History of Chicago. From the earliest period to the present time, Part 133

Author: Andreas, Alfred Theodore
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, A. T. Andreas
Number of Pages: 1340

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'City of Chicago, June 6, A. D. 1837. " CLARK S. BROWN.

Indorsed: " License granted 1 yr. $50."

It is but just to the memory of Mr. Brown to state that it must have been an unconscious association of ideas, and not an intentional disrespect to a high func tionary, which caused the lapse from the established rules of orthography, in the style and method of his address. There is no positive proof that the stand of flying horses was erected, although the prospective profits of such a venture were sufficient to induce a competitive application for a license by George Sigsby, whose promise that "no immorality shall be permitted," was not potent enough to command even passing com- ment by the Council. Mr. Sigsby's petition bears no memorandum of official action.

The fourth petition varied the nature of the amuse- ment by introducing living equines; but, on the strength of memory alone, it is asserted that the extremely high license demanded prohibited the grand entrance of this circus into Chicago. The application reads thus:

" To the Hon. the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Chicago :-- The petition of J. N. Eldred showeth that it is the intention of your petitioner to open for exhibition in the city of Chicago a circus and menagerie, whereof he is proprietor, and therefore prays your honorable body to grant a license therefore. Your petitioner would call the attention of your honorable body to the circumstances of your petitioner being unable from the peculiar nature of his estab- lishment to remain long in any city, and therefore prays the license may be granted to him weekly. And your petitioner will ever pray, etc.

"J. N. ELDRED,

" Agent, H. ELDRED.

"26th June, IS37."

Indorsed: "Granted by paying $20 per week."

Not daunted by the misfortunes of their fellows, an- other firm made overtures at the shrine of authority. The next petition reads :

"We the proprictors of the New York Arena do ask of the Mayr of the city of Chicaugo his honor for a permishion to evil4t our Exhibition consisting of Natural & Artificial Curiosities l. gether with acts of Ilorsemanship in the City of Chicaugo.

"August 15, 1837.

" Messrs. HOADLEY & LATHAM.

Indorsed: " Granted at Stoo per month. " Granted August 27, 1837."

This fee could not be paid by the manager, in the then existing financial condition of the Arena, and it

- -

474

HISTORY OF CHICAGO.

wended its way hence without enlivening the youthful element of Chicago.

THE FIRST THEATER .- A period is reached when the transient glories of the primitive arena, and even the giddy pleasures of the flying horse, pale before the dawning lights of the dramatic art. Chicago, then a city seven months old, was deficient in that essential feature of metropolitanism-an established place of amusement. The auction-room on Dearborn Street, where not only merchants but politicians and citizens generally most did congregate, no longer supplied a satisfactory degree of entertainment ; and when, October 17, 1837, two venturesome men, Isherwood & Mckenzie, announced their intention to open a theater, the propo- sition was hailed with approving demonstrations. A

an entry certifying to the payment of the sum, and demonstrating the sanguineness of the managers.

The only available building in Chicago at that time was the historic Sauganash Hotel, that famous edifice wherein so many weary pilgrims found rest and refresh- ment. The building stood on the southeast corner of Lake and Market streets, a locality convenient alike to transient sojourner and permanent resident.

In September, 1837, the proprietor of the hotel, John Murphy, moved into his new house, on the west side of the river, leaving the Sauganash tenantless. The spa- cious dining-room, wherein so many noted men had feasted upon the bounties of Mrs. Murphy's weli-spread board, stood silently inviting. The managers were quick to take advantage of the opportunity to secure

FIBRAUNNOLDS

THE SAUGANASH HOTEL. Where the first Dramatic Performance in Chicago was held.

literal copy of the petition presented to the Council, praying for a license to conduct a theater, is here given:

" The subscribers respectfully petition the Hon. the Mayor and Council of the city of Chicago for a license to perform plays in the city of Chicago. They respectfully represent that this estab- lishment is intended to afford instruction as well as amusement; that they are encouraged and patronized by the leading portion of the inhabitants of the city, who are interested in their success; that they propose to remain here during the winter, and that, conse- quently, they make no calculation to receive more money in the city than what they shall expend during their stay, and they trust that, in atfixing a rate for license, these facts may be taken into con- sideration, ISHERWOOD & MCKENZIE.

" Chicago Theater, October 17, 1:37.

" The petitioners request this license for six months, if agree- able to the Board."

