B. F. Keith's Theatre

A 1906 photo of Keith's Theatre, described here. Keith's Theatre is the green building. To its left is the Adams House hotel. To its right is an establishemnt called "O'Callaghan's", of which I know nothing. It is where the Bijou Theatre should be located. Perhaps the Bijou is closed at this time, or has had its entrance consolidated with Keith's.

For comparison, look at this picture taken between 1907 and 1915, which shows the Keith's and Bijou Dream entrances side-by-side. Photo is described here.

In this 1934 winter nighttime photo (described here), you can just barely see the Normandie sign at the left, followed by the Bijou, the newer RKO Keith Memorial, and finally the Modern.

The Film Daily Yearbook,1950 lists this theatre as the Art Movie Theatre, with a seating capacity of 1,239. Obviously seating has been reduced due to fire code enforcements and closing an upper balcony.

Somewhere I recall reading that it was also briefly called the 'Mirthmovie' near the end of its life. I don't know why it went through so many name changes.

In 1897, a second entrance to this theatre was built at 163 Tremont Street. It included a stairway and tunnel under Mason Street. For over three decades after this theatre was demolished, 163 Tremont continued to serve as an entrance to the adjoining RKO Keith Memorial theatre. Unfortunately, this entrance's elaborate detail had long been either removed or covered over by the 1960s. Few people mourned when it was demolished in the mid-1980s to make way for condominiums.

Some picture postcards of the Tremont Street entrance, when it was still grand:

1905 picture postcard, described here. Keith's entrance is the green, arched building near the left side.

Another picture postcard, from 1908, described here.

Keith's by Night, described here.

Keith's Theatre at Night postcard, described here.

This 1930 photo, described here, shows the BF Keith's vertical sign on Tremont Street (advertising "Outside The Law") above or next to a Lyric Theatre marquee.

And here's a 1999 photo and description of the still-standing 545-547 Washington Street building. Compare it with the earlier photos that I've linked to.

The BF Keith Theatre entrance was in the left storefront, now occupied by the the "High Voltage" store.

The Bijou entrance was in either the center arch or the right storefront. That store is now vacant, but for many years, it contained the amusement arcade shown in the 1999 photo.

The upper stories also remain boarded up and empty. It's a sadly underutilized building which now drags down the entire neighborhood surrounding it.

Today's Boston Globe has an article about Emerson College's plans to redevelop the adjacent Paramount Theatre. Their plans include reusing the 545-547 Washington building which once contained both the B.F. Keith's entrance and the Bijou Theatre.

Some of this redevelopment will also take place on "a vacant parcel called the North Lot", which I believe is where the B.F. Keith used to stand.

See today's comments on the Paramount Theatre page for more information.

In this 1945 photo (described here), look closely at the sign between the Paramount and RKO Keith's marquees. At the top of the sign, you can barely see the words "New Normandie" -- which is what this theatre was called by then. I wish I could read the rest of the sign, which presumably advertises the currently playing movie.

Here's the same scene, but taken from the opposite direction. Photo is described here.

From the Boston Public Library's photo collection:

Demolition of Keith's Theatre, 1952

Demolition of Keith's Theatre, from the roof

Demolition of Keith's Theatre, showing workman

Normandie Ballroom, 1936 (formerly the B.F. Keith Theatre)

Act Drop, B.F. Keith's Theatre, 1913

Red Room, Keith's Theatre

Grand Stairway, Tremont Street Entrance, Keith's Theatre

Cover of a Keith's Theatre program from 1901, showing the lobby and staircase.

A photo of B.F. Keith, 1902

Donald C. King's new book The Theatres of Boston: A Stage and Screen History has many photos and an extensive 11-page description of this theatre. I got most of my initial information about this theatre from an earlier article that King published in the third quarter 1974 issue of the Theatre Historical Society's journal Marquee.

