The Boston Herald story today, by Donna Goodison, says “Law said the Orpheum will undergo renovations this summer by owner Ronald Druker. ‘The discussion is ongoing, but my sense is that they will be significant’ Law said.” Let’s hope they do something to fix up the sleazy dump.
I’m not sure how Cinema Treasures would handle such a situation- if a theater is totally demolished but its facade is set aside and then rebuilt on the front of the new building, is it accurate to then say that the theater is “Open” again, when 98% of it is gone??
According to today’s Boston Herald story about the transaction, the Orpheum is to close this summer for renovation work performed by its owner, the Drucker reality company. Concert promoter Don Law and his partner David Mugar purchased the operating contract for the Orpheum from Live Nation. Renovation work and just plain basic maintenance are long, long, long overdue at the Orpheum, for sure !
Don Law is a long-time concert promoter. David Mugar is a philanthropist involved in many community activities. The Orpheum was not sold to them; only its operating contract.
Ron- I read the story in the print edition; it was a side-bar to a review (favorable) of “Funny Girl”. The side-bar really did not have much detail in it. I am afraid for the future for this theater without a tenant in it.
As of a month or so ago, Loring Hall’s operator Patriot Cinemas has expressed interest in running a proposed new multiplex to be constructed on the east side of Route 3A in Hingham. They say that they will continue running Loring Hall as an art-film house.
According to WBZ-TV Boston local news today, Live Nation has given up management of the Orpheum ; an unnamed entity will manage the theater and Live Nation will continue to book attractions there.
According to WBZ-TV Boston local news today, Live Nation has just sold the Opera House to an unnamed party. They will continue to book attractions there.
There is only one theater listed under New Britain CT in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide, the “Russwin Lyceum”. Unfortunately, there are no street addresses in this Guide. The Russwin Lyceum was on the ground floor of its building, had a stage which was 42 feet deep and had 1,138 seats. There was also a Hotel Russwin in New Britain. Curiously, the list of people associated with this theater states that the advertising agent for the Russwin Lyceum is the “manager of Opera House.”
Yes, the entrance to the Opera House is on Washington Street (east side) and from the outer lobby there was an “arcade” which ran along the south side of the theater all the way to Mason Street at the rear of the stage (west side). The western half of that arcade was demolished, along with the entire stage house, around 2004. During the movie days, the arcade was kept unlocked, so that pedestrians could use it as a short-cut. Also, it was used by movie patrons who purchased their tickets at the Tremont St. box office, went out the back of the Tremont St. entrance, crossed Mason Street and then entered the west door of the arcade.
ken mc’s 1983 photo is definitely the same theater as the April 1941 photo on the MGM Report. In 1941, the store to the left of the theater entrance was a drug store, and to the right was the Bryan Music Co. And to Debbie the Candy Girl, nice to read your memories!
NEMike above mentions one of the sleaziest features of attending shows at the Casino or any other burley theater. At intermissions they had a pitchman at the edge of the stage who hawked various things like boxes of candy. He looked like the fast-talking guys selling stuff on late-night TV. He had a crew of “gentlemen” who worked the aisles. They looked like he had recruited them out of a skid-row flop house. I agree with NEMike that very few, if any, boxes ever contained the promised prize. The movies at the Casino, in my opinion, did not suck, they were mostly older second-run movies. As for censorship, I saw some amazing things on stage – not just some very smutty comedy, but young (18, 19) pretty show girls doing complete strips and very erotic dancing. They had colored gels over the follow-spotlight: the more she took off, the darker the gel would get, going from almost white to a dark blue at the end. The drummer got quite a workout during these long strip dances. The Casino did not enforce its age rule, so the place was sometimes full of schoolboys.
to Life’s too short- the rear entrance of the Opera House arcade, and the west half of the arcade, were demolished circa-2004 or so at the time the heavy renovations on the Opera House started. They torn down the entire stage house, from the proscenium arch rearward, and this included the west half of the arcade. The new structure today contains exit doors where the arcade entrance on Mason St. was located. The stage door today, for performers and stage hands, is in the approximate location of the original stage door. It’s no longer possible for patrons to enter the theater from Mason St. because the stage-right wings and the scenary dock are in the way.
ken mc’s 1938 photo above is of the Tremont St. entrance as it originally appeared (built in mid-1890s for B.F. Keith’s Theatre, later the Normandie). After WW II, the structure was “modernized” so that it looked as it does in ken mc’s 1980 photo, posted on 4-21-09.
According to a story in yesterday’s Quincy Patriot Ledger, the Fiddlehead Theatre Company plans to vacate the Norwood Theater, apparently after the run of their current show “Funny Girl” ends. They are seeking another venue. This is due to “economic” reasons. According to the newspaper, they have occupied the Norwood for the past 13 years.
I walked around the building yesterday for the first time in a while. On the east side, the right side-wall, the fire escapes have been removed and most of the exit doors have been concreted-over. On the north wall, the rear stage wall, the stage door now has a metal roll-up cover over it. The scene door has been reduced in height. It is now harder to tell that there is a theater inside.
