RKO Boston Theatre

The theatre was also known as RKO Keith's Boston theatre.

The entire building still exists. I was able to get inside the theatre several years and photograph it, especially the sealed off balcony.The cement floor goes about 10 feet under the proscienium arch all the way to the backstage wall. The Cinerama curtain supports still existed on both sides of the arch.At the balcony rear there were 2 separate projection booths -side by side- each with 2 sets of portholes. One of them, probably the original,still had 2 projector bases with the old Peerless Condenser carbon arcs lamp houses. The other booth still had an empty sound rack which probably contained the amps for the Cinerama sound head and where the intro projector was for the early 3-strip traveloges. When 70mm single projection came in 1964 they expanded downstairs Baker booth.

The RKO Keiths, also known as the Savoy in later years, wasn't the same theatre as the Cinerama. The Cinerama Theater was across Washington St a block or two south, and was torn down, probably in the 1970s.

There were 2 similiar theatre names close to one another:
The RKO KEITH'S MEMORIAL at 539 Washington St. which became the SAVOY, then the OPERA HOUSE now under renovation.
The RKO BOSTON ( which may have been the RKO KEITH'S BOSTON for a while) is at 614 Washington St. I had initially the wrong address listed as 617 Washington when I added this Theatre early this year which now puts it on the right side of Washington St.

The RKO BOSTON (CINERAMA) still exists enclosed in the large office
building bordered by ESSEX/HAYWARD PLACE/and HARRISON. The former
Theatre entrance is now the MBTA ORANGE LINE CHINATOWN entrance. On the Hayward Place side you can see the large blocked parts of the building where the backstage exists.

The only Theatres to be torn down in this area in the last 20 years were the PILGRIM (OLYMPIA) one block south and the STATE(TRANS LUX/PARK)directly across the street from the RKO BOSTON. Both these went down within the last decade.The ASTOR (TREMONT)auditorium was on Avery St. and went down over 20 years ago.

When I was a kid we went to the Loews, Orpheum, Keith Memorial, the "Laugh Movie", the penny-arcade, the Savoy, etc., etc., etc. Alas after being away so many years the particular names of the particular movies eludes me except at least 2 had entrances on Washington and out to Tremont and they were all magnificent theatere houses that I was horrified to watch fall apart when visiting Boston over the past 40 years. The marble staircases and fireplaces and chandeliers - I just couldn't believe the City of Boston would let such history fall apart and am very gratified to learn today that Mayor Menino stepped up to the plate to save at least a few of them. Jeanette Viens

The Keith Memorial/Savoy/Opera House had a corridor on the other side of Mason Street leading to a second entrance (and marquee) on Tremont Street. This was demolished in the 1980s or early 90s to make way for the Parkside condominium building on Tremont.

Today's Loews Boston Common multiplex cinema now stands on the former site of the Tremont/Astor Theatre.

As a high school student in the 1950s, I took the train from Providence to Boston with a friend to see the Cinerama film SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD at that theatre, which I believe was called the Essex at the time. Later, in 1968, I saw 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY there in its Boston premiere showings on that super duper screen that pulled us into outer space.

The theatre was originally Keith's Boston and became RKO Keith's Boston when Radio Keith Orpheum was formed. RKO kept the Keith's name for several decades until the public no longer could remember who Keith was.

This theater is still hidden inside the Office Bldg known as 600 Washington St, occupied primarily by the State Welfare Dept. I worked in this building at one time. It was known as the jewelers' bldg. since many wholesale and retail jewelers had spaces there.
I remember going to the various Cinerama pictures there, including a revival of the 1953 'This is Cinerama' the famous roller coaster scene. The earlier Cineramas had 3 projectors (tho' you could always see a line in the screen). The curtains, carpets and seats were all covered in very hot pink, the walls, etc. mostly ivory. We always got cheap seats in the balcony and sneaked down and sat in the front row, so as to be totally surrounded. I remember being disappointed when they 'downgraded' to a single projector in releases like 'Windjammer'. 'Mad, Mad, World' and 'How the West Was Won' were other Cinerama features I saw there. But I don't remember 2001 being at that theater, I thought it opened at the Pilgim, same block of the street.

