The company then renovated and modernized the venue while restoring the décor. Clear Channel obtained ownership of the theater in 2002 with help from then-mayor Thomas Menino. The Opera Company of Boston controlled the venue from 1978 to 1991, renaming it the Citizens Bank Opera House. Sack Theatres acquired the venue in 1965 and renamed it the Savoy Theater, renovating the building and adding a second auditorium. Though at first it hosted vaudeville performances alongside movies, it soon solely showed films. It first opened in October of 1928 under the ownership of RKO, and was soon renamed RKO Keith’s Memorial Theatre, a name it held from 1929 to 1965.

Keith Memorial Theatre in honor of the eponymous vaudeville theater owner.

Also known as the Boston Opera House, the theater was originally designed as a movie palace by Thomas W. The venue offers guests a wide variety of shows, ballet performances and concerts, so it’s important to book Citizens Bank Opera House parking in advance of the show with ParkWhiz. Every large city has movie theaters, from drive-ins to movie palaces, but only Boston, Massachusetts, has a movie theater that evolved into a performing arts powerhouse, the Citizens Bank Opera House.

Boston opera house events