Cutler Majestic Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College
, in Boston
, Massachusetts
, is a 1903 "Beaux Arts" style theater, designed by the architect John Galen Howard
. Originally built for theatre
, one of three theaters commissioned in Boston by Eben Dyer Jordan, son of the founder of Jordan Marsh
, a Boston-based chain of department store
s. The Majestic was converted to accommodate vaudeville
shows in the 1920s and eventually into a movie house in the 1950s. The change to film came with renovations that transformed the lobby and covered up much of John Galen Howard
's original Beaux-Arts architecture.
The theater continued to show movies until 1983 as the Saxon Theatre. By then, the theater began to deteriorate both in appearance and in programming.
In the mid-1980s Emerson College
purchased the theater and restored it to its original Beaux-Arts appearance. The theater today is a performing arts center for both Emerson College and the community at large. It is the home base of Opera Boston
as well as frequently staging shows by New England Conservatory, Teatro Lirico D'Europa, Celebrity Series of Boston
, Emerson College
's Emerson Stage company and the Boston Gay Men's Chorus. The theater has again been renamed, the Cutler Majestic Theatre, after donors Ted and Joan Benard-Cutler.
It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
, the Massachusetts
Register of Historic Places, and is a "Boston Historic Landmark". The theatre is located at 219 Tremont Street in Boston's theater district. It seats just under 1,200 people.
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
, in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, is a 1903 "Beaux Arts" style theater, designed by the architect John Galen Howard
John Galen Howard
John Galen Howard was an American architect.He is best known for his work as the supervising architect of the Master Plan for the University of California, Berkeley campus, and for founding the University of California's architecture program...
. Originally built for theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, one of three theaters commissioned in Boston by Eben Dyer Jordan, son of the founder of Jordan Marsh
Jordan Marsh
Jordan Marsh & Company was a department store in Boston, Massachusetts, which grew to be a major regional chain in the New England area of the United States. In 1996, the last of the Jordan Marsh stores were converted to Macy's. The store was formerly part of Allied Stores and then Federated...
, a Boston-based chain of department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
s. The Majestic was converted to accommodate vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
shows in the 1920s and eventually into a movie house in the 1950s. The change to film came with renovations that transformed the lobby and covered up much of John Galen Howard
John Galen Howard
John Galen Howard was an American architect.He is best known for his work as the supervising architect of the Master Plan for the University of California, Berkeley campus, and for founding the University of California's architecture program...
's original Beaux-Arts architecture.
The theater continued to show movies until 1983 as the Saxon Theatre. By then, the theater began to deteriorate both in appearance and in programming.
In the mid-1980s Emerson College
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
purchased the theater and restored it to its original Beaux-Arts appearance. The theater today is a performing arts center for both Emerson College and the community at large. It is the home base of Opera Boston
Opera Boston
Opera Boston is an opera company in Boston, Massachusetts. It specializes in innovative repertoire and rarely heard works, along with opera education and outreach programs designed to bring opera education to children, in schools and after-school programs throughout the Boston area.Its home base is...
as well as frequently staging shows by New England Conservatory, Teatro Lirico D'Europa, Celebrity Series of Boston
Celebrity Series of Boston
The Celebrity Series of Boston is a non-profit performing arts presenter established in Boston, Massachusetts by Boston impresario Aaron Richmond in 1938 as Aaron Richmond's Celebrity Series....
, Emerson College
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
's Emerson Stage company and the Boston Gay Men's Chorus. The theater has again been renamed, the Cutler Majestic Theatre, after donors Ted and Joan Benard-Cutler.
It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, the Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
Register of Historic Places, and is a "Boston Historic Landmark". The theatre is located at 219 Tremont Street in Boston's theater district. It seats just under 1,200 people.