Concurring in this request, the Council fixed the rate of license at $125 yer year. This exceeded the amount deemed just and reasonable by the applicants, who protested, though without avail, against so burden- some a tax. The treasurer's report, however, contains

this house, and soon transformed the banquet-hall into a temple of dramatic art. Crude and uncomforta- ble as the appointments were. the entertainments given there possessed a charm which even modern tastes couh! not easily find reason to disparage; for where acces- sories fell short, the merits of the actors supplied a compensation for deficiencies. Those were the days when action alone, and not display by carpenter of scenic artist, held the public firm in its approval of the drama. Men judged of genius by the actor's power to portray human interest by force of intellectual strength.

The room was not a model of theatric beauty. . At one end yawned a chimney, through whose open mouth the fire roared a welcome to the coming guest, and cheered the hearts of tired travelers, as, with quickened pace, they sought the genial warmth within. The house was built for entertainment of another sort, it is true. but ingennity transformed the hall into a cosy play- room. Rough seats and chairs, upon the level floor,

475

EARLY AMUSEMENTS.

where all men met in a spirit of equality ; rude scenery, and smoking lamps-these were the most conspicuous characteristics of the furnishings. The censorious critic of to-day, who frowns disdainfully upon anachronisms and rails at the paucity of realistic effect, had no coun- terpart here in 1837. A play was a play, and so that the comedy was broad and the drama well enacted, what cared the audience if the same interior served for kitchen, parlor, palace-hall, the same wood scene did duty as a lovers' rendezvous and gloomy den whereto the villain lured his unsuspecting victim ? When the lights burned low, it was because an agile boy blew out the tallow- dips, or deftly dropped the row of lamps beneath the stage. What if the atmosphere was rank with smoke ? It was but a foretaste of the city's air to-day. Here the drama had its birth, and here, obscured hy the dust of half a century, lie facts which cannot be exhumed.

The exact date of the opening night is not remem- bered, but as the petition was written October 17, which in 1837 fell on Tuesday. the inference is reasonable that the house was inaugurated prior to the close of the month. The first play produced is also a matter of

HARRY ISHERWOOD.

doubt, but "The Idiot Witness," "The Stranger" and " The Carpenter of Kouen" were given early in the sea- Son. The bill was changed nightly.

It is stated that the capacity of the room was about three hundred, and the admission fee charged was seventy-five cents. The principal members of the com- pany were H. Leicester, leading man ; T. Sankey, old man ; J. S. Wright, walking gentleman ; Mr. Isherwood, scenic artist, and Mr. Mckenzie, utility ; Mrs. Ingersoll, leading lady, and one of the best actresses ever belong- ing to a Chicago stock company ; Mrs. Mckenzie, wife of the proprietor of the theater, and a lady of rare abil- ities ; Madame Analine, danseuse and actress ; and

Master Burk, juvenile parts and fancy dancer. There were, perhaps, others in the company, whose names are forgotten. An evening's performance consisted always of a drama and a farce, and sometimes as many as three pieces were given. The curtain was lifted usually at half-past seven, and was rarely dropped until the ap- proach of midnight. Play-bills were printed on sheets of coarse paper, about six by twelve inches in size, and distributed throughout the town by carriers. Not one of these is extant.

It cannot be stated how long this season continued ; but it is known that the theater was not kept open longer than six weeks. The company then proceeded on a tour through the South, possibly turning eastward as the winter advanced.

The old Sauganash Hotel, wherein the drama had its birth, was destroyed by fire March 3, 1851. The house was occupied at that time by B. F. Foster.

Harry Isherwood is still living (1884), and until within five years or so was employed as principal scenic artist at Wallack's New York theater. In a letter ad- dressed to J. H. McVicker the veteran says : .

NEW YORK CITY, December 10, 1SS3.

