National Theatre (Boston, 1911)

Not to be confused with National Theatre, Boston (1836).

The National Theatre (1911-1978) of Boston, Massachusetts, was a 3,500-seat multipurpose auditorium on Tremont Street in the South End.^[1] It functioned as a cinema, lecture hall, and stage. Performers included Jehovah's Witness founder Joseph F. Rutherford^[2] and "big-name entertainers like Duke Ellington and Ray Bolger."^[3] Movie screenings included The Battle of Gettysburg in 1913.^[4] The English High School held graduation exercises in the National.^[5] Around 1919 it was known as the "Waldorf Theater."^[6] In 1992, it was purchased by Philip Smith.^[7]

The space operated "intermittently after World War II for plays and movies."^[8] Among the audience members: clothing designer Joseph Abboud.^[9] The National closed in 1978. The Boston Center for the Arts oversaw the property thereafter, when it was subject to numerous plans for redevelopment.^{[10][11][12][13]} The building existed until 1997, when it was demolished.^[14][15]

Images

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  National Theatre, Tremont St. (near Berkeley St.), Boston, 1911 (photo courtesy Boston Public Library)
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  Advertisement for Tillie's Punctured Romance, with Charlie Chaplin, 1915
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  Advertisement for "base ball machine" at the Hippodrome (i.e. National), 1915
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  James Curley election campaign rally, 1917
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  Advertisement for Rutherford at the National, 1920