Bijou Theatre (Boston): Difference between revisions

Bijou Theatre
Bijou Opera House, Bijou Dream Theatre, B.F. Keith's Bijou Theatre, RKO Bijou Theatre, Intown Theatre
	Bijou interior, 19th century
Address	545 Washington Street; Boston, Massachusetts; United States
Operator	Emerson College
Construction
Opened	December 11, 1882
Closed	1943
Years active	1882-1943
Architect	Bradlee, Winslow & Wetherell

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The Bijou Theatre (1882–1943) in Boston, Massachusetts, occupied the second floor of 545 Washington Street near today's Theatre District.^[1]^[2] Architect George Wetherell designed the space, described by a contemporary reviewer as "dainty."^[3]^[4] Proprietors included Edward Hastings, George Tyler, and B.F. Keith.^[5]^[6] Around the 1900s, it featured a "staircase of heavy glass under which flowed an illuminated waterfall."^[7] The Bijou "closed 31 December 1943 and was razed in 1951."^[8] The building's facade still exists.^[9] It is currently a pending Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission.

Background

The building was constructed in 1836 as The Lion Theatre, and in 1839 was renamed The Melodeon. In 1878, the name was changed to The Gaiety. It was also named The Mechanics Institute, Melodeon Varieties, and the New Melodeon. The Gaiety was purchased by George H. Tyler (who also ran The Park Theatre) and by Frederick Vokes, who had renovated the Gaiety, and wanted to rename it the Bijou Theatre. Vokes would relinquish his share, and Tyler would replace him with E.H. and T.N. Hastings. The Bijou officially opened on December 11, 1882.^[10]

The Bijou

The new theatre opened on December 11, 1882 with the Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert (Gilbert and Sullivan) comic opera Iolanthe. By September 27, 1886, the theatre became owned by B.F. Keith and George R. Batcheller.^[11] On March 24, 1894, Keith opened a theatre next the Bijou named "B.F. Keith’s Theatre". In 1901, it was renamed the "Bijou Opera House". The Bijou would later be named "Bijou Dream" when it became a movie house in 1927, and also became known as Intown sometime after that.^[12]

The Bijou was a distinct theatre for a couple of reasons. The Bijou was the first theatre in the United States to be elementarily lighted by electricity, which Thomas Edison personally installed and supervised.^[11]^[13] It also was unique for the fact that it did not have a traditional exit to the outside. Since it was on the second floor, the exits led to the lobbies of the two surrounding theatres, the B.F. Keith Theatre (later the Normandie and Laffmovie) and the newer Keith Memorial (later known as the Savoy and is now the Boston Opera House). After the tragic 1942 Cocoanut Grove fire (492 deaths), Boston heavily enforced new fire laws, and since the Bijou did not have adequate exits, it was forced to close.^[12]

The Bijou was razed to the orchestra and stage floors, which became the roof of the stores below. Most of what remained of the Bijou building was demolished in 2008, but Emerson College bought the property and plans to make the Bijou and Paramount Theatre into theatres and dormitories.^[12]

Images

Detail of 1886 map of Boston, showing the Bijou adjacent to the Boston Theatre
Film projection room, 1911
Advertisement, 1915, for Frank Keenan, Marie Tempest, Bijou String Quartet
Facade of former Bijou in 2011; between Paramount Theatre (at left), and Boston Opera House (at right)

Variant names

Bijou Opera House^[14]
Bijou Dream Theatre^[15]
B.F. Keith's Bijou Theatre^[8]
RKO Bijou Theatre^[8]^[16]
Intown Theatre^[8]