There's a small, mostly inconspicuous theatre on the Essex Street side of the building; is this part of the old RKO Boston?

"But I don't remember 2001 being at that theater, I thought it opened at the Pilgim, same block of the street."
---It did in fact open at the Boston Cinerama. I saw it there in 1968. The Pilgrim was 2nd run at the time. You can consult the Globe microfilm to verify.

Answering my own question from earlier today - I spoke with my mum today (who was born and raised in Boston and went to several films at the old Cinerama) and found out that the theatre visible from the Essex Street side of the building IS part of what was once the Cinerama and that it closed, its final years as a venue for Chinese-language films, sometime around 1991.

The "Boston Theatre," as a newspaper ad for March, 1962 called it, was showing the Cinerama feature SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE at that time.
One evening show daily. Matinees Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday, and holidays at 2:30.

I remember when it became a kung fu theatre (like the nearby Center and also what I think was the China Cinema over in the Leather District).......you entered on Essex St, across from Playland. The old entrance on Washington St was closed by then. I saw probably all the Cinerama flix there as a kid, but was always interested in the sexploitation flims across the street at The State. The last Cinerama films, "Grand Prix" and "Ice Station Zebra" played there, it may have closed after that (around '72?. I also saw "2001" there in '69.

The Boston Theatre played 3 strip Cinerama from 12/30/53 thru 11/11/63 and then 70mm Cinerama from 11/19/63 thru 4/23/69. The second Cinerama feture to play at the Boston was "Cinerama Holiday" with 2 shows daily at 2:30 adn 7:30. Ticket prices ranged from a low of 1.20 (Loge Balcony) to a high of 2.65 (Orchestra) depending on what day and which show you went to. Some where I saw a couple of the pics that Richard took when he was able to get in the old balcony. They showed the cemented floors and proscenium arch and a rear view of the old balcony with the seats still in place. Great photos. I just can't remember where I saw the pics.

Charles, these photo's were on the <cinerama.topcities.com> site.
I was also able to get some good shots of the Cinerama (Colonial)
in Hartford,CT. which are on the same site.

If you walk about 3/4 block east on Essex Street from Washington Street, along the south side of the 600 Washington Street Building, you will come to a storefront called "Skin Care Adventure" with the address 36 Essex Street.

Just beyond it, and before the next storefront called "Hair Adventure" at 42 Essex Street, there is a see-through metal gate. If you look through the gate you'll see glass doors, and if you look through the doors, all the way to the right, you'll see what appears to be the fully intact rear of the raked theatre auditorium, with rows of seats. I'd love to get in there and look around to see what condition it's in -- and I'm amazed that it's still sitting there totally unused.

Explain to me about the concrete and sealing off the balcony. I dont get it what was the purpose?

re : the concrete/balconey issue -- they cut the theatre up to make smaller theatres, to show the mostly kung-fu/grindhouse fare. I think they chopped it into 3 theatres, 1 in the balconey, 2 downstairs. Both The State and The Center got carved into smaller theatres as well, with the balconeys becoming the 2nd cinema. Or maybe I should say Sinema -- I saw Deep Throat and The Devil In Miss Jones on a double bill in the balconey of The State - must have been around 1975. The Center and whatever the Cinerama was called then had the chop sockey fare, The Pilgrim had porn, The Stuart and Publix had 2nd/3rd run and Grade-Z fare. The Stuart went porn when it became the Pussycat.

The State has been torn down - one of the Millennium/Ritz-Carlton towers is now on its site.
The Pilgrim has been torn down - a condominium tower called "Park Essex" is now under construction on its site.
The Center is now a large, fancy Chinese restaurant.
Where the Stuart entrance was, there's now a McDonald's. I don't know if any remnant of the theatre sits behind it.
The Publix (originally Gaiety) could be torn down literally any day now, as courts are rejecting litigation to preserve it. I'm posting regular updates on that situation.

