South Station Theatre
Summer Street and Dorchester Avenue,
Boston,
MA
02110
Summer Street and Dorchester Avenue,
Boston,
MA
02110
1 person
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This theatre was located in a busy downtown railroad station. According to a Boston Globe article published on December 27, 1983:
“In the old days if you had time to kill before catching a train, there was the South Station Theater which featured newsreels, short subjects, Bugs Bunny and Betty Boop cartoons and ‘March of Time’ films. But it has been gone since 1953”.
Contributed by
Ron Newman
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Recent comments (view all 21 comments)
That’s correct, Ron. There’s an office building now on the site of the section of South Station which contained the cinema. And, since it was located at the east end of the property, the correct address would be “Summer Street and Dorchester Avenue”.
I am writing for my mother Lorraine Gaspa who is 85 years old. She used to work at the South Station Theatre in Boston, MA. She lived in Cambridge, MA and traveled there at the age of 19. At the time she worked she was hired as an usherette. She was called the Head Usherette. She was the only usherette at the time she was hired. All the other ushers there were boys. She cannot recall how many ushers there were in all.
When she started working she recalls having four different jobs that she would do:
1) My mom would sell tickets at a ticket booth at the back entrance of the theatre. My mom remembers two entrances to get into this theatre, and two tickets booths. The first ticket booth and entrance was located right outside of the theatre inside South Station. The second ticket booth and entrance was located at the back of the theatre which was off the street.
2) My mom showed people to their seats using a flashlight.
3) My mom walked around in South Station and gave out pamphlets advertising what was happening at the theatre in South Station.
4) When my mom first started her job she wore her own skirt from home and a uniform top that they provided. She had to climb on a ladder and change the sign. This sign was attached to the outside of the theatre. She remembers placing posters inside the sign of what was happening at the South Station Theatre. Some of the older men would hold the ladder for my mom and at the same time look up her skirt. My mom’s boss saw this and had a tailor come and he measured my mother for a pair of uniform theatre pants. She was now dressed like all the other ushers in pants!
This is a photograph of my mother in her South Station Theater uniform at age 19.
Note: My mother Lorraine Hebert Gaspa became engaged to George T. Gaspa while working at the South Station Theatre in Boston, MA and married on 2-21-1943.
Wow Mom! Nana looks great in her uniform. Thanks for the cool picture.
Wow — thank you so much for posting this!
Did she meet her future husband at the theatre while working there?
I can’t believe that I’ve been taking the commuter rail to South Station for the past 3 years and didn’t know my grandmother worked there 60 years ago. I’m Lorraine Gaspa’s grandson and I commute to South Station from the Worcester line to go to work. I wish they still had the cinema because I often have to wait over an hour for my train back to Worcester.
Mrs. Gaspa is quite correct that there were 2 entrances to the South Station Theatre when she worked there in the early 1940s. The exterior entrance was on Summer Street and its left edge was only about 8 feet from the corner of Dorchester Ave. Up above and right at the corner was a fancy verticle blade sign which read “Theatre”. There was no marquee but there was plenty of signage around and above the entrance. To the right was the Union Hat Co. store which sold work clothes and sportswear. This half of South Station was demolished 30-plus years ago.
My mother Lorraine Hebert Gaspa met her future husband George while she was working for the theatre. They both lived in Cambridge, Ma across the street from each other. This is where my mother met my dad. My dad George T. Gaspa past away on January 25th, 2005 at the age of 83.
Is anyone collecting memorabilia from the South Station Theatre ? I have an orignal program from the 1930’s that is in perfect condition. It is for the week of July 19th and lists the coming shows for July 26th. It includes everything from Popeye cartoons and Melody Parade to Ruth Etting and Row Mister Row.
Can you scan that in, upload it to some place like flickr or photobucket, and post a link to it here?
I don’t have a scanner. I could upload photos of it to snapfish and send an album; but I think that is only by email addresses. I’m in JP. If someone wants to borrow it to scan it and upload it here to share with everyone that would be fine.