Modern Theatre

I am interested in investigating this cinema and the viability for re-opening it. Can you provide me with the address and perhaps who the property owner is?

Regards,

Douglas Cassinari

Was this theatre ever known as the Trans-Lux in the 1950s? If not, what else was the Trans-Lux? It was kind of a racy art house, judging from newspaper ads I remember from that time.

The Modern and the Trans-Lux were separate theatres in the theatre district on Washington Street.

The Modern was also known as the Mayflower from the 1960s through closing. It had turned into an Adult movie house. It is now slated for renovation by the new owner, which will bring Washington Street back to its former glory in that area.

After it closed as the Mayflower porn movie house, it briefly repoened as the Modern to present live stage shows in the late 1970s - early 1980s. Sun Ra performed there.

One of the only times I went to this theatre was in 1958 to see a showing of the French-made THE CASE OF DR. LAURENT. It was dubbed in English here. The film, which starred the great Jean Gabin, achieved some exploitation because it featured the actual birth of a baby. The theatre was called the Mayflower then too.

Michael, why this monomaniacal obsession? YOU buy it and turn it into a concert hall.

I would like more information on this beautiful theater... I would like to find a way to renovate it into a theater, gallery and a restaurant... Anyone interested in helping?.. or know of any information

Sadly, due to neglect the roof caved in a few years ago, and vast amounts of water damge ruined the interior.

I photographed this theater in early July. The arch visible at the top of the photo has been partially removed, or perhaps collapsed. There was a tarp over it, and a cherry-picker in the street out front. The whole neighborhood needs a little help.

The Trans-Lux was probably a newsreel theatre when first opened.

A newspaper ad from March 3, 1962 lists the Mayflower (formerly Modern) showing a double bill of "The 3 Stooges Meets Hercules" and "Underwater City."

The theater looks like it is currently in the process of being restored. It is a few steps up from the Opera House, which has just undergone a complete and magnificent renovation.

The address for the Modern Theate is 523-25 Washington Street, Boston, Ma.

In March 2003, the city of Boston announced a partnership with the Sager Family Foundation to save this theatre. A sign with the Sager logo is on the outside of the theatre. However, I don't know what progress has been made since then.

Here's an article from Backstage.com, and another from Boston Business Journal, both published around the same time as the official announcement.

Douglas and Richard -

If you want to contact the Sager Foundation, who now own the theatre, their web site is www.TeamSager.org . The site gives a phone number of 617-948-9449 and a fax of 617-948-9448.

I have a booklet called "Boston Theatre District: A Walking Tour", published by the Boston Preservation Alliance in 1993. It says:

In 1913 C.H. Blackall designed a long, narrow, 800-seat cinema which was inserted in the ground floor of the Dobson Building, a five-story Ruskinian Gothic, sandstone warehouse, designed by Levi Newcomb and Son in 1876. Blackall added an elegant but somewhat incongruous two-story, Florentine Renaissance, white marble façade to the building.

He was aided in the theatre design by acoustician Wallace Sabine, a Harvard professor who first applied scientific principles to the study of sound and space. It was Sabine and Blackall's only collaboration.

Looking back through the Boston Globe archives, it appears that the theater reopened in March 1979 as a live stage, but then closed again for good in May 1981. During those two years, it presented jazz concerts, musical events, mime, dance, and a couple of plays including "American Buffalo".

And during that short time, I recall seeing ads and posters for the Modern that read:

Love a Theatre

David Archer was the guy who tried hard, but ultimately failed, to keep it open.

For a time in the 1980s, the Modern Theatre auditorium was used after hours as storage space for Downtown Crossing vendor pushcarts.

There is some info on the Modern theater here:
http://www.historicboston.org/99cb/moderntheater.htm

Some fascinating information on that link. It's really a shame that there seems no hopefor it as a theatre.
The blame for Bostons complete loss of any classic theatres as moviehouses is twofold.
First was the 'Combat Zone' that took a large chunk of Theatre Row and made the area so awful that people avoided it and no legit business would open. Lawyers kept the pron going and the city seemed to be satisfied with keeping it contained. But Chinatown merchants wanted it gone. As a result any building that went up for sale they bought. They ended up owning some small theatres in the area but they were not theatre people for the most part and with Boston a monopoly for movies they could not sell them to theatre companies who might want to rehab them into multiplexes such as happened to some New York City theatres.
The second problem was the Sack/USA theatre chain that had that monopoly. They had no interest in taking over any of the theatres left due to Bostons very intense preservation programs. They fought the drive to make the Saxon registered as a historic building because they did not want to have to restore it. And of course they had no interest in taking over any of the theatres that were vacant.

A third factor was 1960s 'urban renewal'. It didn't have much effect on the downtown theatre district, but it obliterated two other clusters of theatres: Scollay Square (replaced by Government Center) and a group around Mass. Ave. and Huntington Avenue (replaced by the expanded Christian Science Center and related development).