Following up my earlier post regarding seeing the theatre from Essex Street:

You have to do this at night. If you try during the day, as I did a few hours ago, you won't see much because of bright reflections off the glass doors.

I have no idea why the interior of the unused theatre appears to be lit at night.

It its declining years of the 1970s, I believe it was called "Essex Theatre" or "Essex Cinema". It definitely wasn't called "Boston Cinerama" or "RKO Boston" anymore.

And when they moved the entrance around the corner onto Essex Street and began showing Asian films, I think it got yet another name, "Star Cinema".

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

"In 1925 a theatre was installed in the rear of the [Washington-Essex] building, called the Keith Albee Boston, designed by Thomas Lamb, the country's best known 20th century theatre architect. Its presentations of live entertainment continued through the 1940s. The theatre became Boston Cinerama from 1961 to 1966 and was subsequently subdivided and partially modernized. it is current vacant, following a short career as a Chinese theatre."

I've been looking through the online Boston Globe and Herald archives for more information on this theatre. It was a venue for big band music in the 1940s and 50s. From an August 7, 1988 Globe article:

"The old RKO-Boston Theater on Washington Street near the Combat Zone has long since been closed, with few reminders that during the 1940s and into the early 1950s, it was the showcase for the nation's favorite bands and vocal groups. Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Glen Gray, Charlie Spivak, Bob Chester, the Ink Spots, the Andrews Sisters, the Mills Brothers -- they all played the RKO.

The Glenn Miller band made its final Boston appearance there on Thursday, Sept. 17, 1942, ten days before the band broke up after its last performance at the Central Theater in Passaic, N.J. Miller then joined the Army Air Force."

From a May 8, 1983 Globe article:

"After the Rock Hudson bomb "Ice Station Zebra," the Boston Cinerama Theater on lower Washington street closed, re-opened briefly as a twin cinema with black and Chinese films. Now, a portion of the theater called the Star Cinema shows Chinese films exclusively on a small screen."

(Ice Station Zebra was released in 1968.)

In the 1980s, the owner of the 600 Washington Street building considered turning the theater into a parking garage. Fortunately, this didn't happen.

Thanks for the info, Ron. Star Cinema rings a bell with me, as does Essex Cinema. It must have gone under both those names before it closed, as I remember them both. I lived in a loft next to the Paramount Theatre in the mid-80's, I recall the entrance on Essex St - pretty sure that was the Star Cinema then. I never knew they had live music during the 40's/50's, but it was certainly a big enough stage. Maybe someday someone will attempt to reopen this space and do something with it. Especially if The Gaiety/Publix gets demolished, which, sadly, is looking more likely every day.

When it was the Star Cinema, the address was 38 Essex Street.

I recall the theatre as a twin in the 70's under a different name. For some reason essex does ring a bell as the name. Star was the name when it changed to kung fu.
Under Essex it had a weird grab bag triple feature policy. Seems like almost anything from exploitation could turn up on them.
For some strange reason it ended up with an exclusive run of Elizabeth Taylor's film The Drivers Seat as one of its last attractions.

Interior photos and Cinerama info here:
http://cinerama.topcities.com/boston.htm

According to an unpublished 1968 draft manuscript by Douglas Shand-Tucci entitled The Puritan Muse (available in the Fine Arts room of the Boston Public Library), the RKO Boston presented its last live show in 1951.

I've seen several old photos of Washignton Street from the 1940s or earlier, showing a vertical sign attached to this theatre reading "KEITH ALBEE".

And here's a wonderful 1944 photo of this theatre, then apparently called "RKO Keith-Boston". (Scroll down to the second photo.) A live radio show, "Blind Date" with Arlene Francis, is being broadcast from the theatre. Also featured are Bob Chester and His Orchestra, and the movie Seven Days Ashore with Wally Brown.

The Washington-Essex building still stands, but the scene is otherwise nearly unrecognizable today. All of the chain stores shown in the photo -- Bond Clothes, Thom McAn, Kay Jewelers -- are long gone from this block. The grand marquee and the theatre entrance itself have also vanished, replaced by an entrance to the Chinatown Orange Line subway station. Which is most unfortunate, because as a result, people have forgotten that this theatre even exists anymore.