I went to the site again yesterday and now the remnant of the left side wall is also gone, so there is nothing left at all of the Modern. The facade will supposedly be reassembled and placed on the front of the future new building on the lot.
Sarah Caldwell was a talented director, but her company had constant money problems. The Tremont Street entrance, shown in ken mc’s photo above, was used by her company to access the theater from the west side. There was no box office there, unlike in movie days, and it was used simply as a way to enter and exit via Mason Street which divided the rear of the structure in the photo and the rear entrance of the Opera House arcade, now gone. She had no funds to fix it up.
As the Academy of Music, this theater is listed under Macon GA in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. It lists a seating capacity of only 1,061, however. The Mgr. was Henry Horne. Ticket prices ranged from 25 cents to $1. The auditorium was on the ground floor. There were 7 in the house orchestra. The proscenium opening was 28 feet wide X 32 feet high, and the stage was 38 feet deep. Newspapers were the Telegram and the News. Hotels for show folk were the Brown House, Hotel Lanier, Park, Pierpont, and Stubblefield. The 1897 population of Macon was 35,000.
Lost’s August 1973 photo shows that Chinese films were being shown at the Center, and that non-xxx films were at the Stuart. It looks like the marquee of the Pilgrim reads “Burlesk” but I’m not certain. Between the Stuart and the Center there was a large adult bookstore. By 1973 this area was at the height of its infamy as the “Combat Zone”, although it was peaceful during the daytime.
ken mc’s 1980 photo is of the Opera House/Savoy Tremont Street entrance. This was a modernized structure dating back to its service as the Tremont St. entrance for the old B.F. Keith/Normandie Theatre in the mid-1890s. Note that there were 2 screens, the main auditorium and a new screen in the stage-house. This structure was later demolished, and then, curiously, rebuilt a few years ago. It has sat vacant and unused since because the Opera House today does not have any means to allow patrons to enter from Tremont St.
ken mc’s 1980 photo is a rather rare shot showing the Modern during the brief period when it was a small live theater. Note that the Mayflower marquee has been removed.
During its first 2 years of existence, the Boston Opera House’s neighbor across Huntington Avenue was a professional baseball park, the Huntington Avenue Grounds (1901-1911) which was made obsolete by Fenway Park in 1912. There is a nice illustration, which is half-map and half-aerial drawing, of the ball park with the Boston Opera House opposite, on page 14 of the book “Historic Ballparks” by John Pastier (Chartwell Books, 2006).
The Boston Herald story today, by Donna Goodison, says “Law said the Orpheum will undergo renovations this summer by owner Ronald Druker. ‘The discussion is ongoing, but my sense is that they will be significant’ Law said.” Let’s hope they do something to fix up the sleazy dump.
I’m not sure how Cinema Treasures would handle such a situation- if a theater is totally demolished but its facade is set aside and then rebuilt on the front of the new building, is it accurate to then say that the theater is “Open” again, when 98% of it is gone??
According to today’s Boston Herald story about the transaction, the Orpheum is to close this summer for renovation work performed by its owner, the Drucker reality company. Concert promoter Don Law and his partner David Mugar purchased the operating contract for the Orpheum from Live Nation. Renovation work and just plain basic maintenance are long, long, long overdue at the Orpheum, for sure !
Don Law is a long-time concert promoter. David Mugar is a philanthropist involved in many community activities. The Orpheum was not sold to them; only its operating contract.
Ron- I read the story in the print edition; it was a side-bar to a review (favorable) of “Funny Girl”. The side-bar really did not have much detail in it. I am afraid for the future for this theater without a tenant in it.
As of a month or so ago, Loring Hall’s operator Patriot Cinemas has expressed interest in running a proposed new multiplex to be constructed on the east side of Route 3A in Hingham. They say that they will continue running Loring Hall as an art-film house.
According to WBZ-TV Boston local news today, Live Nation has given up management of the Orpheum ; an unnamed entity will manage the theater and Live Nation will continue to book attractions there.
According to WBZ-TV Boston local news today, Live Nation has just sold the Opera House to an unnamed party. They will continue to book attractions there.
There is only one theater listed under New Britain CT in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide, the “Russwin Lyceum”. Unfortunately, there are no street addresses in this Guide. The Russwin Lyceum was on the ground floor of its building, had a stage which was 42 feet deep and had 1,138 seats. There was also a Hotel Russwin in New Britain. Curiously, the list of people associated with this theater states that the advertising agent for the Russwin Lyceum is the “manager of Opera House.”
Yes, the entrance to the Opera House is on Washington Street (east side) and from the outer lobby there was an “arcade” which ran along the south side of the theater all the way to Mason Street at the rear of the stage (west side). The western half of that arcade was demolished, along with the entire stage house, around 2004. During the movie days, the arcade was kept unlocked, so that pedestrians could use it as a short-cut. Also, it was used by movie patrons who purchased their tickets at the Tremont St. box office, went out the back of the Tremont St. entrance, crossed Mason Street and then entered the west door of the arcade.
ken mc’s 1983 photo is definitely the same theater as the April 1941 photo on the MGM Report. In 1941, the store to the left of the theater entrance was a drug store, and to the right was the Bryan Music Co. And to Debbie the Candy Girl, nice to read your memories!
ken mc- yes, that’s the Saxon/Majestic in Boston. August 1980 is probably the correct date.
