11 Most Endangered Historic Places
Historic Boston Theaters
Year Listed: 1995
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Significance
Located on a single block of Washington Street, the historic Boston theaters trace decades of change in 20th-century entertainment. The Modern, constructed in 1913 in a Victorian commercial building, was one of the first Boston theaters built exclusively for moving pictures; the sumptuous Opera House, completed in 1928, was one of the last and grandest vaudeville houses in the country; and the Paramount was the City's most elaborate Art Deco movie house when it opened in 1932. While the revitalization of historic buildings and neighborhoods made Boston a preservation showplace, the former Theater District languished, and all three of these famous landmarks fell victim to neglect.
