Today's history post about the hotels that have stood at 275 Tremont Street in Boston came about because of a question directed at Adam Gaffin of Universal Hub over on Twitter.
I took a quick look at some old maps superimposed on today's google view and saw that the building was once the Hotel Bradford.
(image from a private collection)
(Image from The Tichnor Brothers Collection Boston Public Library)
Originally it was the Elks Hotel, designed by the architectural firm of McLaughlin & Burr and dedicated in 1926. It was in the heart of Boston's Theatre District because it served as the headquarters of the Boston Lodge 10 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. This organization began as a fraternal group for the entertainers who would be working in this area.
(image from a private collection)
While I did not find any images or postcards, the Bradford Hotel became Tremont House and then was converted to a Courtyard by Marriott. You can see that today in this Google Streetview.
Katie responded with a nice thank you and brought the subject of music into my quest. Yes, Katie, this building did have an important place in the world of music, but it was jazz rather than opera. I'll tell you about that tomorrow with a link to a great three part interview that provided confirmation and a primary source for what I found mentioned elsewhere. (Here's the link to that part of the story!)
Update 01/15/16: The folks over at Back Bay Houses contributed the image of this postcard to add to our post.
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Words: Penny Cherubino
Images: as credited under each one.