MR. J. H. MCVICKER,

Dear Sir :- Your letter directed to Wallack's, dated November 30, did not come to hand until five days ago. ] am no longer under the employ of Mr. Wallack, having quitted him five years ago. It would be very gratifying to me to aid your wishes in giving you an account of our doings during our stay in Chicago. Many years have rolled away, and unfortunately I possess a scant knowledge of what occurred at that time. In 1837 1 arrived in Chicago, at night, and was driven to a hotel in the pelting rain. The next morning it was still raining. Went out to take a view of the place. A plank road, about three feet wide, was in front of the building. I saw to my astonishment a flock of quail on the plank. I returned to the hotel, disappointed at what I saw of the town, and made up my mind that this was no place for a show. I told my landlord of my intention to return, but he advised me not to do so, and gave such a glowing account of what our success would be that he induced me to remain. We wandered, next day. all over to find a place that would answer my purpose. None was to be found. At length some one hit upon a place that would do. It was a queer-looking place. It had been a rough tavern, with an extension of about fifty feet in length added to it. It stood at some distance out on the prairie, solitary and alone. I arranged with the owner, and painted several pretty scenes. I then wrote to Mr. Mckenzie, and he came. We opened either in November or December .* I have no recollection of that opening. The company consisted of Messrs. Sankey, Childs. Wright and others. A young Irishman, who made one of the party, became very unruly, and 1 was obliged to tell him to go. He replied : "Where can I go. with Lake Michigan roaring on one side and the bloody prairie wolves on the other?" The ladies of the company were Mrs. Ingersoll and Mrs. Mckenzie. Of the plays, I can remember but one-" The Stranger." When the season was concluded, we took to the prairie, visiting most of the towns in the interior ; returned to Chicago in the spring, and fitted up a new place. It was in the street leading to a bridge. Joseph Jefferson and his wife, with young Joe, joined us here. All else is mere oblivion. I must con- clude this rambling epistle by saying, with King Lear, " You do me wrong to take me from the grave." I am eighty years of age.

THE RIALTO .- The next authentic record carries this narrative onward to the spring of 1838, at which period the drama in Chicago assumed a more distinctive form. The experimental season proved a satisfactory

* Mr. Isherwood's memory must be at lash. The license was granted in October.

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HISTORY OF CHICAGO.

one to the managers, and they concluded to return to this place, with the intention of establishing a perma- nent theater. In April Isherwood & Mckenzie petitioned the Council as follows:

" CHICAGO, April 28, 183S.

" Dear Sirs: Intending to resume our theatrical amusements in your city, we would respectfully solicit the action of your honor- able body in reference to a license, granting us the privilege to 'strut and fret our [year] upon the stage,' for one year from and after the 12th day of May. A. D. 1838. Intending (subject to your decision on this point) to make ourselves the permanent residents of your city, we have, at much expense and trouble, commenced the adapting and fitting up of the upper portion of the ' Rialto' (a room thirty by eighty) as a theater ; and intend to fit it up in such a manner as to reflect credit upon our infant city. We trust, under all the circumstances of the case, the license will be made as moderate as is consistent with justice. We should like, if possible, the exclusive privilege, but do not urge it. The early action of your body on this subject is respectfully requested.

" We remain, gentlenien,

" Your obedient servants.

" ISHERWOOD & MCKENZIE."

The building referred to was a wooden structure, erected in 1833 or 1834, by John Bates, for an auction- room. Prior to 1838 this place was used by various parties as an auction-room. According to J. M. Han- nahs, " It was at the very center of business and resort ; the only bridge on the main river being at that time at Dearborn Street, and one of the principal hotels, the Tremont House, being on the same block. The only eating-house, the City Refectory, as it was called, was on the east side of the street, nearly opposite the theater ; and the auction-rooms, which, as before stated, were, previous to the establishment of this theater, the only place of amusement in the town, were in the im- mediate neighborhood. Above all, there was adjoining the theater the famous ' Eagle,' kept by Isaac Cook, which was the resort of politicians ; and as every man was, in those days, a politician, it will be readily under- stood that the theater was at the center of gravity." Dr. Egan, the wit of the company, named the place the " Rialto," for obvious reasons. Thus, it will be seen, that although the Sauganash was the birthplace of dramatic art in Chicago, the Rialto was the nursery of the muse, and from within the walls of that historic pile issued the infant's feeble wails as it struggled for exist- ence. The building stood on the west side of Dear- born, Nos. 8 and 10, between Lake and South Water streets, and was "a den of a place, looking more like a dismantled grist-mill than a temple of anybody. The gloomy entrance could have furnished the scenery for a nightmare, and the lights within were sepulchral enough to show up the coffin scene in ' Lucretia Borgia.' But for all this, those dingy old walls used to ring some- times with renderings fine enough to grace grander Thespian temples ; though there was a farce now and then somewhat broader than it was long." So wrote that genial critic, Benjamin F. Taylor, when subse- quently commenting on those early days.