The Modern Theatre, with a large vertical sign, is visible in this 1943 photo from the Bostonian Society Library, described here. The marquee advertises a double-feature of Ida Lupino in "In Our Time" and Joel McCrea in "Buffalo Bill".

A 1958 photo, described here, as the Mayflower Theatre. The marquee advertises the film "Sayonara". Down the street, the RKO Keith's (now the Opera House) is showing "My Man Godfrey".

Way above, someone asked about the Trans-Lux. That was a couple blocks further south, had several different names during its history, and is listed here as the State, which was the name it had when it closed.

It was demolished in 1991. The Millennium Place/Ritz-Carlton Towers complex (which includes the 19-screen Loews Boston Common multiplex) now stands on its site.

I hope this theatre doesn't meet the same fate as the Gaiety Theatre.

Did Arthur Fiedler ever go to this theatre?

It's currently owned by the Boston Redevelopment Authority which took it by eminent domain (or threat of same) from an owner who was letting it fall apart and had applied for a demolition permit. The city wants it restored, not demolished.

According to Donald C. King's new book The Theatres of Boston: A Stage and Screen History, Jacob Lourie opened the "small but deluxe" Modern Theatre on June 25, 1914, inside an office building that was built in 1876. A sign in the front archway read, "The Modern Theatre, High Class Photoplays."

"The screen was deeply recessed inside a permanent wood-paneled drawing room setting. The stage started well within this area, and on its level were large ornate double doors at each side. An Estay organ was played in the small orchestra pit."

On February 19, 1949, the Modern was renamed the Mayflower. In 1967, it could no longer compete with neighborhood first-run theatres, and it began an adult film policy.

The Boston Herald published this short article yesterday. I don't know anything more:

Collapse scare stops traffic
By Herald staff
Friday, July 15, 2005

Traffic was gridlocked on Washington Street between Chinatown and Downtown Crossing yesterday when the dilapidated Modern Theatre building looked as if it might collapse into the street.

The building, which is being demolished, was acquired for $1.5 million in 2003 by the Sager Family Traveling Foundation, and then transferred to the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

The foundation, in turn, was given rights to redevelop the site.

Efforts are focused on preserving the building's historic facade, which dates to 1913, while tearing away most of the crumbling structure behind it.

Yesterday, however, engineers spent considerable time studying the site while traffic was routed around it.

City Hall hopes to preserve the Modern in much the same way the nearby Paramount Theatre and the Opera House have been revitalized.

Thanks for posting that article, Ron. I'd have to think the structural demolition of the Modern would be a bear to deal with for the workers carrying out the project, given the lack of free space along the exterior. It would be interesting to know how it's being done.

I phoned both the Sager Foundation and the Boston Redevelopment Authority, and both denied that the Modern is being demolished.

The BRA said that the building is legally protected against demolition.

The Sager people think the Herald may have confused the Modern with the Gaiety -- which is being demolished, several blocks south of the Modern. If so, I wonder how a major newspaper could make such an egregious mistake.

That's exactly what happened, Ron. I snagged a copy of today's Boston Herald here in NYC this evening; the photo is a side-angle photo (from just south of LaGrange Street) of most of what remains of the Gaiety Theatre building, while the accompanying caption and article describes the Modern. To put it mildly, very, very sloppy reporting (and editing) on the Herald's behalf.

Two interesting points: the article, as it is, isn't credited to any specific writer and, I wonder as well, if the Herald will run a correction tomorrow...

The Herald ran a tiny little correction on the Business page yesterday, saying that the Friday article should have been about the façade of the Gaiety, not the Modern. The correction is not online, and the erroneous article is still online.

I hesitate to quote the Herald again after the fiasco two weeks ago, but here goes:

Condo developers may help to revive Hub theaters
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald, Friday, July 22, 2005

A condo development firm has snapped up two Downtown Crossing buildings in a deal that is expected to provide another boost to City Hall's efforts to revive a trio of historic lower Washington Street theaters.

Gold Associates has bought two buildings next to the defunct Modern Theatre, according to Harry Collings, executive secretary for the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

The firm plans to convert the buildings to condos, possibly with additional floors and height, he said.

In turn, the development firm is in talks with City Hall about taking on the first floor of the adjacent Modern Theatre and rehabilitating it into a performance venue, the details of which have yet to be hammered out, Collings said.

Here is a 1968 Harvard Crimson article about the sex film venues on Washington Street. The writer discusses the Pilgrim, the Mayflower, and the State.

