Pi Alley
12 Pi Alley,
Boston,
MA
02108
12 Pi Alley,
Boston,
MA
02108
5 people
favorited this theater
Cosy, down an alley off of Washington Street apparently named for pi newsprint type dumped in the alley. Now a bar?
Contributed by
Alan V. Karr
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Recent comments (view all 56 comments)
The following is a link to an article in the Quincy Patriot Ledger that describes the play “Strange Interlude”, which played in Quincy because it was banned in Boston. This was at the “Quincy Theatre” on Hancock Street, which was on the current site of the Flagship Cinemas. The article mentions that the theater closed in 1952 and the building was torn down in 1959. This may have also been called the “Capitol” at one point. This was the vaudeville house. The Regent Theatre was in North Quincy, a few miles north on Hancock Street. Here is the link: View link
I’ve been meaning to add this theater; the Strand, Regent, and Alhambra (Art??) have been added to this site recently.
The Art was an Art Deco style building on the site of what is now an office building at the northwest corner of Hancock and Granite next to the cemetery which is also next to the old city hall. The current Flagship Cinema site used to be a Sears and Roebuck. When I was a kid, I remember seeing a faded sign for a theater on the wall of building near Sears. It gave the prices of the evening and matinee performances and it may have made reference to vaudville. I think my father said that they’d built Sears in what had been a theater building. Tom
According to Donald C. King’s new book The Theatres of Boston: A Stage and Screen History, the Pi Alley opened on December 17, 1969.
King’s book also states that the Pi Alley was twinned “soon” after opening in 1969. The theater was subdivided in 1978.
Eric… <<King’s book also states that the Pi Alley was twinned “soon” after opening in 1969.>> Hmmm, well, if his theater history begins around 1620 (venues for Pilgrim morality plays), I suppose, to the author, the nine year span to 1978 could be considered “soon.”
I never went into the Pi Alley, but from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s I walked thru Pi Alley almost every weekday morning around 815AM and the fire exit doors were sometimes open while cleaning was underway. The doors were on the south side of the alley about half way in.The auditorium (I only saw one) was the epitome of “plain”.
I recall seeing movies here. Exterior in more recent photo:
View link
For those unfamiliar with this cinema: in the very nice color photo posted above by Howard Haas, the original poster cases can be seen on the right and left just inside the opening under the marquee. The cinema was just a short distance up the alley, on the left side. In the distance you can see daylight at the east end of Pi Alley.
Correction to the above posting: “ you can see daylight at the West end of Pi Alley.”
I too saw Tommy in Quintaphonic Sound at the Pi Alley in two consecutive showings. Those days, they didn’t kick you out between shows.
It’s funny almost all of the theaters Sack Theaters developed were built into parking garages. Seems to have been a lot of garages built in Boston as part of the 1960s urban renewal projects. The Cheri was a stand-alone garage. The 57 was in the garage part of the 57 Hotel. The Beacon Hill was butted up against the One Beacon Street underground garage. The Pi Alley was in the Pi Alley garage. I think the only Sack Theater not in a garage was the Copley. The other theaters Sack bought from other companies.