The Exeter Street Theatre building is a striking Richardsonian Romanesque structure at the corner of Exeter and Newbury Streets in Back Bay. It was built in 1884-85 by the architectural firm Hartwell and Richardson, originally as the First Spiritual Temple, a center for the spiritualist movement founded by merchant Marcellus J. Ayer. Its rough-faced masonry, arches, and corner tower remain a distinctive Back Bay landmark.
In 1914 the building’s assembly hall was remodeled into the Exeter Street Theatre, a motion-picture house that operated for seventy years until it closed in 1984. For generations of Bostonians it was a beloved art-house cinema. Since then the building has served various uses and today houses the Kingsley Montessori School. The structure is best appreciated from the sidewalk as part of a stroll along Newbury Street; it is not a public attraction, so do not expect tours or interior access.
Good to know
- Built 1884-85 by Hartwell and Richardson as the First Spiritual Temple
- Operated as the Exeter Street Theatre cinema from 1914 to 1984
- Now houses the Kingsley Montessori School; not open as a tourist site
- Best viewed from the sidewalk while exploring Newbury Street
Getting there
- Address: 26 Exeter Street (also addressed as 181 Newbury Street), Boston, MA 02116
- Neighborhood: Back Bay
- Nearest T: Copley (MBTA Green Line); Hynes Convention Center (Green Line B, C, D) is also nearby