That was a great article, thanks for finding it and posting the link. When the downtown theatres lost their exclusivity to the suburban theatres that sprung up in the shopping malls, it was the beginning of the end for downtown being a destination for moviegoers. Until that time, downtown played exclusive for 3 weeks and the mall Cinemas only played subrun. It was around that same time that a Harvard student who was "slumming" with his fraternity friends one night, got into an altercation with a group of street savvy hoods, and was stabbed to death. It was the beginning of the end for the combat zone being a good-time destination for students. too.

The incident you refer to occurred on November 16, 1976. Andrew Puopolo, a Harvard football player, was stabbed by a pimp in the Combat Zone. A second Harvard student was injured in the same fight. After a month-long coma, Puopolo died on December 17, 1976.

This was the beginning of the end for the Combat Zone.

The Harvard Crimson archives have many articles about this.

Thanks for researching the details on that incident. The combat zone described in the 1968 article from MIT, was certainly a far more dangerous place than those writers described, not quite the chic place to go "slumming". The Puopolo murder hammered that home to any suburbanites who may have had lingering ideas on the advisability of going downtown for a movie. Of course, as things changed and the combat zone disappeared, the nostalgia for an old movie palace has come back. It's too bad the buildings couldn't sustain the years of declining business just a few years longer. Ironically, the porn industry probably helped those theatres stay open a few years longer, once the booking patterns changed in the late '60s.

The 1968 Crimson article mentions that there were ten movie theatres on downtown Washington Street between the Old South Meeting House and "Michael Breen Square" (which I've never heard of). Besides the three sex-film houses, the others were, from north to south:

Loew's Orpheum, a first-run house
Savoy, a Sack first-run house
Paramount, a General Cinema first-run house
Boston Cinerama, which needs no further explanation
Publix, probably showing second- or third-run double features
Center, probably showing second- or third-run double features
Stuart, probably showing second- or third-run double-features

By the way, the Mayflower was always outside the city's official boundary for the Combat Zone.

By the late '60's, none of those downtown theatres were high grossers. Probably the best film played the Cheri, Music Hall, Charles, and Sack 57. It's too bad grossing information is probably impossible to get, as it would show how downtown declined in those years.

I don't think the Sack 57 had been built yet by 1968. However, Sack presented first runs at the nearby Gary and Saxon, as well as the (first) Beacon Hill and Music Hall.

I saw movies a few times in the Mayflower in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was an ATC house and shared newspaper ad space with the Pilgrim. It had a tiny foyer, and a narrow auditorium with balcony. I understand that the seating capacity was 741. The arch in the facade was originally open, not closed in as it is today. The alley on the left side of the theatre led to the 3rd balcony entrance of hthe Boston Theatre in the old days. The Modern was carved out of space in an 1876 building. It was indeed a live theatre circa 1979-80 or so; and later in the 1980s it served as garage for push-cart vendors, a role which it shared with the stage of the nearby RKO Boston.

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

The MODERN THEATRE is on the west side of Washington Street, just south of West Street. Behind it is the much larger B.F. KEITH MEMORIAL THEATRE, now called the Opera House.

Anyone know what’s happening with this space? I walked by the theater on Friday, and it looks like there may be some renovations happening there. Wondering if it’s going to reopen like the Opera House.

An exterior pic - taken in 2000 - here:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12494104@N00/424355299/

This is a photo of the Mayflower Theater dated 1971.

The Beacon Hill Times of June 12 2007 has a short article, with facade photo of the Modern, reporting that Suffolk University may have an interest in acquiring the Modern/Mayflower Theatre. The University has recently taken over other buildings in the vicinity of the Modern. Possible uses are as a performing arts facility, a "black-box" theatre, or as an art gallery. The article points out that the Boston Redevelopment Authority, which owns the Modern, has not yet received a proposal from Suffolk.

The Boston Herald reported today that Suffolk Univ. has prepared a proposal for the Modern Th. for submission to the Boston Redevel. Authority.

According to the Sept. '07 Boston Playbill (I got it at "Wicked - the musical" today) Suffolk has indicated they envisioned a mixed-use facility with possibilities including theatre/art gallery/performance space on the first floor, as well as additional student housing. They recently bought the building next door to renovate into a dormitory (building next to that is already under renovation).

Their bid has been submitted (and the deadline passed 8/30). Hopefully soon the Boston RDA will announce the winning bidder.

According to a short report in the Quincy Patriot Ledger of Oct.4th, the BRA has approved Suffolk Univ. as developer of the Modern Theatre. There will be a 12-story building with dorm rooms for up to 200 students. The ground floor will have cultural uses: an 800 sq. ft. art gallery, and a 2400 sq. ft. theatre. The Modern's facade will be preserved at the front of the building. The news report does not state when work will begin.

Someone who worked as a projectionist at the Mayflower in the 1960s told me that in order to access the booth it was necessary to go to the rear of the theatre and climb up to an attic space above the auditorium ceiling, cross the attic on a catwalk, then climb down into the booth. He felt that in the event of a serious fire the projectionist's chance of getting out alive was slim to none !

