Marquee_at_State_Theatre_on_Washington_Street_(11191558024)

The Park Theatre (est.1879) was a playhouse in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It later became the State cinema. Located on Washington Street, near

Boylston Street Boylston Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. The street begins in Boston's Chinatown neighborhood, forms the southern border of the Boston Public Garden and Boston Common, runs through Back Bay, and e ...

, the building existed until 1990.

History

In 1879 Henry E. Abbey, proprietor of

Abbey's Park Theatre Abbey's Park Theatre or Abbey's New Park Theatre was a playhouse at 932 Broadway and 22nd Street in what is now the Flatiron District of Manhattan in New York City. It opened as the New Park Theatre in 1874, and was in use until 1882 when it bu ...

in New York, opened Boston's Park Theatre. Abbey was one half of the theatrical management firm Abbey and Schoeffel, along with his backer John B. Schoeffel. Schoeffel was assistant manager. It occupied the building of the former Beethoven Hall, "reconstructed and practically rebuilt;" its 1,184-seat auditorium was "60 feet wide, 63 from the state to the doors, and 50 feet high." The architect of the rebuilt theatre was Abel C. Martin. It sat on Washington Street at the corner of Boylston Street in today's Chinatown/Theatre district. In the 1890s it presented "farcical comedy." Managers and proprietors included Henry E. Abbey; Jack A. Crabtree;

Lotta Crabtree Charlotte Mignon "Lotta" Crabtree (November 7, 1847 – September 25, 1924), also known mononymously as Lotta, was an American actress, entertainer, comedian, and philanthropist. Crabtree was born in New York City and raised in the gold mining ...

;

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Notably, he produced ''Peter Pan'', both in London and the US, the latter production ...

, Rich &

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle o ...

; Lawrence McCarty; John B. Schoeffel (

Abbey, Schoeffel and Grau Abbey, Schoeffel and Grau was a US theatre management and production firm, active from 1880 until 1896. The partners were Henry E. Abbey, John B. Schoeffel and Maurice Grau. Abbey and Schoeffel had been in partnership since 1876, and joined force ...

); John Stetson Jr.; and Eugene Tompkins. Louis Baer led the 11-piece orchestra in the 1890s. In the 20th century the building became "Minsky's Park Burlesque," the "Hub," "Trans-Lux," and then "The State" cinema. The building survived until its razing in 1990.

Images

File:Henry Eugene Abbey 1846 1896 USA.png, Theatre manager Henry E. Abbey, 19th century File:1883 ParkTheatre BostonEveningTranscript 2March.png, Advertisement, 1883 File:ParkTheatre WashingtonSt StrangersGuideToBoston 1883.png, Interior, 1883 File:1886 Park Theatre Boston map byBromley BPL 12259 detail.png, Detail of map of Boston, showing Park Theatre, 1886 File:1908 ParkTheatre BostonEveningTranscript 17April.png, Advertisement, 1908 File:1922 ParkTheatre BostonGlobe December12.png, Advertisement for

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

film at the Park Theatre, Boston, 1922

Performances

1870s–1880s

* Fedora, with

Fanny Davenport Fanny Lily Gipsey Davenport (April 10, 1850 – September 26, 1898) was an English-American stage actress. Life The eldest child of Edward Loomis Davenport and Fanny Elizabeth (Vining) Gill Davenport, Fanny Lily Gypsey Davenport was born on A ...

and Robert Mantell"Boston Notes." The Theatre (NY), no.5, v.1, April 19, 1886 * Gunter's Prince Karl * Andrea * Gretchen * Fun in a Photograph Gallery

1890s

* James A. Herne's

Sag Harbor Sag Harbor is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on eastern Long Island. The village developed as a working port on Gardiner's Bay. The population was 2,772 at the 2 ...

Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as a ...

, with Sidney Woollett *

1492 Year 1492 ( MCDXCII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. 1492 is considered to be a significant year in the history of the West, Europe, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Spain, and the Ne ...

* C.A. Byrne and Louis Harrison's Venus * Trilby *

Lost, Strayed or Stolen ''Lost, Strayed or Stolen'' is a musical comedy in four acts with music by Woolson Morse and words by J. Cheever Goodwin, adapted from the French farce ''Le baptême du petit Oscar'' by Eugène Grangé and Victor Bernard. The story concerns a miss ...

* '' Dumas' ''Clemenceau Case''.

1900s

* Choir Invisible *

Henry Arthur Jones Henry Arthur Jones (20 September 1851 – 7 January 1929) was an English dramatist, who was first noted for his melodrama '' The Silver King'' (1882), and went on to write prolifically, often appearing to mirror Ibsen from the opposite (conserv ...

' The Hypocrites * R.A. Barnet's Cap of Fortune and the Show Girl *

Fay Davis Fay Davis (December 15, 1872 – March 1, 1945) was an American stage actress from Boston, Massachusetts who was a star of many Shakespearean plays. Early life Fay Davis was born December 15, 1872 in Boston, Massachusetts. She attended the ...

Whitewashing Julia

1910s

* The Dancing GirlBoston Globe, January 5, 1915 * The Girl of the Golden West *

Maternity ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestati ...

, starring

Alice Brady Alice Brady (born Mary Rose Brady; November 2, 1892 – October 28, 1939) was an American actress who began her career in the silent film era and survived the transition into talkies. She worked until six months before her death from cancer in ...

Boston Globe, May 22, 1917 *

The Soul of a Magdalen ''The Soul of a Magdalen'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Burton L. King and starring Olga Petrova, Wyndham Standing and Mahlon Hamilton.Lowe p.425 Cast * Olga Petrova as Heloise Broulette * Wyndham Standing as Leland Norton * ...

, starring

Olga Petrova Olga Petrova (born Muriel Harding; 10 May 1884 – 30 November 1977) was a British-American actress, screenwriter and playwright. Life and career Born Muriel Harding in England, she moved to the United States and became a star of vaudeville u ...

1920s

* On with the Dance *

Boston Globe, December 12, 1922

References

External links

* Historic New England
Sidewalk at Park Theatre, 619 Washington St.
photo * Library of Congress
Drawing of Park Theatre
by Anthony F. Dumas, 1929 * Boston Athenaeum
Park Theatre Programs, 1879–1898
* Flickr
Photo of the State theatre
1984 {{Boston theatres Cultural history of Boston 19th century in Boston 20th century in Boston Boston Theater District 1879 establishments in Massachusetts Former theatres in Boston Event venues established in 1879 Former cinemas in the United States