Manifestly the public quite agreed with Mr. Taylor on the subject of the Rialto as a theater site, for no sooner had the action of Messrs. Isherwood & Mc- Kenzie been made known than the following remon- strance was sent to the Council :

"To the Honorable the Common Council of the City of Chicago : Your petitioners would represent to your honorable body that they have understood that a petition is pending before your honorable body for the license of a theater, to be held and maintained in the room of the Rialto, which is a wooden building, and surrounded by wooden and combustible buildings. Your petitioners would further represent that theaters are subject to take fire, and [are] believed to be dangerous on that account to property in their vicinity, and that insurance cannot be obtained on property in their

vicinity, except at greatly advanced premiums. And your peti- tioners do solemnly protest against the granting of such license to keep a theater in such building, and thereby endangering the prop- erty and lives of your petitioners.

" CHICAGO, May I, IS38.

J. Young Scammon, William Osborn,

E. G. Ryan, Joseph L. Hanson,

Henry Brown, O. H. Thompson.

Thomas R. Hubbard,

Curtis Haven,

I. R. Gavin,

William Jones,

Erastus Brown,

Mahlon Ayers,

C. Beers,

William Il. Adams,

H. B. Clarke,

Walter Kimball,

William II. Taylor,

Alanson Follansbe,

E. K. Rogers,

Kiog, Walker & Co ..

Tuthill King,

A. N. Fullerton,

Nelson Tuttle,

B. F. Knapp,

G. W. Merrill,

E. S. Kingsbury,

J. H. Woodworth,

Lewis N. Wood,

B. W. Raymond,

A. Farnsworth,

Giles Spring."

The matter was referred, by the Council, to a spe- cial committee, consisting of Messrs. H. L. Rucker, Eli B. Williams and Grant Goodrich, who were empowered to decide upon the propriety of issuing a license.

Grant Goodrich submitted a minority report, in which he forcibly expressed his opposition to the new theater. ' The basis of this antagonism was, primarily, the unsuitableness of the Rialto as a public hall, located as it was "in one of the most compact blocks in the city, composed chiefly of wooden buildings." Life was endangered on every occasion when an audience assem- bled within the fragile walls, and the enhanced liability to fire by the production of theatrical spectacles caused added apprehension of peril. But the objection which Mr. Goodrich urged more strongly, if possible, than the material danger, was the menace to the moral wel- fare of society by the permanent establishment of a theater in the city. He believed "that the ten- dencies of the performances of modern theaters were grossly demoralizing, destructive of principle," and that they " were the nurseries of crime." He regarded the project as an alarming assault on the stronghold of youthful rectitude ; and while expressing favorable ap- preciation of the benefits to be derived from the pres- entation of Shaksperean plays, and the classical drama generally, he considered the likelihood to baser plays sufficiently potent in the controlling mind to justify the withholding of a license. The city treasury was, he admitted, in a condition to call for increased revenue, but no necessity was stern enough to offer a compen- sating excuse for this process of raising funds.

A majority of the committee, however, viewed the subject in a different light, as is shown by the appended report :

" To the Mayor, etc : The committee to whom was referred the petition of Messrs. Isherwood & Mackenzie, relative to the establishment of a theater in the city of Chicago, have examined into the subject, and a majority beg leave to report : that it is in- expedient, in examining into the subject referred to, to enter into an inquiry of the morality of the drama in general, or of its moral tendencies in this community. The moral world has long been divided on the first proposition ; and your committee have no doubt but that such performances are approved by a large majority of the citizens of Chicago. It is true that the committee are advised that snme opposition is made to the prayer of the petitioners, in conve- quence of the proposed locality of the theater; and should the sub- ject be brought before the Council in a proper manner, your com- mittee would feel bound to examine the subject, and give it such de- cision as the same demands , but in the subject referred to them, the committee see nothing to warrant an examination into the questions not involved in the matter before the Council. Your committee, therefore, wonkl recommend that the prayer of the peti- tioners be granted and that they be licensed, under such restrictions

S. Burton,

J. A. Smith,

E. S. Brown,

J. Ballard,

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EARLY AMUSEMENTS.

as the nature of the case may require; and that the license be fixed at the sum of one hundred and twenty-five dollars [per year].

" II. L. KUCKER. " ELI B. WILLIAMS.

"Committee."

Acting upon the judgment of the majority report, the Council granted the license prayed for, dating it from May 20, 1838 ; but the tax imposed on the managers was fixed at Sioo, instead of the sum recommended by the majority of the committee.

Fortified by this official indorsement, Messrs. Isher- wood & Mckenzie fitted up an auditorium in the Rialto, with boxes, gallery and pit, supplying seatings for about four hundred persons. The stage furnishings were im- provements on those of the Sauganash Theater, but they were scarcely worthy.of commendation. Dropping the title Rialto, the place was renamed "The Chicago Theater," and a stock company of actors was employed, several of whom have since attained distinction in the profession.

