davis, Jr., and Bette Davis. In October 1911, the touring Abbey Theatre presented Synge's Playboy of the Western World at the Plymouth; in the audience were W. B. Yeats, Isabella Stewart Gardner and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.
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. Architect Thomas W. Lamb designed the building; its interior was "marble and velvet." The auditorium sat 1,600. In the early 1970s Aerosmith used the theatre for rehearsals. In 1972 the Berklee College of Music bought the property; the remodeled Berklee Performance Center opened in 1976 and continues today.
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.
Archibald Selwyn was an American play broker, theater owner and stage producer who had many Broadway successes. He and his brother Edgar Selwyn were partners. They were among the founders of Goldwyn Pictures, later to be merged into MGM.
Roi Cooper Megrue was an American playwright, producer, and director active on Broadway from 1914 to 1921.
George M. Cohan's Theatre was a Broadway theatre that was built in 1911, and demolished in 1938.
The Sam H. Harris Theatre was a Broadway theatre within the Candler Building, at 226 West 42nd Street, in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City. It was built in 1914 and stopped producing plays in 1933. It remained in operation as a movie house for decades and was demolished in 1996.
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Coordinates: 42°21′3.37″N71°4′6.4″W / 42.3509361°N 71.068444°W