References

^ Boston Almanac and Business Directory. 1887, 1891, 1894
^ Charles Baxton (1884), Boston and the Back Bay, Boston, Mass: Reed & Lincoln, OL 13997009M
^ Richard Herndon (1892), Boston of To-Day, Boston: Post Pub. Co., OCLC 4430662, OL 7162628M
^ U.S. Dept. of the Interior. National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: [pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/64000273.pdf Boston Theatre Multiple Resource Area]. 1979. Retrieved 2012-03-16
^ Historical review of the Boston Bijou Theatre: with the original casts of all the operas that have been produced at the Bijou, Boston: Edward O. Skelton, 1884, OL 24140253M
^ "A High-Class Motion Picture House." Photo-Era v.27, no.2, August 1911
^ Boston Opera House. The Boston Opera House Site Archived 2013-12-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2012-03-16
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Frank Cullen. Vaudeville old & new: an encyclopedia of variety performances in America. NY: Routledge, 2004
^ Adams House Annex, no.543-547 Washington Street, Boston, USA. "Facade built 1858-1850; interior completely remodeled 1881-82." Boston Redevelopment Authority. (1987), Midtown cultural district plan: historic building survey
^ Souvenir booklet produced "in commemoration of the 150th consecutive performance of "Iolanthe"". Issued on 18 April, page three clearly gives the production (and therefore the theatre's) opening night date as 11 December 1882.
^ ^a ^b "Boston Athenæum Theater History | Boston Athenæum".
^ ^a ^b ^c "Bijou Theatre in Boston, MA - Cinema Treasures".
^ Edison Bulb in the Spotlight, Harvard Houghton Library Blog
^ Wilson's annual reference book ... Greater Boston, [Boston?], 1904, OL 14048417M{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Clark's Boston Blue Book, 1909
^ Life, Jan. 10, 1938

External links

Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University. Boston Bijou Theatre Company records: Guide
Detail of 1883 map of Boston showing location of Bijou Theatre, via Boston Public Library's Atlascope Boston tool.
Boston Athenaeum. Theater History Archived 2021-04-14 at the Wayback Machine. Bijou Theatre (1882- 1952), 545 Washington Street
Historic Boston Inc. Adams House Annex/Bijou Theater, 543-547 Washington Street
Boston Landmarks Commission. Photo of 543-547 Washington Street, Boston, 20th century

42°21′15.52″N 71°3′44.26″W / 42.3543111°N 71.0622944°W / 42.3543111; -71.0622944

[1] Boston Almanac and Business Directory. 1887, 1891, 1894

[2] Charles Baxton (1884), Boston and the Back Bay, Boston, Mass: Reed & Lincoln, OL 13997009M

[3] Richard Herndon (1892), Boston of To-Day, Boston: Post Pub. Co., OCLC 4430662, OL 7162628M

[4] U.S. Dept. of the Interior. National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: [pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/64000273.pdf Boston Theatre Multiple Resource Area]. 1979. Retrieved 2012-03-16

[5] Historical review of the Boston Bijou Theatre: with the original casts of all the operas that have been produced at the Bijou, Boston: Edward O. Skelton, 1884, OL 24140253M

[6] "A High-Class Motion Picture House." Photo-Era v.27, no.2, August 1911

[7] Boston Opera House. The Boston Opera House Site Archived 2013-12-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2012-03-16

[cullen-8] Frank Cullen. Vaudeville old & new: an encyclopedia of variety performances in America. NY: Routledge, 2004

[9] Adams House Annex, no.543-547 Washington Street, Boston, USA. "Facade built 1858-1850; interior completely remodeled 1881-82." Boston Redevelopment Authority. (1987), Midtown cultural district plan: historic building survey

[10] Souvenir booklet produced "in commemoration of the 150th consecutive performance of "Iolanthe"". Issued on 18 April, page three clearly gives the production (and therefore the theatre's) opening night date as 11 December 1882.

[Athenaeum-11] "Boston Athenæum Theater History | Boston Athenæum".

[treasures-12] "Bijou Theatre in Boston, MA - Cinema Treasures".