The oldest copy of a play-bill we have been able to discover (a reproduction, not an original) is that which was issued on the occasion of a benefit tendered Mr. Mckenzie by the citizens of the place. It is interesting particularly because of the names appended to the letter, showing who were then lovers of the drama and friends of the pioneer in dramatic art, as well as be- cause of the company roster, which probably includes the entire list.

Alexander McKenzie was an educated gentleman, as his letter of acceptance proves. He was devoted to the profession of his choice, and regarded his mission here as one far above the mere acquisition of wealth. The tone of the correspondence evinces a profound re- spect for him on the part of the public, and his reply conveys to us an impression of his real merit as a man, and of his conscientiousness as a manager.

"To ALEXANDER MCKENZIE, EsQ.,-Sir: The undersigned citizens of Chicago, entertaining a high estimate of your private worth and of your efforts to establish a theater in this city, which should recommend itself to public regard by the combination of amusement and instruction which it presents ; and believing that in no theater in the Western country can a company be found more re- spectable in private life or more excellent as actors, than in the one under your charge, and feeling that, in this respect, as well as in the judicious selection of plays, you have contributed essentially to the pleasure and amusement of the public, desire that before you leave this city you will afford them an opportunity to testity their regard for you by appointing an evening for a benefit for yourself. H. L. Rucker, J. B. F. Russell,

J. M. Strode, B. S. Morris,

F. Peyton. Thomas Hoyne, J. Allen, George Kercheval,

S. Abell,

J. Curtiss,

R. J. Hamilton,

.1. . 1. Humphrey,

E. D. Taylor,

N. B. Judd,

Nathan Allen,

Charles E. Avery,

Mark Skinner,

HI. G. Loomis,

Julius Wadsworth,

Thomas J. Dunkin,

H. Loomis,

James A. Cox.

T. R. Ilubbard, N. A. McClure, S. T. Otis,

R. P. Woodworth, F. Faxton, W. It. Davis,

J. M. Smith,

E. S. Kimberly,

.1. Garrett, J. B. Hussely,

P. Nichols,

G. A. Beaumont,

C. 11. Blair,

G. Hungerford,

Charles Walton,

S. S. Bradley,

W. Mason,

Frederick Haily,

A. V. Knickerbocker,

R. Gloss,

D. W. C. Allen,

11. O. Stone,

C. T. Stanton.

"CHICAGO, October 3, 1835."

"To MESSRS. RUCKER, STRODE, MORRIS, ETC .:- Gentle men : I have the pleasure to acknowledge the receipt of a highly complimentary letter addressed to me by my fellow-citizens of Chi- cago, in which I am requested to name an evening for iny benefit, on which my friends may have an opportunity of proving their re- gard for what they are pleased to term the histrionic ability and correct deportment of myself and company.

"I will not deny, gentlemen, that in assuming the highly responsible situation that I now occupy, I have strained every nerve so to comport myself that my conduct should appear void of offense before my fellow-men. I have endeavored. so far as lay in my power, to present such plays as have a virtuous and moral ten- dency, inculcating sentiments that are calculated to rouse the love of what is noble, and. the contempt of what is base and mean. Looking upon the stage as the standard of our literary taste, the model of our public oratory, and the pride of our national amuse- ment. I have allowed no pecuniary consideration to deter me from securing a company of comedians whose public reputation would be the surest guarantee that their conduct in private would never give the lie to the sentiments they nightly utter. I consider a good actor a very useful member of society: if he succeeds in uniting in the bosoms of hundreds a sympathetic admiration of virtue, abhor- rence of vice, or derision of folly, his task is no mean one, when performed with ability. To do this he must have an eye to look upon nature with the poet and the painter; a mind that will enable him to discover the lights and shades of character in mankind; his knowledge of the world must be that of experience, his manners those of a gentleman, his acquirements above mediocrity.

" If in my endeavors to establish the drama in the State of Illinois, I have gratified my patrons in this city. I am amply re- paid; and let me assure them that their kindness has fallen upon a heart that is like the wave to receive and the marble to retain the impression.

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History of Chicago. From the earliest period to the present time, Part 133

Author: Andreas, Alfred Theodore Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago, A. T. Andreas Number of Pages: 1340

Author: Andreas, Alfred Theodore
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, A. T. Andreas
Number of Pages: 1340