In this 1958 photo (described here), the theatre marquee has been changed to "BOSTON CINERAMA" and advertises "Search for Paradise".

A picture postcard of Washington Street, from sometime between 1930 and 1945, described here.

In the left foreground is the vertical sign and marquee for the RKO Keith-Boston theatre. Further down the left side of the street you can see vertical signs for the Olympia (later renamed to Pilgrim) and the Globe (later renamed to Center).

On the right side of the street is the marquee for the Park (later renamed to Trans-Lux and finally to State) and, further down, a vertical sign for the Gayety (later renamed to Victory and finally to Publix).

Pictured here in 1945 along with the Paramount:
http://rfi.bostonhistory.org/boston/full/003494.jpg

That photo does not show the RKO Boston, which was at 614 Washington Street.
It shows the RKO Keith's, now called the Opera House, at 539 Washington Street. That's a half block up from the RKO Boston and on the other side of the street.

There is a photo of the lobby of the Albee-Boston Theatre in the THSA Marquee magazine Vol 7 #3. Taken in 1944-45 it has adverts for the RKO picture "Zombies on Broadway" with Cab Calloway and his band appearing on stage. The architect is given as Thomas Lamb.

From the Boston Globe, November 27, 2003:

It seems odd to us, that a 1905 advertisement in a Colonial Theatre playbill proclaimed, "Henry Siegel Co. - Strictly Fireproof Throughout." But being fireproof was a real concern, given that no less than four major fires have managed to destroy various sections of downtown Boston since its incorporation, the most recent in memory then was 1872.

Designed by noted architect Arthur Bowditch, Siegel's came to occupy the corner of Essex and Washington streets, now the Washington/Essex Building. This was the first Boston branch of the New York- and Chicago-based department store.

Promising one-stop shopping, Siegel's had it all: Ladies' writing and reception room, photo studio, delicatessen, bakery, post and telegraph office, bank and 1,000 seat restaurant.

Ads bragged that the store had "everything to wear, everything to eat, and everything for the home." Despite all the amenities, the store closed in 1914, seven years after opening. In its place came a Keith's Circuit Theatre designed by prominent New York theatre architect Thomas Lamb.
Reports of the day tell of spacious marble foyers, gold brocaded black satin panels, crystal chandeliers, and a $50,000 Wurlitzer organ.

The swank theatre also included the city's first women's smoking room. People lined up for blocks to see the latest in entertainment, a mix of vaudeville and movies. Now the massive tan brick and white terra cotta trim building houses Mr. Alan Clothing, Boston Bakery, and the Chinatown MBTA Stop. The massive Ritz Carlton is its neighbor across the street.

According to Donald C. King's new book The Theatres of Boston: A Stage and Screen History, the Keith-Albee Boston opened on October 5, 1925, with nearly 4000 seats.

It was a replacement for the old Boston Theatre, which was about to be torn down and replaced on site by the Keith Memorial Theatre.

The first day's program featured seven vaudeville acts and two movies: Carl Laemmle's California Straight Ahead with Reginald Denny, and a Charlie Chase comedy, The Caretaker's Daughter, accompanied by a $50,000 Wurlitzer organ. There were four shows a day.

By the 1930s, it was called the RKO Boston, and it began a stage show policy of big bands plus a feature film.

It became the Boston Cinerama on December 30, 1953, with two daily showings of This is Cinerama.

King says that the Cinerama closed in 1971, then reopened in July 1974 as the Essex I and II, "starting with an action film policy and then moving into pornography, joining most of lower Washington Street's sex houses."

The RKO Boston advertised its 1949 in-person appearance of Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy even in the Providence paper. The program included a "big stage show" and, on the screen, the distinctly-B-movie Strange Bargain.

Here's an amusing ad from 1945. Comedian Joe Besser, who appeared in the screen attraction, would be performing "live" on stage the following week:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/130-3027_IMG.jpg

The Boston Cinerama was a beautiful theatre! Does that sealed off balcony still exist?

