The restoration of the Washington Street area and the recently dubbed Ladder District is "one of our hallmark projects," Meredith Baumann of the Boston Redevelopment Authority tells GlobeSt.com. "The opening of the Opera House will be the catalyst to change in the area." She adds that Mayor Thomas Menino had made the restoration of the area into a "vibrant mixed-use" environment one of his priorities.

And that effort seems to be paying off. In October 2003, Archstone-Smith began construction on Park Essex--the largest rental residential property to be developed in Boston in more than 20 years. The 28-story building at 600 Washington St. will offer 420 apartments for lease. The developer anticipates that the studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom residences will be available by spring 2006.

Designed in 1928 by architect Thomas White Lamb in the ornate Beaux Arts style, with Baroque and Renaissance elements, this lavish 2,600-seat theater opened as a vaudeville house, but by 1929, had converted to a movie house. Refurbished and renamed the Savoy in the 1960's, it continued to operate as a movie house until 1978. The site was subsequently acquired by the Opera Company of Boston which kept the theater lit until 1990. After that, it began to decay.