I wonder if the Gem was ever known by any other name ?? As of 1942, the Maine & New Hampshire Theatres Co. of Boston ran 3 movie theaters in Berlin: the Albert, the Princess and the Strand. No Gem.
One of the first events at this theater sponsored by the Boston archdiocese was some sort of presentation for Boy Scouts. This took place on Sunday afternoon, July 5, 1959. The younger brother of a friend in Quincy attended.
When the Loew’s State was first taken over by the Boston Archdiocese in 1959, I have a vague memory that it was called “Donnelly Family” Theatre for awhile; not sure of that. I assumed that it was named in honor of a Donnelly Family, but the name could also have implied that it presented attractions suitable for a “family audience”. There’s little doubt that Donnelly, whoever he was, was a supporter of the archdiocese. I also recall hearing that at the time the theater reopened with its new name, the Cardinal himself came to the Circle Theatre, which was located not far from his residence, seeking a spare pair of projectors.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Washington Th. is listed at 720 Washington St., on the east side of the street. The first business on that side of the street south of the intersection with Kneeland St. was a United Cigar store at 704 Washington. These United Cigar stores were usually small, hole-in-the-wall operations. So the theater entrance was a little way south of the intersection.
Today’s Quincy Patriot Ledger has a feature article which reports that two entities, a group and an individual, have approached the mayor’s office with an interest in going forward with the Wolly restoration project. There will be a meeting at 630PM on Monday, Feb. 14 at the Thomas Crane Library in Quincy Center to discuss the theater. Restoration cost is estimated at $6M – $7M, which seems rather low for theater projects like this one, but possible, I guess.
The 1918 Boston street directory lists the Bijou Dream Theatre at 545 Washington St., Keith’s Theatre at 547 Washington, and the Boston Theatre at 539 Washington St.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Boston Theatre is listed at 539 Washington St. Out back, there is a Boston Fire Dept building listed at 20 Mason St. This housed Engine 26, plus the Fire Chief’s office. This fire station was adjacent to the Boston Theatre’s stage, just to the north. In the 19th Century, one of the fun things that the firemen and the stagehands did was to run horse-drawn fire engines from the firehouse through the scene loading door and onto the Boston’s big stage. Ed Albee purchased this fire station and demolished it along with the Boston Theatre, to make a larger footprint for the RKO Keith Memorial/ Opera House.
In a 1918 street directory, the first Old South Theatre is listed at 329 Washington St. The first number to the south of School Street on that side of Washington Street (west side) is 289.
When the RKO Boston was first converted to Cinerama circa-1953, the auditorium was still whole, as far as I can recall. Later, the balcony was walled off, as described above. Anyway, it’s unlikely that this theater would be a candidate for reopening. For one thing, the main entrance is no longer there.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Apollo Theatre is listed at 1050 Washington Street in the South End, east side of street, between Davis St. to the north and Florence St. to the south.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Cobb Th. is listed at 1009 Washington Street in the South End, on the west side of the street, near Cobb Street.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Magnet Th. is listed at 295 Washington Street in Dorchester, on the west side of the street, between Faxon St. on the north and Harvard St. on the south.
In the street directory section of the 1918 Boston Register and Business Directory, Issue 83, there is a Shawmut Theatre listed at 364 Blue Hill Avenue, east side, between Creston St and Intervale St. This address is on the opposite side of the street and a hundred numbers to the south of the address above. It’s possible that the 1941 MGM Theatre Report is incorrect (what a surprise), or possibly there was an earlier Shawmut Theatre ???
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Scollay Square Olympia Theatre is listed at 4 Tremont Row. At 3 Tremont Row were offices for the Scollay Square Olympia Company, Gordan Brothers Amusement company, and Olympic Theatres, Inc. At 5 Tremont Row was the Star Theatre.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, both the Castle Square Theatre and the Castle Square Hotel are listed at 421 Tremont St., between Chandler St. and Appleton St.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Bowdoin Square Theatre is listed at “0” Bowdoin Square. Its office is listed at 183 Court St. To the left of its lobby entrance was the Hotel Coolidge.
In the street directory section of the 1918 Boston Register and Business Directory, Issue 83, the Gem Theatre is listed at 52 Meridian Street, near Decatur St.
I wonder if the Gem was ever known by any other name ?? As of 1942, the Maine & New Hampshire Theatres Co. of Boston ran 3 movie theaters in Berlin: the Albert, the Princess and the Strand. No Gem.
One of the first events at this theater sponsored by the Boston archdiocese was some sort of presentation for Boy Scouts. This took place on Sunday afternoon, July 5, 1959. The younger brother of a friend in Quincy attended.
