USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Boston of to-day; a glance at its history and characteristics: with biographical sketches and portraits of many of its professional and business men, 1892 > Part 12
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voters, who by a decisive vote refused to give the council authority so to dispose of it. Notwith- standing this action efforts to sell were renewed from time to time during the next thirty years, with the greatest show of success in 1849 and 1850, and schemes for building here were repeatedly urged ; one plan, suggested in 1857 or thereabout, showing a city hall on the present Arlington street, opposite Commonwealth avenue, facing east and west. All these projects were happily frustrated by the formal vote of the citizens in April, 1859, ratifying the act of the Legislature devoting the territory forever to park purposes, and forbidding the city council to erect or to allow others to erect upon it any building " except a city hall or such structure as would be appropriate in a public pleasure-ground." This provision for a city building snugly preserved in the law has occasionally in later years tempted city councilmen to test public opinion, but, to the credit of the people, every movement for the establishment of the city hall here has been promptly crushed.
Immediately after the popular vote of 1859 vari- ous designs for the Garden were suggested, and the artificial pond, ingeniously irregular in shape, giving the impression of a much larger sheet of water than it really is, was constructed. But it was not until the next year was well advanced that a definite plan, that of George F. Meacham, architect, was adopted and the work of development systemati- cally begun. Under the superintendence of the city engineer the flower-beds and paths were laid out and many ornamental trees and shrubs were planted by the city forester ; the year following the granite basins with fountains were placed and the first work of art supplied - the graceful marble statue of Venus which adorns the fountain near the Arlington-street end of the central walk, so arranged that a fine spray is thrown over and about the figure ; in 1867 the ponderous iron and stone bridge spanning the pond was completed, and the same year Story's statue of Everett was set up; the next year J. Q. A. Ward's monument in commemo- ration of the discovery of " Anaesthesia ; " in 1869 Ball's equestrian statue of Washington ; in 1878 his Sumner; and in 1889 the Cass statue ( of Col. Thomas Cass, of the Ninth Massachusetts Volunteers, a brave soldier who fell at Malvern Hill), by Stephen O'Kelly. Liberal appropriations for the care and maintenance of the Garden have annually been made since the beginning of the work in 1860, and it has been developed and cultivated with such taste and skill that it is to-day a gem of a pleasure-ground the counterpart of which is to be a goodly sum for the portrait of Everett in Faneuil found in no other city. In the season of flowers, Hall. The Sumner statue, also raised by popular
when thousands of bedded plants are displayed in striking combinations of color, it is a mass of brill- iant bloom and rich verdure.
But the sculpture adds little to the charm of the place. It is the art of the landscape gardener rather than that of the sculptor which excels. Un- questionably the Washington statue is the finest of all, and it rightly occupies the best position, at the junction of several paths with the central walk, near the Arlington-street entrance. Ball happened to be at home when he received the contract, and the model was erected in his temporary studio, in the rear of the Chickering pianoforte factory. His work was completed in four years, but in conse- quence of the war the casting was deferred for some time. Finally it was successfully accom- plished by the Ames Company, at Chicopee, and the statue placed in position and unveiled with much ceremony just ten years after the movement for it was begun. Washington is represented at the time of middle life, in full Continental uniform, the countenance and the attitude of the figure full of force and vigor. Horse and rider are both grace- ful in outline and strong in character. The head of the horse and the arch of its neck are espe- cially well modelled. The statue stands twenty- two feet high from the heavy granite pedestal, itself sixteen feet high. Facing the south a fine view of it is had from the Commonwealth-avenue parkway. The fund for its purchase was raised by popular subscription, an oration by Robert C. Winthrop, and a great fair for its benefit, an appro- priation of $10,000 from the city, and the transfer of $5,000 from the surplus of the fund for the Everett statue, left after the completion of that work. The Everett statue was modelled in Rome and cast in Munich. Placed near the Beacon- street path and facing the east, the orator is repre- sented as standing with his head thrown back, his right arm extended and raised, and the hand out- spread, in the act, we are told, of making a favorite gesture ; but the scoffers declare it the attitude more of a base-ball catcher, or, as Wendell Phillips has put it, of pointing to " the centre of beef and the races," as if he were exclaiming, "That is the road to Brighton !" Good critics, however, have pro- nounced it to be a thoroughly studied work but badly executed. The popular subscription to the Everett statue fund was so generous that of the surplus not only were $5,000 transferred to the Washington statue fund, but $10,000 were given to that for the Governor Andrew statue (in the State House), and
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PUBLIC GARDEN.