[13] Edison Bulb in the Spotlight, Harvard Houghton Library Blog

[14] Wilson's annual reference book ... Greater Boston, [Boston?], 1904, OL 14048417M{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[15] Clark's Boston Blue Book, 1909

[16] Life, Jan. 10, 1938

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
 {{Infobox theatre
 | name               = Bijou Theatre
@@ Line 31: / Line 32: @@
 }}
 __NOTOC__
-The '''Bijou Theatre''' (1882–1943) in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], occupied the second floor of 545 [[Washington Street (Boston)|Washington Street]] near today's Theatre District.<ref>Boston Almanac and Business Directory. 1887, 1891, 1894</ref><ref>{{Citation |publisher = Reed & Lincoln |publication-place = Boston, Mass |title = Boston and the Back Bay |url = https://openlibrary.org/books/OL13997009M/Boston_and_the_Back_Bay. |author = Charles Baxton |publication-date = 1884 }}</ref> Architect [[Bradlee, Winslow & Wetherell|George Wetherell]] designed the space, described by a contemporary reviewer as "dainty."<ref>{{Citation |publisher = Post Pub. Co. |publication-place = Boston |title = Boston of To-Day |url = https://openlibrary.org/books/OL7162628M/Boston_of_to-day |author = Richard Herndon |publication-date = 1892 |oclc = 4430662 }}</ref><ref>U.S. Dept. of the Interior. National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: [pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/64000273.pdf Boston Theatre Multiple Resource Area]. 1979. Retrieved 2012-03-16</ref> Proprietors included Edward Hastings, George Tyler, and [[B.F. Keith]].<ref>{{Citation |publisher = Edward O. Skelton |publication-place = Boston |url = https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24140253M/Historical_review_of_the_Boston_Bijou_Theatre |title = Historical review of the Boston Bijou Theatre: with the original casts of all the operas that have been produced at the Bijou |publication-date = 1884 }}</ref><ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=z5UhAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA106 A High-Class Motion Picture House]." Photo-Era v.27, no.2, August 1911</ref> Around the 1900s, it featured a "staircase of heavy glass under which flowed an illuminated waterfall."<ref>Boston Opera House. [http://www.bostonoperahouse.com/BostonOperaHouseSite.htm The Boston Opera House Site]. Retrieved 2012-03-16</ref>
+The '''Bijou Theatre''' (1882–1943) in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], occupied the second floor of 545 [[Washington Street (Boston)|Washington Street]] near today's Theatre District.<ref>Boston Almanac and Business Directory. 1887, 1891, 1894</ref><ref>{{Citation |publisher = Reed & Lincoln |location = Boston, Mass |title = Boston and the Back Bay |author = Charles Baxton |date = 1884 |ol = 13997009M }}</ref> Architect [[Bradlee, Winslow & Wetherell|George Wetherell]] designed the space, described by a contemporary reviewer as "dainty."<ref>{{Citation |publisher = Post Pub. Co. |location = Boston |title = Boston of To-Day |author = Richard Herndon |date = 1892 |oclc = 4430662 |ol = 7162628M }}</ref><ref>U.S. Dept. of the Interior. National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: [pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/64000273.pdf Boston Theatre Multiple Resource Area]. 1979. Retrieved 2012-03-16</ref> Proprietors included Edward Hastings, George Tyler, and [[B.F. Keith]].<ref>{{Citation |publisher = Edward O. Skelton |location = Boston |title = Historical review of the Boston Bijou Theatre: with the original casts of all the operas that have been produced at the Bijou |date = 1884 |ol = 24140253M }}</ref><ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=z5UhAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA106 A High-Class Motion Picture House]." Photo-Era v.27, no.2, August 1911</ref> Around the 1900s, it featured a "staircase of heavy glass under which flowed an illuminated waterfall."<ref>Boston Opera House. [http://www.bostonoperahouse.com/BostonOperaHouseSite.htm The Boston Opera House Site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224114724/http://www.bostonoperahouse.com/BostonOperaHouseSite.htm |date=2013-12-24 }}. Retrieved 2012-03-16</ref>
