It seems odd to us, that a 1905 advertisement in a Colonial Theatre playbill proclaimed, “Henry Siegel Co. – Strictly Fireproof Throughout.” But being fireproof was a real concern, given that no less than four major fires have managed to destroy various sections of downtown Boston since its incorporation, the most recent in memory then was 1872.
Designed by noted architect Arthur Bowditch, Siegel’s came to occupy the corner of Essex and Washington streets, now the Washington/Essex Building. This was the first Boston branch of the New York- and Chicago-based department store.
Promising one-stop shopping, Siegel’s had it all: Ladies' writing and reception room, photo studio, delicatessen, bakery, post and telegraph office, bank and 1,000 seat restaurant.
Ads bragged that the store had “everything to wear, everything to eat, and everything for the home.” Despite all the amenities, the store closed in 1914, seven years after opening. In its place came a Keith’s Circuit Theatre designed by prominent New York theatre architect Thomas Lamb.
Reports of the day tell of spacious marble foyers, gold brocaded black satin panels, crystal chandeliers, and a $50,000 Wurlitzer organ.
The swank theatre also included the city’s first women’s smoking room. People lined up for blocks to see the latest in entertainment, a mix of vaudeville and movies. Now the massive tan brick and white terra cotta trim building houses Mr. Alan Clothing, Boston Bakery, and the Chinatown MBTA Stop. The massive Ritz Carlton is its neighbor across the street.
While walking around Marblehead last night, I saw posters from a group called Marblehead 20|20, showing a reopened Warwick Theatre. I don’t yet know how serious their plan is.
Was the theatre converted to Sears, and then Sears was demolished? Or was the theatre converted to some other retail use, and then demolished to make way for Sears?
Is the current Quincy Fair Mall (which contains the Flagship Cinemas multiplex) a new building, or a conversion of the former Sears store?
The Columbus Metropolitan Library’s online historical photo collection has many pictures of the Ohio Theatre, both inside and out. To find them all, enter
Are you sure about about the Southern Theatre being renamed the Towne? It was the Southern all the time I lived in Columbus (1968-75), and a 1978 photo still shows it as the Southern.
Three exterior photos, from 1903, 1951 (Day the Earth Stood Still plus Blazing Sun), and 1978 (Bruce Lee double-feature: Fists of Fury and Chinese Connection). Click on thumbnails to see full-size photos.
Entertainment Cinemas is a brand name long gone from the Boston area; they used to be in Cambridge (Fresh Pond), Quincy, and Stoughton.
The Northeast Cinemas brand disappeared from Boston Globe ads a few months ago. It used to adorn the ads for Sharon and Bridgewater cinemas, and maybe others I don’t remember. It seemed to be a temporary name for whatever Hoyts used to own that they didn’t sell to Regal.
To compete against AMC, Showcase, Loews, and Landmark in this market, an independent theatre needs either strong local community ties or a strong brand identity — preferably both. I’m curious how a newly independent Chestnut Hill Cinema will approach this problem.
And one last Loew’s Broad photo, from 1957. This one shows lots of school buses lined up, some double-parked, outside the theatre whose marquee displays “The Ten Commandments”.
Across the street is the RKO Palace marquee, advertising Alan Ladd in “Big Land”, and a second feature of “Wicked Wife”.
Scroll down to “THE GRAND: Fires, aliases and technical innovations.” An amazing number of destructive fires happened here, including one last fire while it was being torn down in 1970.
(By the way, the author of this article once managed the Somerville Theatre near Boston.)
From the Boston Globe, November 27, 2003:
It seems odd to us, that a 1905 advertisement in a Colonial Theatre playbill proclaimed, “Henry Siegel Co. – Strictly Fireproof Throughout.” But being fireproof was a real concern, given that no less than four major fires have managed to destroy various sections of downtown Boston since its incorporation, the most recent in memory then was 1872.
Designed by noted architect Arthur Bowditch, Siegel’s came to occupy the corner of Essex and Washington streets, now the Washington/Essex Building. This was the first Boston branch of the New York- and Chicago-based department store.
Promising one-stop shopping, Siegel’s had it all: Ladies' writing and reception room, photo studio, delicatessen, bakery, post and telegraph office, bank and 1,000 seat restaurant.
Ads bragged that the store had “everything to wear, everything to eat, and everything for the home.” Despite all the amenities, the store closed in 1914, seven years after opening. In its place came a Keith’s Circuit Theatre designed by prominent New York theatre architect Thomas Lamb.
Reports of the day tell of spacious marble foyers, gold brocaded black satin panels, crystal chandeliers, and a $50,000 Wurlitzer organ.
The swank theatre also included the city’s first women’s smoking room. People lined up for blocks to see the latest in entertainment, a mix of vaudeville and movies. Now the massive tan brick and white terra cotta trim building houses Mr. Alan Clothing, Boston Bakery, and the Chinatown MBTA Stop. The massive Ritz Carlton is its neighbor across the street.
The National has been replaced by the Atelier 505 condominiums and the Calderwood Pavilion, which contains two new live stages.
