Somerville Theatre
- Architect
- Funk and Wilcox
- Year
- 1914
- Style
- Neoclassical
- City
- Boston, MA
The Somerville Theatre opened in 1914 inside the Hobbs Building in Davis Square, built by Joseph Hobbs and designed by the Boston firm Funk & Wilcox. Conceived for vaudeville, opera, and motion pictures, it has operated continuously for more than a century and now runs as a live music venue and first-run movie theater.
the building
The Hobbs Building. The theater was only one attraction inside Joseph Hobbs's building, which also held a basement café, bowling alley, and billiards hall, plus ten ground-floor storefronts and the theater lobbies - a full entertainment complex under one roof.
Historic concerts. As a music venue the theater has hosted Bruce Springsteen twice in 2003 and U2 in 2009, along with performers including Norah Jones, Joan Baez, and the Jonas Brothers. It also houses the Crystal Ballroom.
the style
Neoclassical, the standard dress for an early-1900s stage-and-picture house built to look civic and permanent rather than purely commercial.
More on Neoclassicalsignificance
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
nearby
- Clifton Bacon House
- Chester Kingsley House
- John F. Nichols House
- St. John's Roman Catholic Church
- Isaac McLean House
- Z. E. Cliff House