MODERN THEATRE

The Modern Theatre is a 185-seat multi-purpose performance venue at 525 Washington Street in Boston's Theater District, owned and operated by Suffolk University. The state-of-the-art theater sits beneath a ten-story student residence hall, designed by CBT Architects. It hosts live performances, conversations, readings, and film screenings.

Programming includes Suffolk University Theatre Department productions, guest performances, and community events. The intimate scale and modern technical systems make it suitable for a range of performing arts presentations and academic programming. The venue is part of the revitalized Washington Street theater corridor.

The original building was erected in 1876, designed by architect Levi Newcomb in the French Renaissance style as showrooms for the Dobson Brothers carpet manufacturers. In 1913, architect Clarence Blackall converted the first three floors into the Modern Theatre, Boston's first theater designed specifically for motion pictures. It premiered The Jazz Singer as Boston's first "talkie" in 1928. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, the theater was designated a Boston Landmark in 1995. Suffolk University purchased it in 2007, dismantled the facade stone by stone for restoration, and reopened the new building on November 4, 2010.