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subscription, is a disappointment, and in sharp con- trast to the Washington from the same hand; and of the Cass statue the least said the better. It is a little figure on a big pedestal. Carved of granite, it represents the soldier bareheaded, clad in the full dress coat of a colonel of infantry, and high top- boots. A sword dangles from the side unhooked. The arms are folded across the breast; the face is expressionless ; the legs are bent at the knee, giving the figure an air of affected jauntiness. It recalls the crude, conventional photograph of the war period. A storm of disapproval and derision greeted the work when it was exposed to view, and unsuccessful efforts were made to have it declined, with thanks, by the city government. It was set up by the Society of the Ninth Regiment. The so- called Ether monument, which stands near the north-west corner of the Garden on the Arlington- street side, was the gift of Thomas Lee, the giver also of the Hamilton statue.1 Its distinguishing features are the shapely shaft surmounted by two ideal figures illustrating the story of the Good Samaritan, and the marble bas-reliefs representing, one, a surgical operation in a civic hospital, the patient being under the influence of ether ; another, the Angel of Mercy descending to relieve suffering humanity ; a third, the interior of a field hospital, showing a wounded soldier in the hands of the sur- geons ; and the fourth, an allegory of the Triumph of Science. The material used in the monument is granite and red marble. The sculptured decorations are not the least interesting features of the work.
The origin of the Public Garden was the " Bo- tanic Garden," famous in its day, instituted by Horace Gray (the father of Mr. Justice Gray, of the United States Supreme Court), and a few other gentlemen, in 1839, who were granted the use of this area by the city on condition that no building should be erected thereon except a greenhouse and tool-house. From a large circus-building, then standing near the corner of Charles and Beacon streets, they constructed an immense conservatory, with galleries in which were displayed many rare and beautiful plants, including more than a thou- sand camellias, properly classified, and a fine col- lection of tropical and European singing-birds. And in the small garden near by were displayed quite a nursery of ornamental trees, shrubbery, standard roses, and other plants. The Botanic Garden fourished for several years until the destruction of the building, with the entire collection, by fire. Mr. Gray was the leading spirit of the enterprise, and devoted much of his time and means to it.
& Ser chapter on New West End.
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X.
THE THEATRES.
BOSTON PLAYHOUSES A HUNDRED YEARS AGO AND THOSE OF TO-DAY.
ROSTON may celebrate the centennial anniver- sary of the establishment of its first playhouse this year, - on Aug. 10, 1892. It was not much of a playhouse, this first one, nor did it long pros- per. It was a rude structure on Board alley, now Hawley street, - an old stable remodelled. The law against " stage-plays and other theatrical entertain- ments," first enacted in 1750 and reenacted 1784, was still in force, although unpopular with many of the influential townspeople who had long striven for its repeal, and the projectors of the new ven- ture called it "The New Exhibition Room." The performances, given by a band of London come- dians, under the management of Joseph Harper, a member of the company of Hallam & Henry, who had successfully established playhouses in New York and Philadelphia, were announced as " moral lectures." "Drake in his "Old Landmarks" has preserved the bill for the opening night. This offered first "Feats of Agility " by " Monsieurs " Placide and Martin, Mons. Placide to " dance a Hornpipe on a Tightrope, play the violin in various attitudes, and jump over a cane backwards and for- wards." Then " an introductory address by Mr. Harper," " Singing by Mr. Wools," more " feats of activity," " tumbling by Mons. Placide and Martin, who will make somersetts backward over a table, chair, etc.," and " Mons. Martin will exhibit several feats on the Slack Rope ; " next " The Gallery of Portraits on the World as it Goes, delivered by Mr. Harper ; " and the concluding feature, "a dancing Ballet called The Bird Catcher, with the Minuet de la Cour and the Gavot." This opening bill, says Col. W. W. Clapp, in the " Memorial His- tory," " was rather a tentative performance to test the patience of those in favor of enforcing the pro- hibitory law, for it was more of the nature of a modern variety show than a dramatic perform- ance ; " and its success emboldened the manage- ment openly to bring out as "lectures" some of the best-known plays of the time. Thus, as Col. Clapp recalls, Otway's " Venice Preserved" was announced as a " moral lecture in five parts," " in which the dreadful effects of conspiracy will be ex- emplified ; " Garrick's farce of " Lethe " was pro- duced as a " satirical lecture, by Mr. Watts and Mr. and Mrs. Solomon ; " Shakespeare's plays announced
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in the same slight disguise were presented, and "Yankees are attacking our works in Charlestown" a "moral lecture in five parts," "wherein the and " the officers are ordered to their posts." pernicious tendency of libertinism will be exempli- fied in the tragical history of George Barnwell ; or, the London Merchant," by " Messrs. Harper, Mor- ris, Watts, Murray, Solomon, Redfield, Miss Smith, Mrs. Solomon, and Mrs. Grey." Governor Hancock was greatly annoyed by this defiance of the law, and referred to it in his message to the Legislature ; and attempts were also made to procure an indict- ment from the grand jury. At length a warrant was obtained for the arrest of Harper and others of the company, and on the evening of Dec. 5, 1792, in the midst of the performance of one of Shak- spere's "moral lectures," Sheriff Allen appeared upon the stage and arrested Harper, who was play- ing, or " delivering," the leading. part. The audi- ence, in full sympathy with the " playactors," raised a little tumult, displayed their indignation by tear- ing down the portrait of Hancock, which hung in front of the stage-box, with the State arms, and trampling them under foot. At the hearing next day at Faneuil Hall Harper was defended by Harrison Gray Otis, and his discharge was secured on a technicality. After this, performances continued at " The Exhibition Room " without interruption from the authorities ; but they were given only at intervals until the spring of 1793, when, the movement for the erection of the Federal-street Theatre having advanced, the enterprise was abandoned.