We knew this theatre circa 1950 as the "RKO Boston" or "RKO Keith Boston" (never "Keith's"). There were attractions on stage there from time to time, even though the Vaude era was long over. For example, late-January 1951: Jack Carson, Don Cherry, Janis Carter, Honey Bros., Cece & Bud Robinson on stage with "Under the Gun" on screen. The following bill, in Feb. 1951, included Mel Torme, Maxie Rosenbloom, DeMarco Sisters, and Harmonica Rascals; movie unknown. On Saturday May 19, 1951, "Snow White", a touring musical version, was presented on stage several times during the day. I saw "Don Juan in Hell" by George Bernard Shaw on stage at a Sat. matinee, November 29, 1952, starring Vincent Price, Charles Boyer, Agnes Morehead, and Cedric Hardwick. This was really a glorified poetry reading.But it stayed at the RKO Boston for at least one week, maybe two. One year later, a similar poetry reading, "John Brown's Body" was presented at the old Boston Opera House, with Tyrone Power, Raymond Massey and Anne Baxter.(Nov. 1953). I don't know when the last stage use occured at the RKO Boston, sometime between Nov. 1952 and the Fall of 1953 when it was converted into a Cinerama operation. I went to a number of Cinerama showings there, which were very popular in the 1950s. I believe that it was the only Cinerama venue in the Boston area.

The theatre opened, as the Keith Albee Boston, on Oct. 5, 1925, with 3231 seats. Arthur Bowditch, architect. Constructed within the rear of an existing building, more or less on the footprint of the Globe Theatre of the 19th century, an elaborately decorated legit house with over 2000 seats. Like the RKO Boston, the Globe also had an entrance on Washington Street, and a rear foyer exit on Essex Street, as well as a scene door facing toward Hayward Place. But it must have been shorter in length, because its scene door was a short distance in from Hayward Place, rather than right on it, like the RKO's. In the 1980s, that scene door became a garage entrance for pushcart vendors. Since the stage floor was a drop down below Hayward Place, they must have built a false floor in the stage house. Around this time, one day the stage door was wide open and I observed a notice affixed to the inside of the door which said something like "Attention Performers: Beware of Confidence men on the streets of Boston." Since there are several floors of offices directly above the auditorium and stage, this is one closed-up theatre where there is no danger from a leaky roof. I understand that the building management uses it for storage and that's why there are lights on in the auditorium. The front portion of the lobby entrance on Washington St. is now a MBTA Orange Line exit. There was a marquee and vertical sign above it in the old days.

Thomas Lamb apparently advised Arthur Bowditch on the interior design of the Keith Boston- the foyers and auditorium definitely have a Lambesque look.

The engagement of "Don Juan in Hell" on stage mentioned above took place from Monday Nov. 24 to Sat. Nov.29, 1952. Charles Boyer played Don Juan, and Vincent Price played the Devil. The program states that there will be one performance of "John Brown's Body" by Stephen Vincent Benet on Wed. evening, December 17, 1952 at the RKO Boston. Cast included Tyrone Power, Judith Anderson and Raymond Massey. That production also played a longer engagement at the Boston Opera House on Huntington Avenue in Nov. 1953. Between Dec. 1952 and the opening of Cinerama one year later, there may have been other attractions on stage, in addition to movies.

In the huge new book "Theaters" by Craig Morrison there is on page 118 a selection of facade drawings by the artist Anthony Dumas. In 1927, Dumas drew the facade of the RKO Boston. The drawing looks quite accurate except that he has "Keith Albee Bijou" on the marquee and his title for the drawing is "Keith-Albee New Bijou Theatre". I hve never heard of this house being called "Bijou", which is, in fact, a name usually given fairly small theatres. One wonders where the prolific Dumas got his information. Many more of Dumas' Boston theatre sketches are included.

Boston did have a Bijou Theatre, and it was part of the Keith-Albee circuit. However, it was one block north of the RKO Boston, and on the opposite side of Washington Street.