While walking around Marblehead last night, I saw posters from a group called Marblehead 20|20, showing a reopened Warwick Theatre. I don’t yet know how serious their plan is.
After Boston banned Eugene O'Neill’s play Strange Interlude in 1929, the play opened instead at the Quincy Theatre. Here’s a Quincy Patriot Ledger article about it, and a picture of the front cover of the theatre program.
Was the theatre converted to Sears, and then Sears was demolished? Or was the theatre converted to some other retail use, and then demolished to make way for Sears?
Is the current Quincy Fair Mall (which contains the Flagship Cinemas multiplex) a new building, or a conversion of the former Sears store?
When was this demolished and why?
The Columbus Metropolitan Library’s online historical photo collection has many pictures of the Ohio Theatre, both inside and out. To find them all, enter
(ohio theater) OR (ohio theatre)
into the search box.
Ohio Theatre exterior, 1955
Ohio Theatre exterior photos from 1928, 1932, 1942, 1968, 1978
Eight photos of the interior
RKO Grand Cinerama and Loew’s Ohio, side by side, 1969 (photo described here)
Photos taken at the Ohio Theatre jubilee, 1978
Ginger Rogers motoring towards the Ohio Theatre jubilee, 1978
This page has a large August 1975 photo of the Chestnut Hill Cinema’s lobby.
Many of the ads on that page are for the Paramount Theatre. Was this another name for the St. George, or a different theatre?
Patsy, this year’s summer movie schedule is now online. I hope you can attend one or more of these screenings.
A photo of Theodore Lindenberg standing in the Grandview’s projection booth. The accompanying description identifies Lindenberg as founder of the Bexley Theatre, which sadly has been demolished.
Are you sure about about the Southern Theatre being renamed the Towne? It was the Southern all the time I lived in Columbus (1968-75), and a 1978 photo still shows it as the Southern.
The Columbus Metropolitan Library’s online historic photo collection has several pictures of the Southern Theatre.
Auditorium interior and lobby. Click on thumbnails to see full-size photos.
Three exterior photos, from 1903, 1951 (Day the Earth Stood Still plus Blazing Sun), and 1978 (Bruce Lee double-feature: Fists of Fury and Chinese Connection). Click on thumbnails to see full-size photos.
A 1937 architect’s drawing of the Indianola Theater, described here.
A 1948 photo of the Drexel, with the marquee featuring “Elizabeth Taylor as Cynthia” with a second feature of “The Great Waltz”.
Description of the photo
David Kleiler used to run a regular series called “The Rear Window” in various rented spaces around Boston.
A couple more demolition photos, from the web site the Chinatown newspaper Sampan:
photo 1
photo 2
Entertainment Cinemas is a brand name long gone from the Boston area; they used to be in Cambridge (Fresh Pond), Quincy, and Stoughton.
The Northeast Cinemas brand disappeared from Boston Globe ads a few months ago. It used to adorn the ads for Sharon and Bridgewater cinemas, and maybe others I don’t remember. It seemed to be a temporary name for whatever Hoyts used to own that they didn’t sell to Regal.
To compete against AMC, Showcase, Loews, and Landmark in this market, an independent theatre needs either strong local community ties or a strong brand identity — preferably both. I’m curious how a newly independent Chestnut Hill Cinema will approach this problem.
They’ve started eating away at the north wall. I guess they’re saving the Washington Street façade for last.
It looks to me like there are still seats in the upper balcony.
And one last Loew’s Broad photo, from 1957. This one shows lots of school buses lined up, some double-parked, outside the theatre whose marquee displays “The Ten Commandments”.
Across the street is the RKO Palace marquee, advertising Alan Ladd in “Big Land”, and a second feature of “Wicked Wife”.
One more Loew’s Broad photo from the library collection:
Busloads of people flocked to Loew’s Broad Theatre in 1956 to see “The Ten Commandments”.
Click on the thumbnail to see a full-size photo.
The Columbus Metropolitan Library has an online historic photo collection with several photos of this and other theatres.
Broadway Theatre and James Theatre, side by side. The Broadway closed in 1929; the James became Loew’s Broad.
Loew’s Broad Theatre, 1960. The marquee advertises a live magic show, plus a double feature of Studs Lonigan and The Pusher.
Click on the thumbnails to see full-size photos.
This theatre is described in an article by Melissa Starker in the weekly newspaper Columbus Alive, October 4, 2001:
A Theater Near You: The Arena Grand revives the tradition of downtown movie palaces
Scroll down to “THE GRAND: Fires, aliases and technical innovations.” An amazing number of destructive fires happened here, including one last fire while it was being torn down in 1970.
(By the way, the author of this article once managed the Somerville Theatre near Boston.)
This theatre is described in an article by Melissa Starker in the weekly newspaper Columbus Alive, October 4, 2001:
A Theater Near You: The Arena Grand revives the tradition of downtown movie palaces
Scroll down to “THE LYCEUM: Burlesque and another ill-fated format.”
According to this article, the last film shown here was Ken Russell’s The Boyfriend.
(By the way, the author of this article once managed the Somerville Theatre near Boston.)