Tremont Theatre, Boston

The Tremont Theatre (1827–1843) on 88 Tremont Street was a playhouse in Boston. A group of wealthy Boston residents financed the building's construction. Architect Isaiah Rogers designed the original Theatre structure in 1827 in the Greek Revival style. The playhouse opened on 24 September 1827.[1]

Tremont Theatre (at right), Tremont Street, Boston, ca.1843 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

History

In the early part of the 19th Century, Boston was still a small town, not yet the bustling metropolis it is today. The town already had one playhouse, the Federal Street Theatre, and the city's small population made supporting a second theatre difficult.[2] The owners tried to bring in patrons by booking big-name performers. These included Junius Brutus Booth, Charlotte Cushman, George Washington Dixon, Fanny Elssler, Edwin Forrest, John Gilbert, Charles and Fanny Kemble, and Thomas D. Rice. Nevertheless, the Tremont never turned a profit during its 16-year life.[2]

Around 1829 Tom Comer served as musical director.[3]

On 28 December 1843, the Free Church Baptists bought the theatre and renamed it the Tremont Temple. Although the building was largely used for religious events after this, it still served as the venue for public events on occasion.

Image gallery

Tremont Theatre, ca.1838
Advertisement for "Bubbles of the Day," 1842
Advertisement for "Timour the Tartar" and "Cavern of Death," 1843
Advertisement for Olympic Circus, 1843

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External links

Map: 42°21′27″N 71°03′39″W
Boston Public Library. Tremont Theatre Archives, 1839–1843

Notes

Bowen's picture of Boston. 1838
Banham 1122.
Tom Comer (1790–1862); cf. Daily Picayune (New Orleans); Date: 08-14-1862

References

Banham, Martin (1998). The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. New York: Cambridge University Press. Cf. especially p. 1122, article on the "Tremont Theatre".
Kilde, Jeanne Halgren (2002). When Church Became Theatre: The Transformation of Evangelical Architecture and Worship in Nineteenth-Century America. New York: Oxford University Press. Cf. especially p. 142
Savage, Edward H. (1865). A Chronological History of the Boston Watch and Police, from 1631 to 1865: Together with Recollections of a Boston Police Officer, or Boston by Daylight and Gaslight.: From the Diary of an Officer Fifteen Years in the Service. Boston. Cf. p. 82, &c.
Shand-Tucci, Douglass (1999). Built in Boston: City and Suburb, 1800–2000. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. Cf. pp. 153, 177, 182, 207, 209, &c.

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[1] Bowen's picture of Boston. 1838

[Banham_1122-2] Banham 1122.

[3] Tom Comer (1790–1862); cf. Daily Picayune (New Orleans); Date: 08-14-1862