Poe's Life in Boston

ARTIST UNKNOWN
The Federal Street Theatre Engraving
Date Unknown

Soon after the controversial lifting of the Puritan ban on theatrical entertainments, the first regular theater to be established in Boston was designed by the eminent architect Charles Bulfinch. It opened on February 3, 1794 under the management of Charles Stuart Powell who would hire English actress Elizabeth Arnold (Poe's maternal grandmother) to perform at the theater when he was in London in 1795. Also known as the First Boston Theatre, the venue seated approximately 1,000 people and was located on the corner of Federal Street and Franklin Street. On February 2, 1798, it was destroyed by fire but was promptly rebuilt (with a less ornate fa�ade).

Courtesy of Historic New England