Washington Street Theatre District
Why it's listed
Seven buildings along the west side of Washington Street in downtown Boston, erected between 1870 and 1935, form a block tied to the city's theater history. They range from four to seven stories and mix brick, granite, limestone and tile, with Italianate, Gothic, Beaux Arts and Art Deco designs. Among them are Arthur Bowditch's 1932 Paramount Theater, with its large neon sign, and Thomas Lamb's 1928 Savoy Theater, the only surviving Lamb theater in the city. The Adams House Annex was where B.F. Keith introduced continuous vaudeville and moving pictures to Boston, and the Savoy site had held the city's earliest theaters, beginning with Charles Bulfinch's Boston Theatre of 1794. The Mayflower/Dobson Building was converted to a theater in 1913 by Clarence Blackall with acoustician Wallace Sabine. The White Building and Bigelow-Kennard Building add commercial architecture of similar scale and period. Together they illustrate musical comedy, opera, vaudeville and film presented on a single block.
Significance in brief: The district is tied to the development of Boston's performing arts. It occupies the site of the city's earliest theater buildings, and vaudeville and moving pictures were introduced to Boston here. The buildings also show high architectural quality across Italianate, High Victorian Gothic, Beaux Arts and Modernistic styles.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 79000370, listed March 19, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 511-559 Washington St., Boston |
|---|---|
| County | Suffolk County |
| Listed | March 19, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79000370 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Arthur Bowditch (Paramount Theater); George Wetherell and J.B. McElfatrick (Adams House Annex/Keith buildings); Thomas Lamb (Savoy Theater); Clarence H. Blackall and Wallace Sabine (Mayflower/Dobson Building remodeling); Levi Newcomb (Dobson Building, 1876); Blackall, Clapp and Whittemore (White Building) |
| Architectural style | Italianate, High Victorian Gothic, Beaux Arts and Modernistic |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Performing Arts |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Upper stories are generally unaltered, though modern signs obscure many ground floors. The Mayflower (Modern) Theater was being renovated for performing arts use. |
| Acreage | 1.7 |
| Coordinates | 42.35402, -71.06224 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 79000370.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q7972327
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.