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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.

Former theatres in Boston

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Name Year established Year closed Location Notes Image
Adelphi Theatre 19th century Washington Street
Alhambra 1878[1] [2]
Allston Hall 19th century Tremont Street
Allston Theatre 20th century Brighton Avenue[3]
Apollo Theatre 20th century Washington Street[3]
The Arena 19th century Chandler Street
Arlington Theatre 20th century Tremont Street
Austin and Stone's Dime Museum 1883 Tremont Row[4]
Austin's Nickelodeon 1888 1891 circa Court Street[4]
Barnum's Aquarial Gardens 1862 1863 Washington Street
Beach Street Theatre 19th century
Beacon Theatre 20th century Tremont Street[3]
Beethoven Hall 1874 1878 Washington Street
Bijou 1882 1943 Washington Street
Board Alley Theatre 1792 1793 Hawley Street
Boston Aquarial and Zoological Gardens 1860 1862 Central Court
Boston Arena 20th century Street Botolph Street[3]
Boston Hippodrome 20th century Tremont Street[3]
Boston Museum 1841 1903 Tremont Street
Boston Olympic Theatre 1845 Court Street
Boston Opera House 1909 Huntington Avenue
Boston Theatre 1854 1925 Washington Street
Bowdoin Square Theatre 19th century Bowdoin Square
Bowdoin Theatre 1858 circa[1]
Boylston Hall 1810 1887 Boylston and Washington Streets
Boylston Museum 1875 1885 667 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]
Buckley's Minstrel Hall 1863[1] Corner of Summer and Chauncey Streets AKA Buckley's New Minstrel Hall and Aquarial Gardens. AKA Buckley's Serenaders[10]
Casino Theatre 19th century Hanover Street[11]
Casino Theatre 1909[11]
Castle Square Theatre 1894 1932 Tremont Street
Chickering Hall 1883 1890s Tremont Street
Chickering Hall 1901 1912 Huntington Avenue
Cobb Theatre 20th century Washington Street[3]
Columbia Theatre 1891 1957 circa Washington Street
Columbian Museum 1795 1825 Tremont Street
Concert Hall 1752 1869 Hanover Street
42°21′37″N 71°03′37″W / 42.360414°N 71.060342°W / 42.360414; -71.060342 (Concert Hall)
Continental Theatre 1860s Washington Street[12]
Copley Theater[11] 20th century Dartmouth Street[3]
Cort Theatre 1914 1915 Park Square
Donnelly Theatre March 12, 1922 1968 205 Mass. Ave. formerly Back Bay Theatre, Jimi Hendrix may have played here with Little Richard's band
Dudley Street Opera House 19th century Dudley Street[4]
Dudley Theatre 20th century Washington Street[3]
Eagle Theatre 1840s Haverhill and Traverse Streets[12]
Eagle Theatre 20th century Washington Street[3]
Egleston Theatre 20th century Washington Street[3]
Everett Square Theatre 20th century Fairmount Avenue[3]
Exeter Street Theatre 1914 1984 Exeter Street
Faneuil Hall 18th century
Federal Street Theatre 1794 1852 Federal Street
42°21′20″N 71°03′23″W / 42.355547°N 71.056522°W / 42.355547; -71.056522 (Federal Street Theatre)
Fenway Theatre 20th century Massachusetts Avenue[3]
Forest Garden 1879 circa Roxbury
Franklin Park Theatre 20th century Blue Hill Avenue[3]
Gaiety Theatre 1878 1882 Washington Street Became the Bijou Theatre
Gaiety Theatre 1908 1949 Washington Street
Gem Theatre 20th century Meridian Street[3]
Germania Theatre 1876[1]
Globe Theatre 1871 1894 Washington Street
Globe Theatre 1903 Washington Street
Gordon's Old South 20th century Washington Street, near Milk Street
Gordon's Olympia Theatre 20th century Washington Street[3]
Grand Dime Museum 19th century Dover Street
Grand Museum 19th century Dover Street and Washington Street[13]
Grand Opera House 1888 1930s Washington Street
Grand Theatre 1896
Gray's Opera House 1878[1]
Halleck's Alhambra 1880[1] City Point[14]
Harmony Hall 19th century 724 Washington Street[15]
Harrington's Museum 1840 1842 Court Street
Haymarket Theatre 1796 1803 Tremont Street
Hollis Street Theatre 1885 1935 Hollis Street
Horticultural Hall 1845 1860 School Street
Howard Athenaeum 1845 1953 Howard Street
42°21′33″N 71°03′37″W / 42.359167°N 71.060278°W / 42.359167; -71.060278 (Howard Athenaeum)
Huntington Avenue Theatre[3] 20th century Huntington Avenue
Ideal Theatre 20th century Dudley Street[3]