Yes, that's correct. The RKO Boston was built as a replacement for the old 19th-century Boston Theatre just north of, and adjacent to, the little Bijou. The new theatre opened the night after the final performance in the old theatre. Why would they have called it the New Bijou ? I think that Mr. Dumas, who lived in New York, must have been somehow misinformed about the name. Yet, he got most of the details correct in his facade drawing of the new theatre. He even includes the Bond Clothing sign above the entrance.

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

At the northeast corner of Washington and Essex streets is the very large WASHINGTON-ESSEX BLDG. The east side of this building, along Harrison Avenue, is labelled KEITH-ALBEE BOSTON THEATRE.

Is there ever talk of doing something with this place?

To the question above: a few years ago, a reporter from the Boston Herald managed to get inside the theatre and take a few photos for a feature article which appeared on the Real Estate page. The impression was that the building management would rather hope that the public forgets that the theatre still exists. It apparently is being used as a gigantic "supply closet" by the building's maintenance department.

My father was an artist at the theatre during the 1940s and early 1950s. He has very fond memories of working there. He hand painted the movie posters, lobby posters and actually performed in the live horror shows (he was the Mummy). My father still has some of his original paintings of the movies, lobby cards, movie stills and some photos. I am very pleased to see at there is so much interest in the history of this theatre.

My father was an artist at the theatre during the 1940s and early 1950s. He has very fond memories of working there. He hand painted the movie posters, lobby posters and actually performed in the live horror shows (he was the Mummy). My father still has some of his original paintings of the movies, lobby cards, movie stills and some photos. I am very pleased to see at there is so much interest in the history of this theatre.

Today's Boston Sunday Globe has an article about former movie theatres of Chinatown, and an outdoor film festival that will be held there next month. It says that the Star Cinema was "where the kung fu movies of the 1970s created a generation of mini-Bruce Lees and where Jackie Chan's 'Spiritual Kung Fu' drew such a crowd that people were left outside, begging to be let in.

"Jean Lukitsh , 56, threaded projectors at the Star Cinema, on Essex Street, and the China Cinema, on Beach Street, from 1978 to 1986. She had come to Boston from Pittsburgh to take tai chi classes in Chinatown. She lived there for 23 years.

"A classmate got her a job at the cinemas, and she fell in love with Chinese film.

" 'The thing that drew me to these movies was that, in them, anybody can be a master of martial arts,' she said, as a 1957 Chinese musical called 'Mambo Girl' played in her Dorchester living room recently. 'Old women, monks, nuns, beggars. I just really liked that fact.'

The kung fu movies were the most popular, she said, and the comedies. She recalled one series from the early 1980s called ``Aces Go Places" that had audiences falling off their seats with laughter.

"But in 1985, the glory days of the Chinatown movie houses ended abruptly.

"The VCR killed them.

" 'Over the course of six months, we lost our whole audience," Lukitsh said. 'We went from standing room only to a dozen old men who didn't have VCRs at home. It was very traumatic.'

"The Star closed in 1986. The China closed a year or two later.

" 'I miss seeing those movies with large groups of people,' said Lukitsh, who trained as a nurse when the cinemas closed and now works at a Chinatown home for the elderly."

Unfortunately, the doors to this theatre on Essex Street have now been painted or papered over, so you can no longer look into the theatre from the street. I hope this doesn't mean that the building owners are about to damage or destroy the theatre.

When the Cinema Theatre Assoc. (U.K.) came to Boston in April 2004, members of the group peered through those glass doors on Essex Street at least twice. So did some of the people at the THSA convention in Boston last June. I know of at least two people who asked permission to look at the interior of the theatre and who were refused. It's possible that the building management has covered up the glass from the inside to put a stop to this sort of interest.

I get the impression from everything read here that they consider it their storage facility and would like the rest of the world, particularly preservationists, to forget about the the theatre. I think it is possible that recent events at the Gayety could have put this into focus for the owner (and prompted the paper covering).

