The Sound of Silents

From the banning of plays by the Massachusetts General Court in 1750 to the opening of the city’s first theater in 1792 to the rise and fall of Scollay Square as a hub of refined and then not-so-refined center of entertainment, Boston has had a long and tumultuous relationship with theater.

As the Victorian age gave way to the early 20th century silent films began entertaining Bostonians in movie houses, many just a short walk from Beacon Hill. Movie palaces such as the New Palace Theatre, the Star Theatre, the Theatre Comique, and the Scollay Square Olympia showed silent films accompanied by a pianist, news reels, and Vaudeville comedy acts.

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