National Theatre (Boston, 1911)

The National Theatre (1911-1978) of Boston, Massachusetts, was a 3,500-seat multipurpose auditorium on Tremont Street in the South End.[1] It functioned as a cinema, lecture hall, and stage. Performers included Jehovah's Witness founder Joseph F. Rutherford[2] and "big-name entertainers like Duke Ellington and Ray Bolger."[3] Movie screenings included The Battle of Gettysburg in 1913.[4] The English High School held graduation exercises in the National.[5] Around 1919 it was known as the "Waldorf Theater."[6] In 1992, it was purchased by Philip Smith.[7]

The space operated "intermittently after World War II for plays and movies."[8] Among the audience members: clothing designer Joseph Abboud.[9] The National closed in 1978. The Boston Center for the Arts oversaw the property thereafter, when it was subject to numerous plans for redevelopment.[10][11][12][13] The building existed until 1997, when it was demolished.[14][15]