I agree with Life's Too Short. Not only did the building managment turn down the 2 individuals who asked to view the theatre, they twice refused the organizers of the THSA convention last June permission to take the group of 150 inside for a brief look. Meanwhile, maintenance staff go in and out of the theatre all the time. There's little doubt that they don't want a Gayety-type movement to "Save the RKO Boston!"

I was 12 years old when mom & pop took me and a cousin to Boston from Springfield, 90 miles away, to see "This Is Cinerama." Arriving at the theater we got pop to spring 50 cents each for 4 Cokes which he grumbled about right up to showtime. Cokes at that time went for a dime. I recall the cousin and I complaining during the show about the 2 vertical lines in the picture, because of the 3 projector format.

People literally did come from miles around to see Cinerama in Boston in the 1950s. The shows were very popular. And 50 cents for a Coke in the mid-1950s was indeed a rip-off !! The MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the RKO Boston has an exterior photo taken in 1941. The front of the rather small marquee says, in white letters on a dark background, "2 Big First Run Features!" attached to the lower edges of the marquee are cloth banners which read "2 Big First Run Features 2". The Report states that the theatre does not present MGM product; that it's in Good condition; and has 1934 seats on the orchestra floor, and 1289 in the balcony; total: 3223 seats.

I was only 7 when my parents took me here to see "Windjammer" and we still have the souvenir book that was sold in the theater. I also remember coming back to it about 1967 to see "Grand Prix" in 70mm and at that time I noticed that the projection equipment seemed to block a huge number of rear seats from being able to view the screen. Those seats were roped off and not for sale. It was the strangest sight in a cinema. In late 1968, I came to this place to see "2001: A Space Odyssey", as billboards around town were still saying that it was at the Boston Cinerama, but when we arrived it turned out that "Ice Station Zebra" had suddenly been rushed in to capture the pre-Christmas viewing market. We stayed and watched it, thrilled by the visual beauty of the curving screen and the surround sound quality of the theater. The film itself, however, was silly. I always regretted that I missed seeing "2001" at this fine cinema.

The odd thing is that years later I got the impression that a parking lot had been created where the theater once existed. I guess my memories of exactly where the theater was located were wrong.

Dennis- the parking lot is just to the north of the building which contains the RKO Boston. The lot is directly across from the Paramount and Opera House. If you go down to the east edge of the parking lot and look south you will see the rear stage wall of the RKO Boston, painted gray with a big scenery-loading door and a small stage door. Go around the corner to the east wall and you will see all the fire exit doors and fire escapes along the right side of the auditorium.

I was glad to hear the cinema is still there, even if it is being used merely as a supply closet by the building's maintenance people. I was wondering if other viewers of this website remember the way the projection booth sat in the middle of the theater. When I was there in 1958, 1967, and 1968, there seemed to be one large booth sitting right in the center of the lower level of the theater -- or perhaps a little bit more to the rear of the main floor. During the Cinerama and Cinemiracle showings in the 1950's before 70mm was created, three projectors were combined in this one booth. In Cinemiracle's case for the 1958 film "Windjammer," the outer projectors used mirrors to project the image across to the opposite side of the screen and the center projector merely projected straight ahead. The "Windjammer" souvenir book explains this very clearly. I still remember being able to easily discern the lines between the three images on the screen created by the three projectors. 70mm of course improved everything by only needing one projector. But I do think that the original large projection booth hurt the theater in the sense that fewer seats were available for the viewing public. In both 1967 and 1968 there were some seats for sale to the left and right and slightly back from the projection booth on either side, but the large area directly behind it was roped off. I do not remember how big the balcony was in this theater, but that must have been a compensating factor. I wish I could go back in time to 1958.

I remember watching the conversion to Cinemrama in 1953. The three projection booths on the main floor were being constructed.
Attending the premiere of THIS IS CINERAMA was a real theatrical event.Klieg lights, Black and Yellow uniforms, doorman on the curb to assist patrons. All the inside carpets,cutains etc were bright red. A great era !!

