Boulevard Theatre

Revere Beach Boulevard,
Revere, MA 02151

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Interstate Theatres Corporation

Previous Names: Crescent Gardens Theatre

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Boulevard Theatre

The Boulevard Theatre was a large theatre on the beachfront in Revere, a suburb just to the northeast of Boston. It was opened prior to 1914 as the Crescent Gardens Theatre. In later years it was run by Interstate Theatre Corp.

Contributed by Ron Salters

Recent comments (view all 14 comments)

EdwardFindlay
EdwardFindlay on March 10, 2011 at 1:57 am

Unless there was another one on the boulevard, according to Image of America Revere book, it was located on the corner of Shirley Ave. making it the park directly across the street from the bandstand and MGH Revere health center. It was destroyed by fire on March 14th, 1960…I have seen during and after shots- it was a total loss burned down to the bare wood supports unfortunately.
A shot of the complex: View link

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on March 18, 2011 at 11:37 am

The building in the beautiful postcard which Ed Findlay has found is the same building as in the May 1941 MGM Theatre Report photo. In 1941, the ballroom was called “Beachview Dancing” and the theatre was the “Boulevard Theatre”. This postcard implies that the original name was “Crescent Gardens Theatre”.

EdwardFindlay
EdwardFindlay on March 22, 2011 at 9:13 pm

Thanks for the confirmation…

According to a caption in the book “Greater Boston Fires of the 1950s and 1960s” the ballroom opened on May 30, 1913. It’s possible to assume that day and year was also the opening year for the theatre.

What year it closed or if it was still open as an active theatre isn’t mentioned…

EdwardFindlay
EdwardFindlay on March 26, 2011 at 6:01 am

Theater is mentioned on page 55 of the Report of the Chief of the Massachusetts District Police:

View link

Pages 30-50 might be of interest to theater history buffs…

Other theaters mentioned not already known may not have been full theaters.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on March 26, 2011 at 12:08 pm

Very interesting link- lots of good stuff to study in it.

EdwardFindlay
EdwardFindlay on March 28, 2011 at 8:31 pm

About the name…Page 59 of the Image of America Series book “Revere Beach” states that the theater was called “Boulevard Theatre” while the entire complex that included the theatre and ballroom was called “Crescent Gardens”.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on March 29, 2011 at 10:51 am

The theater name was listed as “Crescent Gardens Theatre” in the 1914 list of theaters and halls inside the Report of the Chief of the Mass. District Police linked to above. Wonder why that very informative list has no entries for the City of Boston ??

EdwardFindlay
EdwardFindlay on March 29, 2011 at 9:44 pm

No entries because Boston issued their own venue licenses and did their own inspections…those listed are those who didn’t have their own inspectors or venue licensing.

Boston is frequently mentioned in there, only it’s to mention their own processes and procedures alongside the state’s.

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on May 9, 2011 at 11:16 am

Someone who worked here as an usher said that the Boulevard had two entrances: one on the east side on Revere Beach Boulevard, and the other on the west side, on Ocean Avenue. He said that the latter was the main entrance when he worked there. He couldn’t remember what the theater’s street address was.

EdwardFindlay
EdwardFindlay on May 11, 2011 at 3:27 pm

A 1914 map from the Register of Deeds' website shows the buildings next door to be 102 and up so it’s somewhere lower than 100 Revere Beach Blvd.

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