When the theatre opened, its electric generating room was itself a major attraction, which had an elevated marble walkway for visits by patrons.

On May 18, 1896, Thomas Edison's Vitascope motion pictures were shown here, for the first time in Boston. "The film show consisted of short subjects, none of which ran more than a few minutes, and featured were John C. Rice and May Irwin in a picture of a kiss from the stage comedy The Widow Jones." Shows were at 11 am, 3:30 pm, and 9 pm, and included vaudeville. Newspapers speculated that the new invention could be used to permanently preserve copies of stage performances and deliver them all over the world.

In February 1913, B.F. Keith's Theatre and the National both offered Edison's Talking Pictures, "a phonograph and film device, some 13 years ahead of workable sound pictures. The problem was amplification: a phonograph horn, no matter how big, could not carry sound any further than a few rows."

B.F. Keith's no-longer-New Theatre closed on June 30, 1928, "featuring a stage-load of vaudeville stars including Ethel Barrymore, Will Cressy, Chick Sale, and Fred and Dorothy Stone." The Keith-Albee organization no longer needed this house since they were about to open the larger and even more lavish Keith Memorial Theatre next door.

On April 1, 1929, it reopened as Shubert's Apollo, but by 1930 had changed its name again to the Lyric. It was not successful as a legitimate stage, and then became the Normandie Ballroom (I posted a link to a photo of this above). Its auditorium became a dance floor with tables.

On December 16, 1939, it became a movie theatre, still called the Normandie. The first show was a double feature of I Was a Captive of Nazi Germany and The Fight For Peace. Soon afterwards, owner Fred Lieberman made it part of his "proven pictures" circuit, showing old movies or low admission prices.

The theatre was demolished in 1951, after further name changes to Laff-Movie, Art-Movie, and Mirth-Movie.

This theater has been renovated and is now open as the Opera House.

No, this theatre has been demolished. You are thinking of the B.F. Keith Memorial Theatre, which was built next door to replace this one.

See the Opera House listing for more information.

I am very interested in getting the programme of Tuesday April 29, 1935 at the Keith's Theatre where the show "Hello Paris" of the Folies Bergere had a representation.

A book about one of the dancer, Alberto Spadolini is in process and the autor needs this details.

Thank you very much for your help.

Charles Pisciotta
Mill Valley, CA
e-mail: charlespisciotta@aol.com

This theatre was no longer named "Keith's" by 1935. The show was probably at the RKO Keith Memorial, or possibly the RKO Keith-Boston.

The Boston Athenaeum has an extensive collection of Boston theatre playbills. Send a message to their librarian, Rebecka Persson: persson@bostonathenaeum.org and she may be able to help you.

When I was a kid I had the chance many times to go into the Laffmovie, but didn't because I did not like Abbott & Costello movies which were often presented there. I thought it was just a hole in the wall and had no idea what a grand house it was. A friend who was a year younger than me went there several times and, since his mother had taken him to the Colonial on Boylston Street, he likened the Laffmovie to that theatre in terms of size and rococco decoration. The Laffmovie had a semi-circular marquee over its entrance just north of the Paramount. It closed at the end of February 1951 and was demolished beginning in July 1951. The Bijou was also demolished at that time. A famous book on the ten best theatres in America published in the 1890s lists Keith's New Theatre as one of the ten. Rarely does Yankee Magazine ever discuss New England theatres, but this house was the subject of an article entitled "The Furnace Room had a Velvet Rug" in the March 1974 issue.Much was made in the article of the fact that when the theatre was new the public was invited to tour the basement utility spaces.
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In its great Vaude days this house was known as Keith's New Theatre or just plain Keith's. It was never called the Colonial Th., as it is in Douglas Gilbert's 1942 book "American Vaudeville", or in the writings of Joe Laurie Jr., a vaudevillian, theatrical historian, and writer for Variety. Others picked up on their mistake and so the name appears in error in other writings. There was only one Colonial Theatre in Boston, the legit house on Boylston Street.

