"Banned in Boston" was a phrase employed from the late 19th century through Prohibition to describe a literary work, motion picture, or play prohibited from distribution or exhibition in Boston, Massachusetts. During this period, Boston officials had wide authority to ban works featuring "objectionable" content, and often banned works with sexual or foul language. By the early 1970s Boston developed the Combat Zone red-light district, with many businesses that would have been criminally prohibited only several decades before.