When the Loew’s State was first taken over by the Boston Archdiocese in 1959, I have a vague memory that it was called “Donnelly Family” Theatre for awhile; not sure of that. I assumed that it was named in honor of a Donnelly Family, but the name could also have implied that it presented attractions suitable for a “family audience”. There’s little doubt that Donnelly, whoever he was, was a supporter of the archdiocese. I also recall hearing that at the time the theater reopened with its new name, the Cardinal himself came to the Circle Theatre, which was located not far from his residence, seeking a spare pair of projectors.
The name was changed from Criterion to Plaza sometime in the post-WW2 era.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Dorchester Theatre is listed at 1524 Dorchester Ave., at Park Street.
In a 1918 street directory, the Central Square Theatre in East Boston is listed at 36 Bennington Street, between Central Square and Marion Street.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Washington Th. is listed at 720 Washington St., on the east side of the street. The first business on that side of the street south of the intersection with Kneeland St. was a United Cigar store at 704 Washington. These United Cigar stores were usually small, hole-in-the-wall operations. So the theater entrance was a little way south of the intersection.
Today’s Quincy Patriot Ledger has a feature article which reports that two entities, a group and an individual, have approached the mayor’s office with an interest in going forward with the Wolly restoration project. There will be a meeting at 630PM on Monday, Feb. 14 at the Thomas Crane Library in Quincy Center to discuss the theater. Restoration cost is estimated at $6M – $7M, which seems rather low for theater projects like this one, but possible, I guess.
The 1918 Boston street directory lists the Bijou Dream Theatre at 545 Washington St., Keith’s Theatre at 547 Washington, and the Boston Theatre at 539 Washington St.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Boston Theatre is listed at 539 Washington St. Out back, there is a Boston Fire Dept building listed at 20 Mason St. This housed Engine 26, plus the Fire Chief’s office. This fire station was adjacent to the Boston Theatre’s stage, just to the north. In the 19th Century, one of the fun things that the firemen and the stagehands did was to run horse-drawn fire engines from the firehouse through the scene loading door and onto the Boston’s big stage. Ed Albee purchased this fire station and demolished it along with the Boston Theatre, to make a larger footprint for the RKO Keith Memorial/ Opera House.
In a 1918 street directory, the first Old South Theatre is listed at 329 Washington St. The first number to the south of School Street on that side of Washington Street (west side) is 289.
When the RKO Boston was first converted to Cinerama circa-1953, the auditorium was still whole, as far as I can recall. Later, the balcony was walled off, as described above. Anyway, it’s unlikely that this theater would be a candidate for reopening. For one thing, the main entrance is no longer there.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Apollo Theatre is listed at 1050 Washington Street in the South End, east side of street, between Davis St. to the north and Florence St. to the south.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Cobb Th. is listed at 1009 Washington Street in the South End, on the west side of the street, near Cobb Street.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Magnet Th. is listed at 295 Washington Street in Dorchester, on the west side of the street, between Faxon St. on the north and Harvard St. on the south.
In the street directory section of the 1918 Boston Register and Business Directory, Issue 83, there is a Shawmut Theatre listed at 364 Blue Hill Avenue, east side, between Creston St and Intervale St. This address is on the opposite side of the street and a hundred numbers to the south of the address above. It’s possible that the 1941 MGM Theatre Report is incorrect (what a surprise), or possibly there was an earlier Shawmut Theatre ???
In a 1918 Boston street directory, there was a Bacon and Company department store on the site of the RKO Boston.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Scollay Square Olympia Theatre is listed at 4 Tremont Row. At 3 Tremont Row were offices for the Scollay Square Olympia Company, Gordan Brothers Amusement company, and Olympic Theatres, Inc. At 5 Tremont Row was the Star Theatre.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, both the Castle Square Theatre and the Castle Square Hotel are listed at 421 Tremont St., between Chandler St. and Appleton St.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Thompson Square Theatre is listed at 179 Main St. in Charlestown, near Wood Street.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Bowdoin Square Theatre is listed at “0” Bowdoin Square. Its office is listed at 183 Court St. To the left of its lobby entrance was the Hotel Coolidge.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Hyde Park Theatre is listed at 1256 Hyde Park Avenue, at Cleary Square.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Ideal Th. is listed at 530 Dudley St., near Albion St.
In the street directory section of the 1918 Boston Register and Business Directory, Issue 83, the Gem Theatre is listed at 52 Meridian Street, near Decatur St.
In a 1918 Boston street directory, the Brighton Theatre is listed at 400 Market Street, near Henshaw Street.