Arthur Singer

With a lot of great photos and some historical tidbits, this book revisits the golden era of motion pictures in 20th century Boston. Centered on Washington Street in downtown Boston, some started as movie palaces while others started in the legitimate theater, but all of the surviving theaters now focus on stage shows. Theaters include The Modern Theater (pioneer of the double feature and talkies), The Orpheum (originally the Music Hall), The Metropolitan (now Wang Theater), The Keith show more Memorial (now the Opera House), and The Paramount. The no longer extant Loew's State and Back Bay Theaters in the vicinity of the Christian Science Center also get some attention. Greater Boston movie house that continue the traditions of the past - including Brattle, Coolidge, Somerville, and West Newton - are covered in the final chapter.

I read this book to help with some research I'm doing for a tour of Boston's Theater District. Like all books in the Images of America series it features excellent archival photographs and fascinating historical tidbits. But it;s also tantalizing in that it leaves me wanting a more cohesive history of its subjects, as well as a list of sources! show less

591.5