Jane English's New Tremont Theatre 19th century Tremont Street
Keith and Bacheller's New York Dime Museum 1883
Keith's Theatre 1894 Washington Street
Keith-Albee Boston Theatre 1920s Washington Street
Lancaster Theatre 20th century Lancaster Street[3]
Lion Theatre 1836 1839 Washington Street[12] Became the Melodeon
Lothrop's Grand Museum 19th century Dover Street
Lyceum Theatre 1892 Washington Street[13]
Magnet Theatre 20th century Washington Street[3]
Melodeon 1839 1878 Washington Street Became the Gaiety Theatre
Metropolitan Theatre 1925 Tremont Street See Wang Theatre[16]
National Theatre 1836 1863 Portland Street, West End
National Theatre 1911 1978 Tremont Street, South End
New Dime Museum 1882
New England Museum 1818 1840 circa Court Street
Nickelodeon 20th century Hanover Street[3]
Nickelodeon Musee and Parlor Theatre 1894 Hanover Street
Novelty Theatre 19th century Dover Street
Oakland Garden 1879 circa Roxbury[17]
Ocean Garden 1880[1]
Olympic Saloon 1841[1]
Ordway Hall 1852 Washington Street
P. T. Barnum's Museum and Aquarial Gardens 19th century Washington Street
Palace Theatre 19th century Court Street
Palais Royal 1878[1]
Park Garden 1879[1]
Park Square Theatre 1915 1921 Park Square
Park Theatre 1879 Washington Street
Plymouth Theatre 1911 1957 Stuart Street
Pompeiian Amphitheater 19th century Huntington Avenue
Puritan Theatre 1905 circa 1960s Washington Street[3]
RKO-Boston 1930s 1950s Washington Street, corner Essex Street
Scenic Temple 20th century Berkeley Street and Warren Avenue[3]
School-Street Opera House[1] 19th century School Street
Scollay Square Olympia Theatre 20th century
Scollay Theatre 1913 1962 Tremont Row
Seville Theatre 1930 circa 1970 circa East Boston
Siege of Paris Opera House 1879[1]
Selwyn's Theatre 1867 1870 Washington Street
Selwyn Theatre 1921 Park Square
Shawmut Theatre 20th century Blue Hill Avenue[3]
St. James 20th century Huntington Avenue[3]
Star Theatre 20th century Tremont Row[3]
St. James Theatre 19th century Washington Street
Suffolk Drive-In 1955 circa 1970 circa East Boston
Superb Theatre 20th century Columbus Avenue[3]
Theatre Comique 1860s Washington Street
Theatre Comique 1906 Tremont Row
Toy Theatre 1914 Dartmouth Street
Tremont Theatre 1827 Tremont Street
Tremont Theatre, Studio Building 1860s[12] Tremont Street
Tremont Theatre 1889 Tremont Street
Union's Opera House 1879[1]
Unique Theatre 20th century Washington Street[3]
Vaudeville Saloon 1840[1]
Waldron's Casino 20th century Hanover Street[3]
Washington Gardens 19th century Common Street
Washington Hall 1833 Washington Street
Washington Theatre 20th century Washington Street[3]
Washingtonian Hall 1842 Court Street
Williams Hall 1855 circa Washington Street
Windsor Theatre 1881 circa Dover Street[17]
World's Museum 1885 1892 661-667 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 Zoo 1896 Boylston Street

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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. 1882-01-01.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac Boston Register and Business Directory. Boston: Sampson & Murdock. 1918.
  4. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b 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 2017-03-26.
  11. ^ a b c "Theater History". Boston Athenaeum. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  12. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b Boston Almanac and Business Directory. Boston, Mass.: Sampson, Murdock & Co. 1894.
  14. ^ Musical Courier. Blumenberg & Floersheim. 1881-01-01.
  15. ^ The Lyceum Banner. 1867-01-01.
  16. ^ "Met Center gets a $4m Gift from the Wang Family", Boston Globe, June 3, 1983
  17. ^ a b "Theatres and Places of Amusement". Boston Almanac and Business Directory. Boston, Mass.: Sampson, Murdock & Co. 1888.

Further reading

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  • William Warland Clapp (1853), A Record of the Boston Stage, Boston: J. Munroe and Company, OL 7109528M
  • Donald C. King (2005), The Theatres of Boston, Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co., ISBN 0786419105
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