Bowdoin Square Theatre

So far, this is what I found on the Bowdoin Square Theatre.

Bowdoin Square Theatre (1892-1955)

"Another one of Blackall's many playhouses, the Bowdoin Square Theatre had a resident troupe in the early 1900s that performed both sophisticated European drama as well as melodrama and comedy. The theater's managers and owners were William Harris and Charles F. Atkinson".

Designed by Clarence Blackall in 1892. Located at One Bowdoin Square.

In 1893 boxing matches were held at the Bowdoin Square Theater. In Dec. 1893, Jack Dempsey fought two exhibition fights here. One against Denny Costigan and the other against Dick Moore. I don't know what year this theater started showing movies but it is listed as a movie theater in 1950.

Ron:
LM's first post is from the Boston Athenaeum website. I am sure that they have more information at their physical location if you are in the Boston area.

From the Bostonian Society Library, here's a 1933 photo of Bowdoin Square, including the theatre. The photo is described here.

The telephone company building still stands, as does the Custom House tower, but I think just about everything else in this photo has been obliterated.

And here's a 1934 photo, and the accompanying description. The vertical sign is more visible in this photo than the marquee or the building façade.

According to Donald C. King's new book The Theatres of Boston: A Stage and Screen History, the Bowdoin Square Theatre opened on February 15, 1892. C.H. Blackall was the architect, assisted by Leon H. Lempert.

In Auguest 1897, George Lothrop took control of the Bowdoin Square, presenting melodrama at popular prices. The Lothrop Stock Company occupied it for many years. It later became home to vaudeville and double-feature films. It was demolished in 1955.

I knew this theatre as "Bowdoin" without the "Square". It was still open when I was a kid showing double-features. I regret that I never went into it. It was located just to the north of Scollay Square, on the east side of the street. Had a bulb-studded arch above the entrance if I recall correctly. It opened as a legit house designed by Clarence Blackall on Feb. 15 1892 and had about 1500 seats. Around the turn of the 20th Century, there was a theatre called the Olympic just a few doors to the north of the Bowdoin. It was just a small theatre and didn't last long. The Bowdoin remained open until about 1953 0r 1954 or so. The demo year of 1955 sounds right to me.

You can find the Bowdoin Theatre on a 1928 colored map which Ron Newman posted last June to the page for the Strand Theatre in Scollay Square. The Bowdoin's site was in Bowdoin Square near Chardon Street. To its left was the Majestic Hotel and next to that you can see the site of the Olympic Theatre. The hotel and the Olympic were demolished for the Telephone Co. building. I believe that when the Bowdoin Sq. Theatre was demolished, a new wing was added to the telephone building covering the theatre's site.

Here's a more direct link to that 1928 map.

I have not added the Olympic to this site because I don't know anything about it, beyond its presence on the map. David Kruh's book about Scollay Square does not mention it. Do you know if it ever showed movies?

The Olympic is not mentioned in the Donald King book, either. I once saw a sharp old photo taken from the north (west?) looking south (east?) with the Olympic in the foreground and the Bowdoin Sq. Theatre at the far end of the block. The Olympic had an arched entrance just like the Bowdoin's. I have no idea what sort of shows it presented; possibly Vaude at first, with films later ???

The Bowdoin Square Theatre had a small ad in the theatre page of the Boston Post for Wed. February 25, 1931. There were 2 movies plus 7 acts of Vaudeville on stage, with the further note that "Tonight is Cabaret Night - Extra Vaudeville Acts". It must have made for a rather long show, unless they omitted one of the movies at the evening performance.

In his 1977 book "Broadway Down East" Elliot Norton states that the Bowdoin closed on Friday, May 27, 1955. Norton has very few closing dates in his book, so he must have made a note of this one. If there had been any advance publicity of the closing, I would probably have attended.

The Bowdoin Square Theatre is also shown on this 1895 map. It is on Court Street, three buildings away from Chardon Street.

Note that the nearby Palace Theatre is also on the 1895 map, at Sudbury and Court streets, east side.

The Bowdoin Square Theatre is listed in the 1897-98 edition of Julius Cahn's Official Theatrical Guide. The seating capacity is listed as 1,600. Admission prices range from 25 cents to $1. The theatre had both electric and gas lighting. The proscenium opening was 32 feet wide x 34 feet high. The stage was 40 feet deep. The theatre was on the ground floor and there were 10 places in the orchestra pit.

There is a rather long article entitled "Boston Theatres of To-Day" by Atherton Brownell in the Sept. 1895 issue of Bostonian Magazine. It has 2 photos of the Bowdoin Square Theatre, one exterior and one interior. Plus one sketch of the box office area in the lobby. It's hard to tell, but in the exterior shot, the arch above the entrance appears to be open and not filled in. Th entrance was very fancy, but not very wide. It was at the left end of a building. The interior shot was made by someone standing in the right-front orchestra area looking toward the front portion of the left side-wall of the auditorium. It was quite ornate. The proscenium arch appears to be rectangular. Next to its left edge was a large arch with columns on each side. At the bottom of the arch were 2 big boxes on the orchestra floor. Above them were 5 small boxes which dropped like stair treads from the front of the first balcony down to the right end of the arch. At the top of the arch was a chandelier. Very nice auditorium, now gone for over 50 years.