Park Theatre (Boston)

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The Park Theatre (est.1879) was a playhouse in Boston, Massachusetts, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It later became the State cinema.[1] Located on Washington Street, near Boylston Street, the building existed until 1990.

History

In 1879 Henry E. Abbey, proprietor of the Park Theatre in New York, opened Boston's Park Theatre.[2] It occupied the building of the former Beethoven Hall, "reconstructed and practically rebuilt;" its 1,184-seat auditorium was "60 feet wide, 63 from the state to the doors, and 50 feet high."[3] It sat on Washington Street at the corner of Boylston Street in today's Chinatown/Theatre district.[4] In the 1890s it presented "farcical comedy."[5] Managers and proprietors included Henry E. Abbey;[6] Jack A. Crabtree;[7][8] Lotta Crabtree;[9] Charles Frohman, Rich & Harris;[10] Lawrence McCarty;[11] John B. Schoeffel (Abbey & Schoeffel);[6][7] John Stetson Jr.;[12] and Eugene Tompkins.[11][12][13][14] Louis Baer led the 11-piece orchestra in the 1890s.[15] In the 20th century the building became "Minsky's Park Burlesque," the "Hub," "Trans-Lux,"[16][17] and then "The State" cinema.[18] The building survived until its razing in 1990.[19][20]

Images

  • Henry Eugene Abbey 1846 1896 USA.png

    Theatre manager Henry E. Abbey, 19th century

  • 1883 ParkTheatre BostonEveningTranscript 2March.png

    Advertisement, 1883

  • ParkTheatre WashingtonSt StrangersGuideToBoston 1883.png

    Interior, 1883

  • 1886 Park Theatre Boston map byBromley BPL 12259 detail.png

    Detail of map of Boston, showing Park Theatre, 1886

  • 1908 ParkTheatre BostonEveningTranscript 17April.png

    Advertisement, 1908

  • 1922 ParkTheatre BostonGlobe December12 .png

    Advertisement for Robin Hood film at the Park Theatre, Boston, 1922

Performances

References

  1. ↑ As of 1980: "The oldest playhouse in Boston still operating as a theater has seen better days. The State, now a Combat Zone flagship for porn films, opened in 1879 as the Park Theater. It was built by famous actress Lotta Crabtree who also had constructed a private tunnel from the theater to the nearby hotel where she lived. Edwin Booth and Richard Mansfield were among the great stars who played the theater as did Jeanne Eagels in her famous role of Sadie Thompson in 'Rain.' The theater did a slow slide into burlesque where Gypsy Rose Lee made her only local strips, and into second runs and down to porn." cf. George McKinnon. "A born-again Wilbur will celebrate success." Boston Globe, 20 Jan 1980
  2. ↑ Henry E. Abbey (1845-1896). "Death of Henry E. Abbey." New York Times, October 18, 1896
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ no.619 Washington Street. Boston Almanac, 1880-1882. Boston Almanac and Business Directory, 1887, 1891, 1894. Boston register, 1921
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ John (Jack) Ashworth Crabtree (1854-1920), brother of Lotta Crabree. Harvard Univ. Lotta Crabtree Will Case, 1870-1928 : Finding Aid
  9. ↑ Alan Dale. Familiar chats with the queens of the stage. NY: G. W. Dillingham, 1890
  10. ↑ Boston Evening Transcript, 17 April 1908
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Eugene Tompkins (1850-1909). John William Leonard, ed. Men of America: a biographical dictionary of contemporaries. NY: L.R. Hamersly & company, 1908
  14. ↑ New York Times, February 23, 1909
  15. ↑ Julius Cahn's official theatrical guide: containing information of the leading theatres and attractions in America. NY: 1898
  16. ↑ CinemaTreasures.org. State Theatre, 617 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111
  17. ↑ Boston Athenæum Theater History, Park Theatre (1879-1990)
  18. ↑ "State Theater 1," no.617 Washington St., Boston. "Downtown Boston theater loses license for 3 days." Boston Globe, 19 July 1983
  19. ↑ Sweeney, Emily. Once a relic of the past, earthy art form sees a revival. Boston Globe, 09 Apr 2009
  20. ↑ McLaughlin, Jeff. "Midtown cultural district headed for reality." Boston Globe, 13 Oct 1987
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 "Boston Notes." The Theatre (NY), no.5, v.1, April 19, 1886
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ The players blue book. Worcester, Mass.: Sutherland & Storms, 1901
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ New York Times, June 20, 1897
  26. ↑ New York Times, July 18, 1893
  27. ↑ New York Times, September 12, 1893
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (subscription required)
  30. ↑ The Billboard, Nov. 30, 1907
  31. ↑ Anne Alison Barnet. Extravaganza king: Robert Barnet and Boston musical theatre. Northeastern University Press, 2004
  32. ↑ Original Jan 11, 1904 playbill
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Boston Globe, January 5, 1915
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Boston Globe, May 22, 1917
  35. ↑ Boston Globe, Feb 10, 1920
  36. ↑ Boston Globe, December 12, 1922

External links

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