Publix Theatre
659-65 Washington Street,
Boston,
MA
02201
659-65 Washington Street,
Boston,
MA
02201
12 people
favorited this theater
Showing 76 - 100 of 203 comments
Ron: The glass slipper building dates to 1830! The American Federal period is generally considered to be from 1790 to 1830, so it’s definitely late Federal. In any other city, this building would be considered worth protecting. Sad the loss of the City Conservation League, though it might still be around in some form under another name.
You asked about the Glass Slipper building at 15 La Grange Street. According to a 1978 newsletter from the City Conservation League (an organization that I believe no longer exists), this was built in 1830.
Ron: A very, very sad day for the City of Boston. Thanks for bearing the news, dreary as it is. T.N.
Demolition of the Gaiety has begun. I don’t know if it started yesterday or today, but when I walked down LaGrange Street tonight at 9:15, I saw that big chunks had been taken out of the roof and the south wall.
Ron: Glad to hear that the Boston theater still hangs in there. I forgot the “RKO” part of the name.
The RKO Boston Theatre has its own listing here. I’ve never been inside, but people who have say that a concrete floor seals off the former balcony from the main floor, which was subdivided into two cinema screens. At night, you can peer inside one of them from the side door at 38 Essex Street, and see a few rows of seats.
Someone who did manage to get inside took these photos in 1997:
http://cinerama.topcities.com/boston.htm
In its subdivided state, it closed around the same time as the Publix. Its building is in fine shape and in no danger of being demolished, but most people don’t even know that it contains this large, unused theatre.
Ron: Interesting images. Thanks They put things into perspective. The Glass Slipper building looks like it might actually date to the late Federal period, but I could be wrong. Do you know if the Boston Theater, where Cinerama used to be, is still more or less intact? T.
Some demolition photos of Club New Orleans, along with a photo of two new gaping holes in the Gaiety’s south wall. You can also clearly see where the (still-standing) Glass Slipper is located relative to the Gaiety.
Yesterday, I watched them demolish most of the Club New Orleans building on LaGrange Street. They may have even finished the job yesterday; I left around 2 pm. There are two large holes in the south façade of the Gaiety. I’ll try to return there over the next few days and report on what’s happening.
Ron: Thanks for these updates. I guess that’s it for the Gaiety. I’m still astonished that, as far as I know, Robert Campbell, the Globe art critic, didn’t weigh in on this one. He’s written columns on the urban character of Washington Street. T.
From Steve Bailey’s column in today’s Boston Globe:
Kensington Place on Lower Washington Street was supposed to be the final nail in Boston’s Combat Zone, displacing the shabby Glass Slipper from its home on LaGrange Street. As they say, never mind.
The strip joint’s co-owner, Nicholas Romano, is negotiating to move across the street to a four-story building next to Centerfolds, the only other strip club left in the Zone. The deal, if completed, would bring an end to a lawsuit by the Glass Slipper challenging the proposed housing tower. The city would compensate the Glass Slipper owners for taking their club by eminent domain and for their relocation costs.
‘'We are actively working with the Glass Slipper owners to come to a favorable eminent domain solution,“ says Susan Elsbree, a spokeswoman for the Boston Redevelopment Authority. ’‘We expect they will look to keep their business in that area that is zoned for adult entertainment.” Romano didn’t return my call.
By the way, at the far right edge of that photo, you can just barely see the gleaming white façade of the Paramount, a theatre that’s getting a lot more love these days than the Gaiety.
The Zoning Board of Appeal denied the March 29 appeal, as expected by everyone. There are still court cases pending, at least by the Glass Slipper and probably by others, but I’m sure they will not be heard in time to save the Gaiety. At this point, I’m not sure there is still anything here to save.
A big question that remains is whether the Cultural District zoning requires the developer to replace this theatre after demolishing it, or to make a substantial payment towards restoration of some other theatre in the Cultural District.
Ron: Thanks for the excellent picture. What is the current legal status of the Gaiety/Publix? Is any form of appeal pending, or have those avenues been exhausted? T.
A photo taken last Sunday. The Gaiety/Publix is the six-story building with the boarded-up windows and scaffolding. You can still see some very faded advertising on the side wall.
I believe the two-story building in the foreground is also supposed to come down, but not yet, since the retail tenants are still operating. The Glass Slipper and Club New Orleans buildings are not visible in this photo; they would be behind the camera position and off to the left.
Dismantling of the Club New Orleans building, just west of the Glass Slipper on LaGrange Street, is well underway. A bulldozer is on the site, so I expect they’ll soon finish with this building and move on to the Gaiety. Some workers yesterday afternoon were standing on top of the Gaiety scaffolding on Washington Street, removing old retail signs and probably other stuff from the front façade.
Ron: It looks like they’ve removed most of the windows. :–(
This discussion thread has a photo of the theatre building as it appeared yesterday, still standing but boarded up. There’s more scaffolding on other walls that you can’t see in this photo.
Ron,
Forgive any trivia here, but this sort of thing intrigues me. In that terrific photo of 1947, linked above, the film might most likely have been the 1941 “Mr. Dynamite” rather than “Dynamite” (1929…unlikely) or the 1949 “Dynamite” (not yet made.) “Call of the Jungle” hails from 1944. So this was probably a revival B-film double-bill culled from a Boston exchange. Notice that the word “Dynamite” is to the right of the Victory marquee. A sign obscures the left side which would have provided enough space for “Mr.”
But hardly earth-shattering!
Universal was the last studio to have an office in the Bay Village section in Boston. (A former colleague’s husband worked for them.) I think they (Universal, that is) pulled up stakes sometime in the late ‘90s.
Thanks for posting that ! You’re right, I should expand my microfilm research to more papers than just the Globe.
Regarding the issue brought up a couple of times about the Publix never advertising in The Boston Globe in the 1970s and earlier, I think they advertised in the Boston Record American, a tabloid-type paper like the N.Y. Daily News. The idea must have been that tabloid-readers were their real audience. I came upon this ad in the Boston Record American for July 21, 1969. I don’t know if they continued advertising there in the 1970s, but in the 1960s they did.
View link
Fox also had an office in the Bay Village section. I don’t think any of the film distributors still keeps an office there.
dwodeyla: Interesting comments. Do any studios/distributors still have offices in Boston? Do the theater chains now handle most of their own service operations?
Tom N, I used to walk around the Bay Village in the late sixties between classes at UMass Boston when they were located at 100 Arlington. (Also to find a parking place). It was also known as the film district, as Columbia, Universal, and MGM kept their offices there. If you search the web site that Ron is using, for Church St, you’ll see a couple of pictures of those office buildings. I couldn’t find a picture of the building across the street from National Screen Service, but Theatre Merchandising was located there. (They delivered concession merchandise to all the theatres around Boston).