The National Theatre (1911-1978) of Boston, Massachusetts, was a 3,500-seat multipurpose auditorium on Tremont Street in the South End.[1] It functioned as a cinema, lecture hall, and stage. Performers included Jehovah's Witness founder Joseph F. Rutherford[2] and "big-name entertainers like Duke Ellington and Ray Bolger."[3] Movie screenings included The Battle of Gettysburg in 1913.[4] The English High School held graduation exercises in the National.[5] Around 1919 it was known as the "Waldorf Theater."[6] In 1992, it was purchased by Philip Smith.[7]
The space operated "intermittently after World War II for plays and movies."[8] Among the audience members: clothing designer Joseph Abboud.[9] The National closed in 1978. The Boston Center for the Arts oversaw the property thereafter, when it was subject to numerous plans for redevelopment.[10][11][12][13] The building existed until 1997, when it was demolished.[14][15]
Images
- National Theatre, Tremont St. (near Berkeley St.), Boston, 1911 (photo courtesy Boston Public Library)
- Advertisement for Tillie's Punctured Romance, with Charlie Chaplin, 1915
- Advertisement for "base ball machine" at the Hippodrome (i.e. National), 1915
- James Curley election campaign rally, 1917
- Advertisement for Rutherford at the National, 1920
References
- ↑ Boston Register and Business Directory. 1921.
National Theatre, no.535 Tremont St.
- ↑ Boston Globe, Dec 17, 1920
- ↑ Maureen Dezell (June 16, 1995). "National: bringing the house down?". Boston Globe. p. 61.
- ↑ Moving Picture World, July 5, 1913
- ↑ Boston Daily Globe, June 28, 1918
- ↑ Anthony Mitchell Sammarco (2006), Boston's South End, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 9780738539492
- ↑ Los Angeles Times: "General Cinema More Wall St. Than Hollywood : Investments Pay Off Handsomely for Bottler and Theater-Chain Operator" by Kathryn Harris August 11, 1985
- ↑ Maureen Dezell (October 28, 1994), "City to study theater revamp at BCA", Boston Globe, p. 50
- ↑ Rhonda Stewart (November 25, 2004), "Abboud had early designs on his career", Boston Globe
- ↑ Christine Temin (October 4, 1981), "BCA still building, still struggling", Boston Globe
- ↑ "Striar aims to reopen National by '87", Boston Globe, p. 74, April 3, 1986
- ↑ Jeff McLaughlin (September 26, 1986), "Arts Center to renovate historic theater", Boston Globe, p. 47
- ↑ Boston Center for the Arts (1991), Preliminary report on site development opportunities, OL 24634625M
- ↑ Boston Globe, August 8, 1996
- ↑ Patti Hartigan (February 27, 1998), "Druker Co. will develop BCA site", Boston Globe
External links
- Bostonian Society:
- Photo of National Theatre at 535 Tremont Street, 1931
- Photo of 535 Tremont Street, ca. 1946