Boston's Downtown Movie Palaces

Boston's Downtown Movie Palaces PDF Author: Arthur Singer
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 9780738576312
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
Since the late 1800s, Boston has been a trendsetter in the development of the movie business. It was here that many of the earliest public showings of moving images took place and the name nickelodeon first appeared on a storefront theater. In 1896, B.F. Keith added film to his Washington Street theater, then throughout his national chain of vaudeville houses. In 1914, Boston's Modern became the country's first theater with an installed sound projection system. Several years later, the city had its first movie palace: Marcus Loew's Orpheum. A magnet for theater architects, Boston became a center for elegant movie houses, including the Metropolitan, Keith Memorial, and Paramount. Thanks to civic leaders and academic institutions, many of Boston's theaters have been preserved and restored and are alive and well today.

Boston's Downtown Movie Palaces

Boston's Downtown Movie Palaces PDF Author: Arthur Singer
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 9780738576312
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
Since the late 1800s, Boston has been a trendsetter in the development of the movie business. It was here that many of the earliest public showings of moving images took place and the name nickelodeon first appeared on a storefront theater. In 1896, B.F. Keith added film to his Washington Street theater, then throughout his national chain of vaudeville houses. In 1914, Boston's Modern became the country's first theater with an installed sound projection system. Several years later, the city had its first movie palace: Marcus Loew's Orpheum. A magnet for theater architects, Boston became a center for elegant movie houses, including the Metropolitan, Keith Memorial, and Paramount. Thanks to civic leaders and academic institutions, many of Boston's theaters have been preserved and restored and are alive and well today.

Boston's Theater District

Boston's Theater District PDF Author: Dale Stinchcomb
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1467105899
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
Downtown Boston once thrived as a dazzling bohemia of burlesque halls, movie palaces, dime museums, and regal stages. By 1915, more than 20 theaters crowded along a quarter-mile stretch of lower Washington Street. The theater district gave birth to vaudeville and incubated some of America's most darling musicals and daring new dramas en route to Broadway. Theatergoers flocked to Tremont and Boylston Streets to watch the latest tryouts. Some productions flopped; others, like Oklahoma! and Paul Robeson's Othello, were runaway hits. Still others earned the coveted seal of disapproval, "Banned in Boston," from zealous city censors. Overrun by seedy venues in the 1970s, the Combat Zone, as it came to be known, seemed to justify old Puritan fears that the stage would corrupt public morals. Only in recent years has the district rebounded through careful restoration of storied playhouses like the Boston Opera House, the Majestic, and the Colonial--grand vestiges of a booming cultural corridor still vibrant today.

Always Something Doing

Always Something Doing PDF Author: David Kruh
Publisher: UPNE
ISBN: 9781555534103
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
A look at the notorious place that was demolished in 1961 to clear the way for the Government Center urban renewal project.

The Theatres of Boston

The Theatres of Boston PDF Author: Donald C. King
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 9780786438747
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The theatre had a difficult time establishing itself in Massachusetts. Colonial authorities in Boston were adamantly opposed to theatrical amusements of any kind. In the mid-eighteenth century, even theatricals performed in the homes of private citizens aroused the indignant ire of puritanically minded authorities. In 1750 the General Court of Massachusetts passed an act prohibiting stage plays or any other theatrical entertainment. In 1762, the New Hampshire House of Representatives refused a theatre troupe admission to the town of Portsmouth on the ground that plays had a "peculiar influence on the minds of young people and greatly endangered their morals by giving them a taste for intriguing amusement and pleasure." The first public dramatic performance in Boston was produced at a coffeehouse on State Street by two English actors and some local volunteers. In 1775 General John Burgoyne, himself an actor and playwright, converted Boston's Faneuil Hall into a theatre, where he presented, among other pieces, The Blockade of Boston. After the Revolutionary War, in February 1794, the dramatic history of Boston may be said to have begun with the opening of the Boston Theatre. The history of Boston theatres from the eighteenth century through the present is covered in this well illustrated work. Although the theatre had a somewhat rocky beginning, by 1841 more than 15 theatre houses--including the Boston Theatre, Concert Hall, Merchants Hall, Boylston Hall, the Washington Gardens Amphitheatre, the Tremont Theatre, the Washington Theatre, the American Amphitheatre, the Federal Street Theatre, Mr. Saubert's Theatre, the Lion Theatre, the National Theatre (which boasted gas lighting), and the Howard Athenaeum--were all established. After these first theatres paved the way and puritanical restraint had been overcome, the public's enthusiasm for varied entertainment prevailed and theatres proliferated in the city. This book details the long and storied history of Boston theatre construction, alteration, restoration, and, in many cases, destruction. Information is also provided about building architecture, types of performances, ticket prices and other interesting data about each theatre's history.