The entertainment page of the Boston Post for Sept. 23, 1947 has a listing of movie times at Boston theatres. The Keith Boston is listed (without the "RKO") showing the movie "High Conquest" which is screened 5 times during the day, starting at 1045AM, and a stage show which is presented 4 times during the day starting at 1230PM.

Does anyone know anything about the 600 Washington Street building near this theater? I do not know if it ever had a theater in it, but with everything in the area undergoing such dramatic change, I was wondering why this remains. Is there something significant about it? I cannot find it in any historic preservation documents, and in many ways it appears fairly unremarkable.

I don't really understand your question. The theatre is part of the 600 Washington-Essex building.

Prometheus- I don't get your point either. Why are you surprised that the building is still there? It has tenants in it. It was built in the 1910-era and once had a department store in part of it. The RKO Boston was constructed in space at the rear of the building in 1925. The MBTA entrance at the front of the building is fairly recent and occupies what was the theatre's outer lobby. You can go to the Landmarks office in Boston City Hall and read the info they have on the structure.

Prometheus- If you look at the back of the building you will notice that there are several stories that have no windows. This is the are that the theater occupies. Also there is a large double door on the Avery Street side this is the loading dock for the stage. The dressing rooms had bathtubs. The building has three sub basements. The original theater was indeed impressive. While it could be restored it is unlikely as cement was poured in an attempt to make the space usable for other things but to my knowledge the space where the balcony and upper lobby was never used for anything since this was done.

Here is a photo from 1968.

Wow! Truly great photo. I saw 2001 there in 1968 and was bowled over both by the film and the stunning presentation on the wide curved screen.

I know this isn't the right location, but once again i'm curious and hoping people and point me in the right direction....

My wife is from up here and she tells me there used to be a cinema at the end of Washington Street, near, above, or behind the parking garage that is across the street from the high rise condos next to the old state house where the State Street T entrance is. The parking garage entrance still has a poster box for movie posters at it's entrance. Was this where the RKO was, or is this another theater entirely?

No, that's the former Pi Alley theatre.

Ron, thanks as always - you sure know your Boston theater stuff!

You can use Google Maps to see what use to be the entrance of the theater (now an MBTA entrance), and you can "walk" around the building to see the blank walls on the Hayward Plaza side and Harrison Ave. Extension in back at:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=608+Washington+Street+Boston+02111&sll=42.358798,-71.061609&sspn=0.01232,0.019312&layer=c&ie=UTF8&ll=42.35837,-71.06163&spn=0.01232,0.019312&t=h&z=16&cbll=42.352623,-71.06258&panoid=DsafRHrV_mr6ElHlTCjGaA&cbp=1,62.729684707722754,,0,5

I walked around the building yesterday for the first time in a while. On the east side, the right side-wall, the fire escapes have been removed and most of the exit doors have been concreted-over. On the north wall, the rear stage wall, the stage door now has a metal roll-up cover over it. The scene door has been reduced in height. It is now harder to tell that there is a theater inside.

1964 Interior photo
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=Theatre+Interiors&catpageindex=4&catpagesize=25&ProductID=28131

Chuck, I believe that is the RKO Keith's Memorial (now Boston Opera House) and not the RKO Boston.

Thanks Ian, The caption only RKO Keith's.

Yes, Chuck1231's photo is of the grand staircase in the lobby of the RKO Keith Memorial/Opera House.

Keith's Theater on Tremont in 1906, large format photo:
http://www.shorpy.com/node/6560?size=_original

In the photo which J.F.Lundy has posted, note the attraction, the Fadettes Women's orchestra. They played at Keith's for the entire summer of 1906. This very nice photo shows the Tremont Street entrance for B.F Keith's Theater (later the Normandie and the Laffmovie) on Washington St. This entrance was later adapted for the RKO Keith Memorial Theater (now the Opera House). After WW II, the structure was "modernized." The 2 theaters are not to be confused with the subject of this page, the RKO Boston Theatre. In the photo, note how people overdressed in the old days-- hey, it's summer and they all have jackets and coats on !

This photograph of the RKO Keith-Boston Theater was taken in 1935 by George Mann of the comedy dance team, Barto and Mann.