Dudley Theatre
2202 Washington Street,
Roxbury,
MA
02119
2202 Washington Street,
Roxbury,
MA
02119
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philoso2- There is a Page here in Cinema Treasures for the Roxie, ex-Shawmut Theatre at 364 Blue Hill Ave; plus a Page for the Puritan Theatre which was on Washington St. just north of the intersection with Mass. Ave. (near Northampton MBTA el station). You can post your memories of these theaters on their Pages.
I don’t remember the Dudley but I went there when it was the Roxie. Does anyone remember the Puritan that was at Northhampton station on Washington st ?It was the only theater that would not let you wear Bermuda shorts. Never knew why.
And above the “S” in “Mores” can be seen what looks like the M&P logo painted on the rear wall.
Nice photo. In back, above the signs for Mores Shoes and Blairs, can be seen the back of the auditorium with “Dudley” painted on it.
Added a photo. The movie on the marquee was released in 1950.
The Dudley Theater was a good deal larger than the nearby Roxbury Theatre which also shows on the 1931 map.
Here’s the Dudley, 1931:
View link
Standing at the Ferdinand Blue Store, the Dudley Theatre was a short way north on the right, opposite the start of Ruggles st. It’s a parking lot now.
In the street directory section of the 1918 Boston Register and Business Directory, Issue 83, the Dudley Th. was listed at 2202 Washington Street, on the east side, with the Orienta Theatre at 2154 Wash. and the Roxbury Th. at 2174 Wash.
The Dudley Th. was listed at 2202 Washington St. in a Boston Business Directory, Issue 85, which I think is 1921. Found it on Google Books.
The Dudley Street Opera House, which is mentioned in the posting above of May 28, 2008, was located at 111-113 Dudley Street. It was on the southeast corner of Dudley and Washington streets, just south of the Dudley elevated railway station. It was apparently built in the 1870s and had 700-800 seats. I believe that it was an “upstairs house”, with the auditorium one flight above the street. It lasted to the 1950s and maybe past 1960. But by that time, it had been a meeting hall and dance hall for many years, and no longer a theater.
I have been told by Bill Leach, who grew up in Roxbury in the 1940s and 1950s, that the Dudley Theatre was located at about 2220 Washington Street, just north of the Dudley Station. It was on the right side of the street as you faced north toward downtown Boston.
The Dudley Theatre in Roxbury is not to be confused with the old late-19th Century Dudley Opera House on nearby Dudley Street. There is a MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Dudley, with an exterior photo dated May 1941. The theater had a narrow entrance with a 2-sided marquee on which movies with James Cagney and Gene Autry are posted. On the edge of the sidewalk in front of the entrance is an upright post for the elevated railway structure, and to the right of the entrance is Soligan’s Lunch. The Report says that the Dudley had been a MGM customer for over 10 years, that it was over 15 years old (in 1941), was in Poor condition, and had 1,348 orchestra seats and 562 balcony seats. Competing theatres are listed as the Rivoli and the Rex. (This info replaces postings to this Page deleted recently).