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personally installed and supervised. It also was unique for the fact that it did not have a traditional exit to the outside. Since it was on the second floor, the exits led to the lobbies of the two surrounding theatres, the B.F. Keith
Theatre (later the Normandie and Laffmovie) and the newer Keith
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and George R. Batcheller. On March 24, 1894, Keith opened a theatre next the Bijou named "B.F. Keith’s
Theatre". In 1901, it was renamed the "Bijou Opera House". The Bijou would later be named "Bijou Dream" when it became a movie house in 1927, and also became known as Intown sometime after that.
177:) and by Frederick Vokes, who had renovated the Gaiety, and wanted to rename it the Bijou Theatre. Vokes would relinquish his share, and Tyler would replace him with E.H. and T.N. Hastings. The Bijou officially opened on December 11, 1882.
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Souvenir booklet produced "in commemoration of the 150th consecutive performance of "Iolanthe"". Issued on 18 April, page three clearly gives the production (and therefore the theatre's) opening night date as 11 December 1882.
149:. Around the 1900s, it featured a "staircase of heavy glass under which flowed an illuminated waterfall." The Bijou "closed 31 December 1943 and was razed in 1951." The building's facade still exists. It is currently a pending
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The Bijou was razed to the orchestra and stage floors, which became the roof of the stores below. Most of what remained of the Bijou building was demolished in 2008, but
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The Bijou was a distinct theatre for a couple of reasons. The Bijou was the first theatre in the United States to be elementarily lighted by electricity, which
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Adams House Annex, no.543-547 Washington Street, Boston, USA. "Facade built 1858-1850; interior completely remodeled 1881-82."
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241:(492 deaths), Boston heavily enforced new fire laws, and since the Bijou did not have adequate exits, it was forced to close.
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designed the space, described by a contemporary reviewer as "dainty." Proprietors included Edward
Hastings, George Tyler, and
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Historical review of the Boston Bijou
Theatre: with the original casts of all the operas that have been produced at the Bijou
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U.S. Dept. of the
Interior. National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: . 1979. Retrieved 2012-03-16
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Bijou Opera House, Bijou Dream
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The building was constructed in 1836 as The Lion
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Harvard
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Detail of 1886 map of Boston, showing the Bijou adjacent to the
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538:"Boston Athenæum Theater History | Boston Athenæum"
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Midtown cultural district plan: historic building survey
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Boston
Almanac and Business Directory. 1887, 1891, 1894
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The new theatre opened on December 11, 1882 with the
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bought the property and plans to make the Bijou and
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661:. Bijou Theatre (1882- 1952), 545 Washington Street
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602:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
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1178:1882 establishments in Massachusetts
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380:, Boston, Mass: Reed & Lincoln,
1203:Former cinemas in the United States
440:, Boston: Edward O. Skelton, 1884,
169:. In 1878, the name was changed to
137:, occupied the second floor of 545
673:Photo of 543-547 Washington Street
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666:Adams House Annex/Bijou Theater
572:, Harvard Houghton Library Blog
252:into theatres and dormitories.
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616:Clark's Boston Blue Book, 1909
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671:Boston Landmarks Commission.
570:Edison Bulb in the Spotlight
35:Bijou interior, 19th century
816:Boston Playwrights' Theatre
668:, 543-547 Washington Street
472:The Boston Opera House Site
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86:December 11, 1882
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811:Boston Center for the Arts
806:Berklee Performance Center
341:B.F. Keith's Bijou Theatre
284:Film projection room, 1911
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821:Huntington Avenue Theatre
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645:location of Bijou Theatre
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296:Advertisement, 1915, for
237:). After the tragic 1942
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376:Charles Baxton (1884),
189:Gilbert and Sullivan's
675:, Boston, 20th century
481:. Retrieved 2012-03-16
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1041:Metropolitan
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106:Years active
78:Construction
1157: /
1076:Park Square
1066:Ordway Hall
901:Board Alley
762:Opera House
213:comic opera
1172:Categories
1091:RKO Boston
585:, , 1904,
355:References
324:(at right)
222:B.F. Keith
171:The Gaiety
161:Background
147:B.F. Keith
90:1882-12-11
1101:St. James
1011:Haymarket
841:Cambridge
772:Paramount
591:14048417M
446:24140253M
386:13997009M
181:The Bijou
114:Architect
109:1882-1943
1096:Selwyn's
1086:Plymouth
1036:Melodeon
946:Columbia
796:Rest of
747:Colonial
655:Archived
598:citation
475:Archived
416:7162628M
217:Iolanthe
192:Iolanthe
68:Operator
1116:Tremont
777:Shubert
767:Orpheum
408:4430662
153:by the
88: (
45:Address
1071:Palace
976:Fenway
886:Beacon
831:Strand
798:Boston
787:Wilbur
757:Modern
723:Active
711:Boston
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256:Images
131:Boston
98:Closed
83:Opened
54:Boston
896:Bijou
782:Wang
604:link
404:OCLC
203:and
125:The
101:1943
48:545
345:RKO
1174::
600:}}
596:{{
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207:(
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
