Boston's Downtown Movie Palaces

by Singer, Arthur; Goodman, Ron

• ISBN13: 9780738576312
• ISBN10: 073857631X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-12-12
• Publisher: Arcadia Pub

Summary

Since the late 1800s, Boston has been a trendsetter in the development of the movie business. It was here that many of the earliest public showings of moving images took place and the name nickelodeon first appeared on a storefront theater. In 1896, B.F. Keith added film to his Washington Street theater, then throughout his national chain of vaudeville houses. In 1914, Boston's Modern became the country's first theater with an installed sound projection system. Several years later, the city had its first movie palace: Marcus Loew's Orpheum. A magnet for theater architects, Boston became a center for elegant movie houses, including the Metropolitan, Keith Memorial, and Paramount. Thanks to civic leaders and academic institutions, many of Boston's theaters have been preserved and restored and are alive and well today.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. 6
Introduction	p. 7
Always a Theater Town	p. 9
Washington Street, Boston's Broadway	p. 19
The Modem Theatre	p. 33
The Orpheum Theatre	p. 41
The Loew's State Theatre and Back Bay Theaters	p. 53
The Metropolitan Theatre	p. 65
The Keith Memorial Theatre	p. 81
The Paramount Theatre	p. 91
Changing Times, Changing Theaters	p. 103
Theatre Historical Society of America	p. 127
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