{"nrhp_refnum":"80000676","name":"Charles Playhouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"74-78 Warenton St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.34954434600007,"lon":-71.06585867199993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-06-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture","Religion","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Greek Revival brick building at 74-78 Warrenton Street in Boston's Theatre District, built 1838-39 as the Fifth Universalist Church and now used as a playhouse.","why_significant":"It is described as one of only three Boston churches designed by Asher Benjamin and the only remaining Greek Revival example. It adapted a plan from Benjamin's Builder's Guide, adding street-level stores for rental income. It was also the first permanent home of the Fifth Universalist Society and later showed early adaptive reuse.","narrative":"Built in 1838-39 on Warrenton Street, south of Boston Common, this red brick building began as the Fifth Universalist Church. Architect Asher Benjamin adapted a church plan from his Builder's Guide into a Greek Revival temple with paired antae and two Ionic columns. A granite basement carried two stores whose rents were expected to bring about $800 a year, a requirement of the congregation led by Rev. Otis A. Skinner. The church is described as one of only three in Boston designed by Benjamin and the only remaining Greek Revival one. After the congregation left in 1862, it served a synagogue, the YWCA and a Scotch Presbyterian church, then hosted a speakeasy, nightclubs, a ballroom and theatrical booking offices. Since 1958 the Charles Playhouse company has used it for plays. The interior has been altered, and the facade has gained a marquee and changed basement openings, but the original form remains clear.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Asher Benjamin","architectural_style":"Greek Revival (temple form with columns in antis)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Houses the Charles Playhouse theatre, which has been in residence since 1958; the interior has been altered repeatedly and condition is listed as fair.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.22484-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/12/7968/63796812/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/80000676.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000676/c4421611c2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000676/c4421611c2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Tim Pierce","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_MA_Charles_Playhouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tim Pierce</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_MA_Charles_Playhouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796812","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Playhouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5081687"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/charles-playhouse-80000676/"}