Here are some photos of the Modern Theatre interior before it was dismantled: four photos at the end of the photo gallery (scroll way down). [url=http://www.suffolk.edu/offices/36085.html]
Those pics were in an exhibit Suffolk U. had in the Adams Gallery — it was in pretty bad shape. I’ll see if I can dig some out and post on the Web site. Nothing to hide here.
The stone used in the high-Victorian carpet warehouse was brownstone. Didn’t mean to imply that it was a brownstone, as in brownstone row house. Then Blackall pasted Vermont white marble over the lower floors. If you look at an old photo, you can see that there’s a mismatch. But it’s interesting nonetheless. I was just trying to make the point that times change, and sometimes the only way to keep a building going is to adapt it to current needs. If that hadn’t been possible with the Modern, it probably would still be a pigeon- and rat-infested wreck, hardly a positive draw to lower Washington St.
Saving this building would have had to begin decades ago. Come on, it was a great building, but certainly not comparable to the Parthenon. In fact, it started as a well-designed Gothic-style. Should Blackall have been prohibited from sticking an incompatible classical facade on the original brownstone? An acceptable form of “facadism,” perhaps, if you’re a theater aficionado?
Show me the investor who would be willing to cough up enough money to preserve the Modern Theatre as a ruin. Making it safe enough for people to see would have been prohibitively expensive, and most investors want payback. It costs 12 Euros to visit the Parthenon. I’m not sure people would pay very much to see a rotting theater. If you want to see a preserved ruin, walk up Washington Street to the old Filene’s site.
There’s an interesting exhibit on the history of the Modern Theatre and the role it played in influencing Hollywood. At the Adams Gallery, Suffolk University, 120 Tremont St. Nice old photos, as well as shots of the restoration work. Includes clips from films shot in Boston. http://www.suffolk.edu/37086.html
Does anyone know how big the original movie screen was?
Funny
http://www.suffolk.edu/offices/36085.html
Here are some photos of the Modern Theatre interior before it was dismantled: four photos at the end of the photo gallery (scroll way down). [url=http://www.suffolk.edu/offices/36085.html]
Those pics were in an exhibit Suffolk U. had in the Adams Gallery — it was in pretty bad shape. I’ll see if I can dig some out and post on the Web site. Nothing to hide here.
Here are some photos of the restored stones being put into place:
http://www.suffolk.edu/42003.html
The stone used in the high-Victorian carpet warehouse was brownstone. Didn’t mean to imply that it was a brownstone, as in brownstone row house. Then Blackall pasted Vermont white marble over the lower floors. If you look at an old photo, you can see that there’s a mismatch. But it’s interesting nonetheless. I was just trying to make the point that times change, and sometimes the only way to keep a building going is to adapt it to current needs. If that hadn’t been possible with the Modern, it probably would still be a pigeon- and rat-infested wreck, hardly a positive draw to lower Washington St.
Saving this building would have had to begin decades ago. Come on, it was a great building, but certainly not comparable to the Parthenon. In fact, it started as a well-designed Gothic-style. Should Blackall have been prohibited from sticking an incompatible classical facade on the original brownstone? An acceptable form of “facadism,” perhaps, if you’re a theater aficionado?
Show me the investor who would be willing to cough up enough money to preserve the Modern Theatre as a ruin. Making it safe enough for people to see would have been prohibitively expensive, and most investors want payback. It costs 12 Euros to visit the Parthenon. I’m not sure people would pay very much to see a rotting theater. If you want to see a preserved ruin, walk up Washington Street to the old Filene’s site.
There’s an interesting exhibit on the history of the Modern Theatre and the role it played in influencing Hollywood. At the Adams Gallery, Suffolk University, 120 Tremont St. Nice old photos, as well as shots of the restoration work. Includes clips from films shot in Boston. http://www.suffolk.edu/37086.html