From Emerson College's news office:

Planning proceeds for College’s Paramount Center development on Washington Street

Construction is to begin next fall and be completed in the fall of 2008.

I'm pleased to see that they no longer plan to subdivide the Paramount, but instead will convert it into a 500-seat live stage. The second, 125-seat live stage will go into the adjoining new building, which appears to occupy some or all of the former Bijou and B.F. Keith Theatre footprints.

I'm also happy that the complex will include a 200-seat film screening room. Perhaps Emerson could be persuaded to reuse the name "Bijou" for either the smaller stage or the screening room?

I don't know if this photo has been posted before but here is a 1943 photo of Washington St. You can see an RKO Keith's theater and there appears to be a second theater right near the Keith's.

The photo shown is not of this theatre, but of the RKO Keith Memorial that was built next door to replace it. That theatre is now a live stage and is called the Opera House.

The second theatre in the photo is the Modern, still standing today but vacant and in very poor condition.

The banner hanging over the street advertises yet another theatre, the RKO Boston, also still standing but vacant today. The RKO Boston itself is not visible in the photo; it would be behind and to the right of the camera position.

On the right is R.H. White's department store, now a large vacant parking lot awaiting redevelopment.

Given the lack of people and cars, the photo must have been taken quite early in the morning, or on a Sunday.

This 1895 map shows part of downtown Boston. East is at the top of the map.

Near the top left of the map, take a look at the block bounded by Washington, West, Mason, and Avery Streets. In the middle of that block is "KEITH'S NEW THEATRE".

Just to its left, on Washington Street, (between it and the Adams House), you can barely make out the words "BIJOU OPERA HOUSE". This is the Bijou Theatre. Both the Bijou and the Keith's had entrances on Washington Street, but the Bijou's auditorium was in front, while the Keith's was in back.

To the right of the Keith's on this map is the Boston Theatre. This was torn down in the 1920s and replaced by the Keith Memorial Theatre -- still standing today and now called the Opera House.

that should have said: West is at the top of the map.

This 1928 map shows at least 11 downtown Boston theatres. West is at the top of this map.

The KEITH'S THEATRE is on the east side of Mason Street, a block north of Avery Street. A narrow piece of the adjoining BIJOU DREAM on Washington Street is labelled "ENTRANCE TO KEITH'S THEATRE".

Just north of the Keith's is the larger B.F. KEITH MEMORIAL THEATRE, now called Opera House.

In Variety, the show-biz newspaper, of Dec. 20, 1932, there was a large ad placed by RKO Theatres which lists "RKO Theatres Throughout America." There are 4 listed for Boston: the RKO Keith Memorial, the RKO Boston, the RKO Bijou, and the RKO Lyric. This would indicate that after the Shuberts stopped operating the Lyric, RKO stepped in and took it over again. A few years afterward, it became the Normandie ballroom and bar.

Keith's New Theatre in Boston is listed in the 1897-98 edition of Julius Cahn's Official Theatrical Guide. The managers are B.F. Keith and E.F. Albee. The seating capacity is given as 3,000, but that could not possibly be correct. Ticket prices ranged from 25 cents to 75 cents. The proscenium opening was 34 feet, 4 inches square. The stage was 41 feet deep. The theatre was on the first floor. It's possible that the seating capacity figure includes several hundred standing spaces.

The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for this theatre (when it was the Laffmovie) has an exterior photo which is undated. (A hint of the date is that the movie "Desert Fury", in Technicolor, is playing right next door at the Paramount). The Laffmovie has a flashy half-circle marquee which I remember circa-1950. It has space for 4 rows of black letters on a white background. The attractions are Walt Disney Cartoon Carnival, Laurel & Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Popeye, Bugs Bunny, Little (unreadable). Unfortunately, no one filled out the form and there is no information.

