Overview

The 1,725-seat Seville Theatre in East Boston opened in early 1929 and was the first Atmospheric theatre in the Boston area.

The theatre was built by the New England Theatres Operating Corporation (Netoco) at a reported cost of $1 million, and designed by the Boston-based architect firm of Krokyn, Browne & Rosenstein in an Atmospheric style with a Spanish village theme.

Around the time of the theatre’s opening it was reported that Samuel Pinanski, president of Netoco, had completed an exhaustive review of books of Spanish architecture before plans for the theatre were drawn up. Additionally, personal visits were made to Atmospheric theatres “all over the country”.

The auditorium design eschewed opera boxes, loges, and a balcony in favor of a stadium seating design – one large swathe of raked seating probably increasing in steepness towards the rear of the auditorium. All 1,725 seats were upholstered in a luxurious red jacquard velour.

In addition to twinkling stars mounted within the blue sky ceiling and fluffy moving clouds projected onto the ceiling, an electrical moon effect was also a feature. The theatre also boasted a 30ft (10m) deep stage with fly tower.

The theatre operated until late 1971. It was not used for any entertainment purpose since the 1980s and probably fell into use as storage space or similar.

The Seville Theatre was demolished in late 2014 to make way for a 66-unit 6-story condominium project called The Seville on Boston Harbor. The project completed around 2017.