NEMike above mentions one of the sleaziest features of attending shows at the Casino or any other burley theater. At intermissions they had a pitchman at the edge of the stage who hawked various things like boxes of candy. He looked like the fast-talking guys selling stuff on late-night TV. He had a crew of “gentlemen” who worked the aisles. They looked like he had recruited them out of a skid-row flop house. I agree with NEMike that very few, if any, boxes ever contained the promised prize. The movies at the Casino, in my opinion, did not suck, they were mostly older second-run movies. As for censorship, I saw some amazing things on stage – not just some very smutty comedy, but young (18, 19) pretty show girls doing complete strips and very erotic dancing. They had colored gels over the follow-spotlight: the more she took off, the darker the gel would get, going from almost white to a dark blue at the end. The drummer got quite a workout during these long strip dances. The Casino did not enforce its age rule, so the place was sometimes full of schoolboys.
to Life’s too short- the rear entrance of the Opera House arcade, and the west half of the arcade, were demolished circa-2004 or so at the time the heavy renovations on the Opera House started. They torn down the entire stage house, from the proscenium arch rearward, and this included the west half of the arcade. The new structure today contains exit doors where the arcade entrance on Mason St. was located. The stage door today, for performers and stage hands, is in the approximate location of the original stage door. It’s no longer possible for patrons to enter the theater from Mason St. because the stage-right wings and the scenary dock are in the way.
ken mc’s 1938 photo above is of the Tremont St. entrance as it originally appeared (built in mid-1890s for B.F. Keith’s Theatre, later the Normandie). After WW II, the structure was “modernized” so that it looked as it does in ken mc’s 1980 photo, posted on 4-21-09.
According to a story in yesterday’s Quincy Patriot Ledger, the Fiddlehead Theatre Company plans to vacate the Norwood Theater, apparently after the run of their current show “Funny Girl” ends. They are seeking another venue. This is due to “economic” reasons. According to the newspaper, they have occupied the Norwood for the past 13 years.
I walked around the building yesterday for the first time in a while. On the east side, the right side-wall, the fire escapes have been removed and most of the exit doors have been concreted-over. On the north wall, the rear stage wall, the stage door now has a metal roll-up cover over it. The scene door has been reduced in height. It is now harder to tell that there is a theater inside.
I went to the site again yesterday and now the remnant of the left side wall is also gone, so there is nothing left at all of the Modern. The facade will supposedly be reassembled and placed on the front of the future new building on the lot.
Sarah Caldwell was a talented director, but her company had constant money problems. The Tremont Street entrance, shown in ken mc’s photo above, was used by her company to access the theater from the west side. There was no box office there, unlike in movie days, and it was used simply as a way to enter and exit via Mason Street which divided the rear of the structure in the photo and the rear entrance of the Opera House arcade, now gone. She had no funds to fix it up.
As the Academy of Music, this theater is listed under Macon GA in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. It lists a seating capacity of only 1,061, however. The Mgr. was Henry Horne. Ticket prices ranged from 25 cents to $1. The auditorium was on the ground floor. There were 7 in the house orchestra. The proscenium opening was 28 feet wide X 32 feet high, and the stage was 38 feet deep. Newspapers were the Telegram and the News. Hotels for show folk were the Brown House, Hotel Lanier, Park, Pierpont, and Stubblefield. The 1897 population of Macon was 35,000.
Lost’s August 1973 photo shows that Chinese films were being shown at the Center, and that non-xxx films were at the Stuart. It looks like the marquee of the Pilgrim reads “Burlesk” but I’m not certain. Between the Stuart and the Center there was a large adult bookstore. By 1973 this area was at the height of its infamy as the “Combat Zone”, although it was peaceful during the daytime.
ken mc’s 1980 photo is of the Opera House/Savoy Tremont Street entrance. This was a modernized structure dating back to its service as the Tremont St. entrance for the old B.F. Keith/Normandie Theatre in the mid-1890s. Note that there were 2 screens, the main auditorium and a new screen in the stage-house. This structure was later demolished, and then, curiously, rebuilt a few years ago. It has sat vacant and unused since because the Opera House today does not have any means to allow patrons to enter from Tremont St.
ken mc’s 1980 photo is a rather rare shot showing the Modern during the brief period when it was a small live theater. Note that the Mayflower marquee has been removed.
During its first 2 years of existence, the Boston Opera House’s neighbor across Huntington Avenue was a professional baseball park, the Huntington Avenue Grounds (1901-1911) which was made obsolete by Fenway Park in 1912. There is a nice illustration, which is half-map and half-aerial drawing, of the ball park with the Boston Opera House opposite, on page 14 of the book “Historic Ballparks” by John Pastier (Chartwell Books, 2006).
Was Ross Ragland any relation to Rags Ragland, the vaudeville and burlesque comic and clown of the 1930s and 1940s?