Historical Boston Theatre District Walking Tour

Compiled by Fredric Woodbridge Wilson


Agenda

Meet at front entrance of Lamont Library, Harvard Yard
Walk to the Harvard Square T station
Take the T (Red Line Inbound) from Harvard Square to the Park Street station in Boston
Walk through the historic theatre districts
Walk through the Washington Street renovation area
Walk through the present theatre district
Visit the Opera House on Washington Street or the Wang Theatre on Tremont Street
Optionally have lunch at Jacob Wirth's Restaurant on Stuart Street
Take the T (Green Line "E" outbound) from Tremont Street to the Symphony stop
Walk through the Huntington Avenue theatre district
Visit Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall, or the Boston University Theatre
Take the Bus (Route 1, Massachusetts Avenue) to Harvard Square

Buy a T card at the Harvard Square Station. Bring a camera and a bottle of water if you like, and an umbrella if the weather looks inclement. A map will be supplied. Dress is casual. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes for walking.

Approximate duration of Walking Tour: approximately 6 hours. Omitting lunch, subtract 3/4 hour. Omitting 2 theatre interior tours, subtract 1-1/4 hours. Omitting Huntington Avenue theatre district, including 1 theatre interior tour, subtract 1-1/2 hours. Starting and ending at Park Street T Station instead of Harvard Yard, subtract 1/2 hour.


Links to Web Page Resources (all were active in 2004, but many of these links are now outdated)

Wang Theatre, Tremont Street www.wangcenter.org/history-wang.html
Shubert Theatre, Tremont Street www.wangcenter.org/history-shubert.html
Wilbur Theatre, Tremont Street http://www.broadwayinboston.com/html/theatres/wilbur/
Emerson Majestic Theatre, Tremont Street http://www.emerson.edu/majestic/History/history.html
Charles Playhouse, Warrenton Street http://www.broadwayinboston.com/html/theatres/charles/
Colonial Theatr, Boylston Street http://www.broadwayinboston.com/html/theatres/colonial/
Stuart Street Playhouse http://www.stuartstreetplayhouse.com/index.htm
Tavern Club, Park Square
Orpheum Theatre, Hamilton Place
Copley Theatre, Clarendon Street
Boston Playwrights' Theatre, Commonwealth Avenue http://www.bu.edu/bpt/about/index.html
Bijou Theatre http://www.historicboston.org/99cb/adamshouse.htm
Boston Museum
Boston Theatre (Federal Street Theatre)
Footlight Club, Jamaica Plain http://boston.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.footlight.org
Everett Hall Theatre, Hyde Park http://www.historicboston.org/99cb/everetthall.htm
Opera House, Washington Street http://www.historicboston.org/99cb/operahouse.htm
Paramount Theatre, Washington Street http://www.historicboston.org/99cb/paramount.htm
Modern Theater, Washington Street http://www.historicboston.org/99cb/moderntheater.htm
Modern Theater, Washington Street http://www.cityofboston.gov/environment/pdfs/modernstudyreport.pdf
Jordan Hall (New England Conservatory), Huntington Avenue http://www.newenglandconservatory.edu/jordanhall/jordanhistory.html
Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Clarendon Street http://www.lyricstage.com/About_LSC.htm
Boston University Theatre, Huntington Avenue http://www.bu.edu/huntington/about/bu/bhis.htm
Symphony Hall, Hungtington Avenue http://www.handelandhaydn.org/concerts/symphonyhall.htm
Symphony Hall, Hungtington Avenue http://www.bso.org/itemB/detail?id=2400026&area=bso
Symphony Hall, Hungtington Avenue http://www.bso.org/history.jhtml?id=cat20114&area=bso
Essays on Boston Theatre History
Boston Theatre, 1753 to 2003 http://www.emerson.edu/majestic/history/BosTheatres.html
55 Theatres in 1935: Where Did All the Theatres Go? http://www.emerson.edu/majestic/history/55in35.html
A. L. Wilbur and the Shubert Brothers http://www.emerson.edu/majestic/history/Wilbur.html
Theatre Districts of Yesteryear http://www.emerson.edu/majestic/history/ThrDisYester.html
Theatres, Shopping Malls, and Adaptive Reuse http://www.emerson.edu/majestic/history/malls.html
New England's Music Capital http://www.emerson.edu/majestic/history/newland.html
A. L. Wilbur and the Shubert Brothers http://www.emerson.edu/majestic/history/Wilbur.html
Neighborhood Theatres http://www.emerson.edu/majestic/history/neighborhood.html
History of the Boston Museum Theatre http://www.emerson.edu/majestic/history/Bos_Museum_History.html
Vaudeville: A History http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma02/easton/vaudeville/vaudevillemain.html
Harvard Theatre Collection Information http://lib.harvard.edu/archives/0032.html


This document was updated on June 20, 2009.
Contents copyright by F. W. Wilson. All rights reserved.
(Contents of linked pages copyright by the respective authors and compilers.)
The address of this document is http://arcadia.org/boston-theatre/index.html.