-The Bijou "closed 31 December 1943 and was razed in 1951."<ref name="cullen" /> The building's facade still exists.<ref>Adams House Annex, no.543-547 Washington Street, Boston, USA. "Facade built 1858-1850; interior completely remodeled 1881-82." {{Citation |url = https://archive.org/stream/midtownculturald87bost#page/n99/mode/2up |publication-date = 1987 |author = Boston Redevelopment Authority. |title = Midtown cultural district plan: historic building survey }}</ref> It is currently a pending [[Boston Landmark]] by the [[Boston Landmarks Commission]].
+The Bijou "closed 31 December 1943 and was razed in 1951."<ref name="cullen" /> The building's facade still exists.<ref>Adams House Annex, no.543-547 Washington Street, Boston, USA. "Facade built 1858-1850; interior completely remodeled 1881-82." {{Citation |url = https://archive.org/stream/midtownculturald87bost#page/n99/mode/2up |date = 1987 |author = Boston Redevelopment Authority. |title = Midtown cultural district plan: historic building survey }}</ref> It is currently a pending [[Boston Landmark]] by the [[Boston Landmarks Commission]].
 ==Background==
-The building was constructed in 1836 as The Lion Theatre, and in 1839 was renamed [[Melodeon (Boston, Massachusetts)|The Melodeon]]. In 1878, the name was changed to [[Gaiety Theatre, Boston (1878)|The Gaiety]]. It was also named The Mechanics Institute, Melodeon Varieties, and the New Melodeon. The Gaiety was purchased by George H. Tyler (who also ran [[Park Theatre (Boston)|The Park Theatre]]) and by Frederick Vokes, who had renovated the Gaiety, and wanted to rename it the Bijou Theatre. Vokes would relinquish his share, and Tyler would replace him with E.H. and T.N. Hastings. The Bijou officially opened on December 18, 1882.<ref name=Athenaeum>http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/library/electronic-resources/boston-athenaeum-theater-collection/history</ref>
+The building was constructed in 1836 as The Lion Theatre, and in 1839 was renamed [[Melodeon (Boston, Massachusetts)|The Melodeon]]. In 1878, the name was changed to [[Gaiety Theatre, Boston (1878)|The Gaiety]]. It was also named The Mechanics Institute, Melodeon Varieties, and the New Melodeon. The Gaiety was purchased by George H. Tyler (who also ran [[Park Theatre (Boston)|The Park Theatre]]) and by Frederick Vokes, who had renovated the Gaiety, and wanted to rename it the Bijou Theatre. Vokes would relinquish his share, and Tyler would replace him with E.H. and T.N. Hastings. The Bijou officially opened on December 11, 1882.<ref>Souvenir booklet produced "in commemoration of the 150th consecutive performance of "Iolanthe"". Issued on 18 April, page three clearly gives the production (and therefore the theatre's) opening night date as 11 December 1882. </ref>
 ==The Bijou==
 [[File:1884 Iolanthe BijouTheatre Boston.png|thumb|right|Gilbert and Sullivan's ''[[Iolanthe]]'' at the Bijou, 1884]]
-The new theatre opened on December 18, 1882 with the [[Arthur Sullivan]] and [[W.S. Gilbert]] ([[Gilbert and Sullivan]]) [[comic opera]] ''[[Iolanthe]]''. By  September 27, 1886, the theatre became owned by [[Benjamin Franklin Keith|B.F. Keith]] and George R. Batcheller.<ref name=Athenaeum /> On March 24, 1894, Keith opened a theatre next the Bijou named "B.F. Keith’s Theatre". In 1901, it was renamed the "Bijou Opera House". The Bijou would later be named "Bijou Dream" when it became a movie house in 1927, and also became known as Intown sometime after that.<ref name=treasures>http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/11085</ref>