The 19th Century building which contained this theater's Washington Street entrance and lobby was demolished recently except for its facade which has been repaired and which will front the new Emerson College building on the site. Keith's Theatre entrance was in the left bay of this facade, right next to the adjacent Paramount.

During Christmas week, 1921, this theater's ad in the Boston Globe was headed "B.F. Keith's - Amusement Center of Boston". There was a vaudeville program headed by Irene Castle, plus on screen Pathe News and "Topics of the Day". No feature movie.

In the "Billboard" trade paper of Sept 8, 1906, there is an article about the opening of the Fall season in Boston theaters written by their Boston reporter, Frank Voorhies. He says that the first week of September was actually the last week of Keith's summer season and marked the 13th and final week of the Fadettes Women's orchestra. The show consisted of Junie McCree & Company in "The Man from Denver" plus assorted vaude acts, such as Clare Beasy's Performing Cats, acrobats, singers, comics, dancers, ending with the Kinetograph - movie short subjects on screen. "Good business", he says.

Mystery Is Solved

Theatre Employe Arrested in Boston For Dropping Missiles From Balcony

Dozen Persons Injured in Keith's Boston House Since Last July

BOSTON. Oct. 12 (AP)—A chain of uncanny disturbances which since last July have annoyed patrons of B. F. Keith’s theatre here,
and which for the last month caused performances to be given with lights on throughout the house, was believed by the police to
have been ended today.

More than a dozen persons have been injured and police investigators have been baffled by the hurling of pieces of scrap iron, lead pipe and rocks into the audience of the theatre at practically every performance for ten weeks. Search for the cause, which brought as many as 120 investigators into the theatre at every performance, failed for weeks. Yesterday, however, Walter Matthews, for two years a special officer In the theatre, was arrested and today faced arraignment and examination by alienists.

Early last August, the theatre authorities asked police aid in locating the person or persons who were throwing missiles into the audience. Plainclothes men strove vainly for days to detect the. source of the objects. Additional men and private detectives were brought in. Uniformed police were stationed throughout the house and the lights were ordered on during the entire performance. Police and detectives in plain clothes were scattered all throughout the audience, but the hail of missiles continued.

Rarely did the perpetrator miss a performance. A number of persons, including women, were struck and received cuts and bruises.
More often the objects bounced off the chairs or landed in the aisles. Then, several days ago, two policemen, smuggled behind a
grating in the roof of the auditorium, saw a suspicious movement by Matthews. The next day they watched him through an entire performance
and saw him, from behind an aisle screen which protected him from the sight of those in the balcony, throw a missile over the rail. His arrest followed.

Matthews declared he was unable to explain his act. "An irresistible impulse" made him do it, he insisted. His missiles were secured from
the basement of the the theatre, he said. Each time he did it, he told the police, he resolved to stop but at the next performance found he was unable to resist the urge.

The above from the Lowell Sun, Thursday, October 15, 1925.

Another B,F.KEITH theatre was THE IMPERIAL THEATRE in Augusta,GA. it is on CINEMA TREASURES if you want a bit more history.

Thanks to Louis Rugani for posting an interesting news story about Keith's in Boston from the 1925 Lowell Sun. I assume that the perp Matthews was dismissed from his job. Today he would hire a lawyer and sue for discrimination since it is obvious that he is the victim here, a sufferer of Irrestible Violent Impulse Syndrome, or "IVIS".

Boston film pioneer Joe Cifre wrote a long article (about 1950, I estimate) titled "Saga of the Movie Industry in Boston". He also makes the claim, mentioned in the Intro at the head of this page, that the first movies shown to a theater audience in Boston took place at this theater in 1896. A small projection booth, draped in velour cloth, was placed at the balcony front. The film was 2 5/8 inches wide and each frame was 2 inches high. There were no sprocket holes; the film was run over velvet-covered rollers. A show about 10 to 12 minutes long was run at the very end of each vaudeville show.