The name “Combat Zone” was given to an adult entertainment district between Boylston Street and Kneeland Street in downtown Boston in the 1960s. The area was once famous for prostitution, strip clubs, peep shows, X-rated movie theaters, and adult bookstores. In 1976, the Wall Street Journal called the area “a sexual Disneyland.” This notorious zone thrived from the 1960s and managed to survived until 1993 when Mayor Raymond Flynn brought it down. The name “Combat Zone” was originated in the articles written by Jean Cole in the 1960s for the Boston Daily Record about the area.
The notorious adult entertainment district “Combat Zone” was made when the government destroyed the West End and former red-light district at Scollay Square, near Faneuil Hall, to build the Government Center urban renewal project.
Here below are some historic photographs of the Combat zone in the 1970s documenting everyday life.