1950s American Style: A Reference Guide (soft cover)

1950s American Style: A Reference Guide (soft cover) PDF Author: Daniel Niemeyer
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1304201651
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Facets of the Fifties. A reference guide to an iconic Decade of Movie Palaces, Television, Classic Cars, Sports, Department Stores, Trains, Music, Food, Fashion and more

After the Final Curtain

After the Final Curtain PDF Author: Matt Lambros
Publisher: Jonglez Photo Books
ISBN: 9782361951641
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Most of the time, there is nothing remarkable about a movie theater today; but that wasn't always the case. When the great American movie palaces began opening in the early 20th century, they were some of the most lavish, stunning buildings ever seen. However, they wouldn't last -- with the advent of in-home television, theater companies found it harder and harder to keep them open. Some were demolished, some were converted, and some remain empty to this day. After the Final Curtain: The Fall of the American Movie Theatre will take you through 24 of these magnificent buildings, revealing the beauty that remains years after the last ticket was sold.

World Film Locations: Boston

World Film Locations: Boston PDF Author: Marcelline Block
Publisher: Intellect Books
ISBN: 1783202424
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
Founded by the Puritans in 1630 and the site of many of the American Revolution’s major precursors and events (including the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party and Paul Revere’s midnight ride, among others), Boston has played – and continues to play – an influential role in the shaping of the historic, intellectual, cultural and political landscapes of the United States. And Boston has a significantly rich tradition of cinematic representation. While Harvard is central to many of the films set in the Greater Boston area, World Film Locations: Boston considers the full spectrum of Boston’s abundant aesthetic potential, reviewing films located within as well as far beyond Harvard’s hallowed halls and ivy-covered gates. Many iconic American classics, blockbusters, romantic comedies and legal thrillers, as well as films examining Boston’s criminal under-side, particularly in juxtaposition to the city’s elitist high society, were filmed on location in the city’s streets and back lots. World Film Locations: Boston looks in depth into a highly select group of forty-six films such as Love Story, Good Will Hunting, The Friends of Eddy Coyle, and The Social Network, among many others, presented at the intersection of critical analysis and stunning visual critique (with material from the films themselves as well as photographs of the contemporary city locations). Featuring articles and film scene reviews written by a variety of leading contemporary film writers, critics and scholars, this book is a multimedia resource that will find a welcome audience in movie lovers in Beantown and beyond.

Tulsa Movie Theaters

Tulsa Movie Theaters PDF Author: Steve Clem, Maggie Brown, and the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1467106852
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
Going to the movies has always been special. Tulsa's first theater opened in 1906 with a lineup of silent reels and live vaudeville entertainment. During the next two decades, dozens of movie houses opened downtown, including the Big Four: the Ritz, Orpheum, Majestic, and Rialto. As Tulsa grew, neighborhood theaters, including the Brook, Delman, and Will Rogers, became favorites. Drive-in theaters soon followed around the city boundaries. In 1965, Tulsa's first multiplex--the Boman Twin--opened. Tulsans experienced blockbuster films at these theaters with multiple screens and increasingly smaller auditoriums. Tulsa also hosted star-studded movie premieres. Among them were The Outsiders and the 1949 premiere of Tulsa, featuring the biggest parade and crowd in Tulsa's history. Perhaps the most well-known theater--the Dreamland on Black Wall Street--was destroyed during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Although it was rebuilt, images of the Dreamland in ruins are iconic.

South End Shout

South End Shout PDF Author: Roger House
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 1643150472
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Chronicles the power of music in Boston's African American community

Films of Endearment

Films of Endearment PDF Author: Michael Koresky
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 1488078351
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
An Esquire Best Book About Hollywood A USA TODAY Best Book of 2021 “A lovely and loving book.”—Will Schwalbe, New York Times bestselling author of The End of Your Life Book Club "I'm not sure I have ever read a book about movies that is as tender and open-hearted as Films of Endearment."—Mark Harris, New York Times bestselling author of Mike Nichols: A Life A poignant memoir of family, grief and resilience about a young man, his dynamic mother and the '80s movies they shared together Michael Koresky's most formative memories were simple ones. A movie rental. A mug of tea. And a few shared hours with his mother. Years later and now a successful film critic, Koresky set out on a journey with his mother to discover more about their shared cinematic past. They rewatched ten films that she first introduced to him as a child, one from every year of the '80s, each featuring women leads. Together, films as divergent as 9 to 5, Terms of Endearment, The Color Purple and Aliens form the story of an era that Koresky argues should rightly be called "The Decade of the Actress." Films of Endearment is a reappraisal of the most important and popular female-driven films of that time, a profound meditation on loss and resilience, and a celebration of the special bond between mothers and their sons.