You should read some of the stories in the LA Times in the early part of the twentieth century. The projectionists were always leaping out of the booth after the film burst into flames. It was a hazardous job.

The note on the top of the page says the theater closed in 1980. Was it an adult theater by that time? I don't remember this theater playing films in the 70's...

Nice to know that it will be somehow salvaged like the Paramount as an entertainment/culture center and not office space.

Hope to see it up and running in my lifetime...

In the late 1970s it was an adult theatre called the Mayflower. For a short time after that, it reopened as a live stage called the Modern.

Suffolk Univ. has just received City permission to begin construction of their Modern Theatre project. When this project is finished, will there be anything left of the theatre, other than the facade ?

A related question: is there really anything left of it now?

I have heard no reports from anyone who has been inside it in recent years, but knowing of the badly leaking roof and the concerns that the building was about to collapse, I can only guess what an absolute mess the interior must be. I can't imagine how Suffolk Univ. can accomplish their goals for this parcel and still keep the building intact.

I toured the Modern Theater probably about '77 or '78 after the Mayflower had closed and before its short-lived period as a performance center. It was Boston's first theater exclusively built to show movies, and one of the first in the country.

Since it was built before the golden days of the Hollywood-style movie palace, it was quite plain inside. It had a very small "lobby," really no bigger than an area to house a ticket booth, and the auditorium was nothing more than a long rectangular box with a gently sloping floor. There was no decoration on the walls (e.g. murals, moldings, etc.) and there had already been some water damage. Even at that time, the idea was not to restore, since there was nothing of interest to restore, but to revive it as a performance space.

At the time, I thought it might have been interesting to restore it as a silent movie theater and see silent movies in an actual era theater, but it probably wouldn't have paid the bills.

Suffolk University has applied to take over the theater and renovate the space, much like Emerson is doing with the Paramount just a few doors down. Suffolk and Emerson are basically swallowing the entire block with a combination of new construction behind the old facades and the renovation of existing buildings. The promise is that the Modern Theatre and the Paramount will again be in operation, although as live theater venues and not movie houses.

Today's Boston Herald has a color rendition of the Modern's facade after the work is completed. The arch above the entrance will be opened up, as it was originally. There is no marquee over the entrance.( When it opened, the Modern did not have a marquee, that came later.) The text with the drawing says that Suffolk Construction Co. won a $29M contract from Suffolk University. They will "renovate the facade" and "build a 12-story, 200-student dormitory". The "new building" will contain an 800 square foot art gallery and a 2400 square foot theater on the ground floor. Total, 3200 square feet which is probably about equal to the present theater's area. The Modern at present is about 5 or 6 stories high, so the height will double in the new building. It does not state when construction is to start, or when it will be finished.

Construction work began yesterday, Nov. 20. Suffolk University hopes to have the building open in 2010. They call it "The Modern Theatre and Residence Hall". The "dorm tower" will have 200 beds. There was a photo taken yesterday in front of the theater published in the Boston Herald today.

Who knows, Rex?

Many of the multi-plex theatres are in serious trouble. Who knows what'll happen to the AMC/ Boston Common Theatre?

It does not appear that this image has been posted yet:

http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=theatre&catpageindex=8&catpagesize=25&ProductID=28119

How's this for an encore:

http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=mayflower&catpagesize=25&ProductID=28136

Those are 2 nice photos, especially the second one. I visited the Modern yesterday. There is nothing left but a busted remnant of the left (south) sidewall which doesn't even go out to the sidewalk. There is a sign which points out the facade restoration, so I guess they must have dismantled the facade and stored it away for reconstruction in the future. Everything else is gone.

A shame I suppose. But the building, by all accounts, was ravaged. Washington Street will probably be better for the reconstruction project.

Here is a 1980 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/d98xlg

ken mc's 1980 photo is a rather rare shot showing the Modern during the brief period when it was a small live theater. Note that the Mayflower marquee has been removed.

I went to the site again yesterday and now the remnant of the left side wall is also gone, so there is nothing left at all of the Modern. The facade will supposedly be reassembled and placed on the front of the future new building on the lot.

Assuming this happens, this will be one of the very few times that we get to change a theatre's status from "Closed/Demolished" back to "Open".

I'm not sure how Cinema Treasures would handle such a situation- if a theater is totally demolished but its facade is set aside and then rebuilt on the front of the new building, is it accurate to then say that the theater is "Open" again, when 98% of it is gone??

I'd say yes, if it once again operates as a theatre and keeps the same name.

1968 Night Photo

I walked by this site today. The building truly is totally demolished. A sign on the temporary wooden wall between the street and sidewalk tells people to visit http://www.suffolk.edu/moderntheatre for more information.

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