Tremont Theatre, Boston (1889)

This article is about the theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 1880s–c. 1940s. For other uses, see Tremont Theatre (disambiguation).

The Tremont Theatre (est. 1889) was a playhouse in Boston, Massachusetts, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Henry E. Abbey and John B. Schoeffel^[1] established the enterprise^[2] and oversaw construction of its building^[3] at no.176 Tremont Street in the Boston Theater District area.^[4] Managers included Abbey, Schoeffel and Grau,^[5][6] Klaw & Erlanger,^[7] Thos. B. Lothan and Albert M. Sheehan.^[8]

Tremont Theatre, Boston, c. 1910s

1918 cover art from Tremont Theatre

A traveller's guidebook described the space in 1899: "The auditorium is 75 feet high of the same width and 80 feet deep. It is fashioned on the plan of a mammoth shell. ... The ten oddly fashioned private boxes on either side of the proscenium give a novel effect to the interior. The decoration of the main ceiling is modernized Renaissance treated in Gobelin tapestry effect and the coloring of the walls is in harmonizing shades. The stage is 73 by 45 feet, with a height of 69 feet to the rigging loft. The house has 2,000 seats."^[9]

"In 1947 the Tremont became a movie theater named the Astor and briefly, before its demise, a juice bar."^[10] "After a fire in 1983, the building was demolished."^[11] "AMC Boston Common 19 Movie Theater now occupies the site."^[10]

Performances

1880s–1890s Justin McCarthy's "The Candidate," with Charles Wyndham and Mary Moore[12] Sarah Bernhardt[13] 1492 Up to Date, presented by Edward E. Rice's "Surprise party" Pauline Hall's "Puritania," music by Edgar Stillman Kelley[14][15] "Niobe," with Abbott & Teal's comedy co.[5] Garrett P. Serviss' "Wonders of America"[5] W.S. Gilbert's "His Excellency," with George Edwardes' Comic Opera Co.[16] "Two Little Vagrants"[17] J.M. Barrie's "The Professors Love Story," with E.S. Willard[18] "Half a King," with Francis Wilson[18] Augustus Thomas' "The Hoosier Doctor," with Digby Bell[19] Augustus Thomas' "The Jucklins," with Stuart Robson[19] DeWolf Hopper and the Boston Cadet Band[20] De Koven and Smith's "The Highwayman," with Broadway Theatre Opera Co.[20] 1900s Pixley & Luders' "Prince of Pilsen"[21] Winston Churchill's "The Crisis," with James K. Hackett[22] Roland MacDonald's "The Sword of the King," with Henrietta Crosman[22] David Belasco & John Luther Long's "Darling of the Gods," with Blanche Bates[23] "Mr. Pickwick," with DeWolf Hopper[24] The Cingalee, with Augustin Daily Musical Co.[25] Jesse Lynch Williams' "The Stolen Story"[26] De Koven's "The Student King"[27] Geo. Broadhurst's "Man of the Hour"[28] Kitty Grey[29] "A Knight for a Day"[29]

1910s Ziegfeld Follies[29] Cohan's "7 Keys to Baldpate"[30] D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation[31][32] Harry James Smith's "A Tailor-Made Man," with Grant Mitchell[33] "Three Faces East"[29] Winchell Smith and John E. Hazzards's "Turn to the Right" with Edgar Nelson and Jason Robards, September 17, 1917[34] 1920s Ed Wynn Carnival[35] Little Nellie Kelly The O'Brien Girl[29] "Just A Minute" Phil Morris and H.C Greene -"11 scenes and 90 people" Avery Hopwood's "The Gold Diggers"[8] "Shavings," with Harry Beresford[36] "Captain Applejack," with Wallace Eddinger and Mary Nash[37] "The Girl in the Spotlight"[29] 1930s-1940s Green Grow the Lilacs "Confidential Service"[29] "Divorce Me, Dear"[29]

Images

• 
  Advertisement for "the cool Tremont," 1902
• 
  Tremont Street, 1903, across from Boston Common. (Tremont Theatre 6th building from right)
• 
  Portrait of John B. Schoeffel, one of the proprietors
• 
  Performance of "The Stolen Story" at the Tremont Theatre, c. 1906
• 
  Programme from "The Student King," 1906
• 
  Detail of 1911 map of Boston, showing Tremont Theatre

References

1. John B. Schoeffel (1846–1918); married to actress Agnes Booth. "John B. Schoeffel Dies in Boston at 72; veteran manager once directed Metropolitan Opera House with H.E. Abbey and Maurice Grau." New York Times, September 1, 1918
2. "Abbey, Henry Eugene". Lamb's biographical dictionary of the United States. Boston: James H. Lamb Company. 1900.
3. Atherton Brownell. Boston Theatres of To-Day. The Bostonian, v.2, no.6, 1896
4. Boston Almanac, 1891, 1894; Boston Register and Business Directory, 1918, 1921
5. Boston Globe, January 22, 1893
6. "Death of Maurice Grau". The Theatre. 7 (75). May 1907.
7. New York Times, May 14, 1914
8. New York Public Library. Programme: Tremont Theatre – Monday, May 1 – David Belasco presents "The Gold Diggers." (April 24, 1922)
9. Rand, McNally & Co.'s handy guide to Boston and environs ..., Chicago: Rand, McNally & Co., 1899, OCLC 33412586, OL 529088M
10. Boston Athenaeum. "Theatre History: Tremont Theatre (1889–1949), 176 Tremont Street". Retrieved February 5, 2012.
11. Historic New England. Tremont Theatre, Boston, Mass. postcard, c. 1907. Postmarked: August 5, 1911.
12. Boston Daily Globe, October 20, 1889
13. New York Times, March 10, 1891
14. Boston Globe, August 21, 1892
15. Music (magazine), v.3, Jan. 1893
16. Boston Evening Transcript, March 12, 1896
17. Boston Globe, March 26, 1897
18. Boston Evening Transcript, December 17, 1897
19. Boston Globe, April 8, 1898
20. Boston Evening Transcript, May 14, 1898
21. Boston Globe, September 19, 1902
22. Boston Daily Globe, January 5, 1903
23. Boston Evening Transcript, December 31, 1903
24. Boston Evening Transcript, December 31, 1903
25. Boston Daily Globe, March 28, 1905
26. The Theatre (magazine), July 1906
27. Boston Evening Transcript – October 25, 1906
28. Boston Evening Transcript, April 17, 1908
29. Brandeis University Libraries (1987). "A checklist of theatre programs housed in the Special Collections Department". Waltham, Mass.
30. Boston Globe, January 5, 1915
31. Boston Evening Transcript – June 3, 1915
32. Paul Polgar (2008). "Fighting Lightning with Fire: Black Boston's Battle against "The Birth of a Nation."". Massachusetts Historical Review. 10.
33. Boston Globe, May 22, 1917
34. Tremont Theater program
35. Boston Globe, February 10, 1920
36. This Week in Boston, September 5, 1920
37. Boston Globe, December 12, 1922

External links

• Bostonian Society.
  • Photo of Tremont Street parade, c. 1939–1941, with glimpse of the Tremont theatre sign
  • Horse-drawn fire equipment on parade, corner of Boylston Street and Tremont Street, c. 1939–1941, with glimpse of the Tremont theatre sign
• Historic New England
  • Postcard for Potash & Perlmutter, Tremont Theatre, Boston, Mass., undated
  • Tremont Theatre, Boston, Mass. postcard, c. 1907. Postmarked: August 5, 1911.
• Boston Athenaeum. Tremont Theatre programs, 1890–1903

42°21′11.29″N 71°3′51.6″W