+The new theatre opened on December 11, 1882 with the [[Arthur Sullivan]] and [[W.S. Gilbert]] ([[Gilbert and Sullivan]]) [[comic opera]] ''[[Iolanthe]]''. By  September 27, 1886, the theatre became owned by [[Benjamin Franklin Keith|B.F. Keith]] and George R. Batcheller.<ref name="Athenaeum">{{Cite web |title=Boston Athenæum Theater History &#124; Boston Athenæum |url=http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/library/electronic-resources/boston-athenaeum-theater-collection/history}}</ref> On March 24, 1894, Keith opened a theatre next the Bijou named "B.F. Keith’s Theatre". In 1901, it was renamed the "Bijou Opera House". The Bijou would later be named "Bijou Dream" when it became a movie house in 1927, and also became known as Intown sometime after that.<ref name=treasures>{{Cite web|url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/11085|title = Bijou Theatre in Boston, MA - Cinema Treasures}}</ref>
 The Bijou was a distinct theatre for a couple of reasons. The Bijou was the first theatre in the United States to be elementarily lighted by electricity, which [[Thomas Edison]] personally installed and supervised.<ref name=Athenaeum /><ref>[https://blogs.harvard.edu/houghton/edison-bulb/ Edison Bulb in the Spotlight], Harvard Houghton Library Blog</ref> It also was unique for the fact that it did not have a traditional exit to the outside. Since it was on the second floor, the exits led to the lobbies of the two surrounding theatres, the B.F. Keith Theatre (later the Normandie and Laffmovie) and the newer Keith Memorial (later known as the Savoy and is now the [[Boston Opera House (1980)|Boston Opera House]]). After the tragic 1942 [[Cocoanut Grove fire]] (492 deaths), Boston heavily enforced new fire laws, and since the Bijou did not have adequate exits, it was forced to close.<ref name=treasures />
@@ Line 54: / Line 55: @@
 ==Variant names==
-* Bijou Opera House<ref>{{Citation |url = https://openlibrary.org/books/OL14048417M/Wilson's_annual_reference_book_... |title = Wilson's annual reference book ... Greater Boston |publication-date = 1904 |publication-place = [Boston?] }}</ref>
+* Bijou Opera House<ref>{{Citation |title = Wilson's annual reference book ... Greater Boston |date = 1904 |location = [Boston?] |ol = 14048417M}}</ref>
 * Bijou Dream Theatre<ref>Clark's Boston Blue Book, 1909</ref>
 * B.F. Keith's Bijou Theatre<ref name="cullen">Frank Cullen. Vaudeville old & new: an encyclopedia of variety performances in America. NY: Routledge, 2004</ref>
@@ Line 65: / Line 66: @@
 ==External links==
 {{commons category|Bijou Theatre (Boston, Massachusetts)}}
-* Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University. [http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/findingAidDisplay?_collection=oasis&inoid=4122 Boston Bijou Theatre Company records: Guide]
+* Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304114325/http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/findingAidDisplay?_collection=oasis&inoid=4122 Boston Bijou Theatre Company records: Guide]
+* Detail of 1883 map of Boston showing [https://atlascope.org/#/view:share$mode:glass$center:-71.06264,42.35387$zoom:20.11$base:maptiler-streets$overlay:ark:/76611/al8c28hx3 location of Bijou Theatre], via Boston Public Library's Atlascope Boston tool.
-* Boston Athenaeum. [http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/node/224 Theater History]. Bijou Theatre (1882- 1952), 545 Washington Street
+* Boston Athenaeum. [http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/node/224 Theater History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414194055/https://www.bostonathenaeum.org/node/224 |date=2021-04-14 }}. Bijou Theatre (1882- 1952), 545 Washington Street
 * Historic Boston Inc. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150324210556/http://www.historicboston.org/casebook/99cb/adamshouse.htm Adams House Annex/Bijou Theater], 543-547 Washington Street
 * Boston Landmarks Commission. [https://www.flickr.com/photos/bostonlandmarkscommission/6331667141/ Photo of 543-547 Washington Street], Boston, 20th century
@@ Line 78: / Line 80: @@
 [[Category:Cultural history of Boston]]
 [[Category:Event venues established in 1882]]
-[[Category:Former cinemas in the United States]]
+[[Category:Former cinemas and movie theaters in Boston]]
 [[Category:Former theatres in Boston]]
+[[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Boston]]
+[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1951]]