Boston Opera House
539 Washington Street,
Boston,
MA
02111
539 Washington Street,
Boston,
MA
02111
25 people
favorited this theater
Related Websites
Broadway in Boston (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Keith-Albee, RKO, Sack Theatres
Architects: Thomas White Lamb
Functions: Stage Shows
Styles: Renaissance Revival
Previous Names: Keith's Memorial Theatre, RKO Keith's Theatre, Sack Savoy Theatre, Savoy No. 2, Opera House
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
866.523.7469
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Jun 30, 2011 — National Trust for Historic Preservation Recounts Fate of Boston Theaters
- Jan 29, 2008 — Live Nation Confirms Sale of Theaters
- Jun 29, 2004 — Keith's Theatre In Boston Gets Ready For Its Close-Up
The B.F. Keith Memorial Theatre was a vaudeville house in Boston’s theatre district. It opened on October 29, 1928 with the film “Oh Kay” starring Colleen Moore. This beautiful house later became part of the RKO theatre chain and the RKO Keith’s switched to a movies only format.
Its name was changed to the Savoy Theatre when it was purchased by Sack Theatres in 1965. In September 1971 the stage was converted into Savoy No. 2. In 1978, the Savoy Theatre was sold by Sack to the Opera Company of Boston, and the theatre became known as the Opera House, for which it was used until 1990.
The theatre was renovated, restored, and reopened in July 2004 by Clear Channel Entertainment, and is now a site for touring Broadway shows and other live entertainment, known as the Boston Opera House.
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Recent comments (view all 144 comments)
I think this will be the first movie shown here since it closed as the Sack Savoy in the late 1970s. Do they still have projection equipment?
Sack would have almost certainly pulled out their equipment when they walked away from the house. I don’t think a movie has been shown there since. They will probably bring in a portable digital projection setup for this show.
A comment yesterday at the Kings Brooklyn page on this site was that the Star Wars films will be DCP (current movie theater digital standard).
@David Zornig & other friends: I was in the “Casino Royale” riot and later worked with the Columbia field PR man, John Markle, who set it up. I have a book coming out after Labor Day (2016) called “Screen Saver” about this and other memories of doing publicity in Boston for Sack Theatres and then as a critic and producer in Boston, NY, and LA. The book will be available from Amazon or directly from the publisher Bear Manor Media (www.bearmanormedia.com) but it won’t be listed for a couple of months. You heard it here.
The Star Wars Trilogy screening was cancelled.
Why was it cancelled?
Not sure.
Image added.
Removal of the RKO Keith’s Theater sign in 1965.
This theatre has rented out its “naming rights” recently and is now the “Citizens Bank Opera House” or “Citizens Bank Boston Opera House” (I’ve seen both names.) I realize that naming is a source of serious revenue to these facilities, but it rubs a tradtionalist the wrong way: what’s next ?: Google Opera House, Toyota Opera House, Fox News Opera House, Trump Foundation Opera House, Yamaha Opera House, Jet Blue Opera House ??
as long as they don’t call it the Kartrashihoes Opera house!!! :)