Boston's 1903 Beaux Arts opera house, restored as an Emerson College venue
219 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02116
Age
Varies by performance
Cost
$$$
Performance-based ticketing through ArtsEmerson.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Restored 1903 theater with elevator and accessible seating
Equipment
No Photos
Est. 1903 · Boston Theatre District landmark · 1903 Beaux Arts architecture by John Galen Howard · Restored opera house since 2003 · Emerson College ArtsEmerson programming
The Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College stands at 219 Tremont Street in the Boston Theatre District. It opened in 1903 as the Majestic Theatre and was one of three theaters in Boston commissioned by Eben Dyer Jordan, son of the founder of the Jordan Marsh department-store chain. Architect John Galen Howard designed the building in the Beaux Arts style, and the Boston Globe at the time of its opening called it "the most beautiful playhouse Boston has yet seen."
In the 1920s the Majestic was converted to host vaudeville, and in 1956 it was acquired by Sack Cinemas and converted to a movie theater. As the Saxon Theatre, the building continued to screen films until 1983 and reflected the broader decline of Boston's historic Theatre District in the mid-twentieth century.
Emerson College purchased the building in 1983 and undertook a major restoration in the 1990s. The sixteen-million-dollar renovation returned the building to its 1903 Beaux Arts appearance, and the restored theater reopened in 2003 on its hundredth anniversary. The building was renamed the Cutler Majestic Theatre to honor a major donor. It is now operated by Emerson College as a venue for ArtsEmerson and a range of guest companies, including the Boston Lyric Opera and visiting touring productions.
Sources
Local tradition associates the Cutler Majestic Theatre with several long-repeated accounts. The most familiar is that of a former Boston mayor, often identified in compilations as Mayor John F. Fitzgerald though no contemporary source has confirmed the identification, who is said to have died while attending a performance at the theater and to be occasionally seen seated in his usual location. A second commonly repeated account describes a young girl who has been seen in the un-used upper balcony, and a married couple in turn-of-the-century dress also reported in the balcony seating area.
Local accounts collected by Boston ghost-tour operators add that the couple sometimes engages seatmates in conversation before disappearing before the second act. These accounts are folk tradition collected by tour operators and theater staff over many years and are not corroborated by newspaper coverage of specific events. The theater itself is a working performance venue; visitors should attend public performances rather than seek out investigation activity. None of the reported phenomena is described as malicious.
Notable Entities
Experience a 1903 Beaux Arts opera house, restored to its original appearance in a 2003 renovation by Emerson College. The theater hosts ArtsEmerson programming, touring productions, and the Boston Lyric Opera among many users.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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