This is the brief story of the rise and fall of the first playhouse in Boston. But the first attempt at " playacting " here was more than forty years before the opening of " The New Exhibition Room." It was, to be exact, in the early part of 1750. The performance was by " a company of gentlemen," - two Englishmen and local volunteers, - and the play Otway's " Orphan ; or, Unhappy Marriage." It was given in the British Coffee House on State, then King, street; and it was this performance that led to the passage of the act prohibiting "stage plays and other theatrical entertainments" which became law in March of that year. Later, during the Siege, when Faneuil Hall was used as a playhouse by the British officers, aided by a " Society for Promoting Theatrical Amusement," composed of Tory citizens, several plays were performed by soldiers as actors before crowded audiences. The most ambitious attempt of that season was the per- formance by some British officers of " The Blockade of Boston," a play written by General Burgoyne ; and it is related that this was suddenly interrupted and the audience scattered in consternation by the startling report brought in by a sergeant that the
In the Federal-street Theatre enterprise some of the foremost citizens of the town were concerned. Although the repeal of the prohibitory law had not been secured, public sentiment in favor of the drama had greatly strengthened, and the opening of the new playhouse, on the evening of Feb. 4, 1794, was the event of the season. It was a sub- stantial structure, of which the townspeople had every reason to be proud. Designed by Bulfinch, it was the finest playhouse in the country. It was built of brick walls, with Corinthian pilasters and columns decorating the front and rear, an arcade in front which served as a carriage entrance, a broad " saloon" from the main entrance, a generous interior, circular in form, the ceiling composed of elliptic arches resting on Corinthian columns, two rows of boxes, the second tier hung with crimson silk, and a roomy stage flanked by two columns. The interior decorations were tasteful, the walls painted azure and the columns straw and lilac color; and'over the stage, with the arms of the State and the youthful nation, was the motto " All the World's a Stage." There were ample exits, large retiring-rooms, and also, at one end of the building, a large ball-room. The site of the theatre is now occupied by the establishment of Jones, McDuffee, & Stratton, on the north-east corner of Federal and Franklin streets.
The Federal-street started upon its career under the management of Charles Staart Powell and Baker, the directors of the stock company owning it having a supervising management. The bill of the opening night was the tragedy " Gustavus Vasa, the Deliverer of his Country," and the farce "Modern Antiques ; or, the Merry Mourners." The prologue was written by Robert Treat Paine, and delivered by Mr. Powell in the character of Apollo. The company came from England. The performances began generally at six o'clock in the evening, the house being opened a half-hour before. Ill-fortune attended the enterprise, partly due, evidently, to the fact that the management was hampered by the directors, and at the end of the season, June, 1795, it was bankrupt. Subsequently Messrs. Powell and Baker retired, and early in 1793, on the 2d of February, when under the management of Barrett and Harper, the house was destroyed by fire, only the walls left standing. It was, however, immedi. ately rebuilt, and reopened on October 29 of the same year, under the management of Mr. Hodgkin- son, the opening bill being " Wives as They Were." The next year George I. Barrett was the manager.
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With many changes in the management, and with varying fortunes, the house was conducted until 1833. Then, a reaction having set in against the drama, it was leased to a society known as " The Free Inquirers," who converted it into a lecture- room. The next year it came into the possession of the " Academy of Music," an institution formed in January, 1833, by Lowell Mason and others, for instruction in vocal and instrumental music, and it was called " The Odeon." On Sundays, religious services were held in the building. Then, later on, in 1846, it was again reestablished as a theatre, under a lease to Charles R. Thorne. About four or five years later the property was sold and the building demolished to make room for the advance of business.
Thus the old Federal-street Theatre, or "The Boston," as it was formerly called, and sometimes " The Old Drury," had a career brilliantly, if not always financially, successful, of nearly sixty years. Upon its boards appeared some of the most noted actors of the time, among them the elder Wallack, Thomas A. Cooper, James Fennel, Edwin Forrest, the elder Booth, Edmund Kean, Henry J. Finn (who perished in the steamer " Lexington " disaster in Long Island Sound, Jan. 13, 1840), the first Charles Matthews, McCready, and so on. Here oc- curred the famous Kean riot, on the second visit of the actor to America, in 1825. Local opinion hay- ing been aroused because he had refused, during his previous engagement, to appear before a thin house, he was driven from the stage by a crowd in- side the theatre, while a little mob which had gath- ered outside forced their way in and smashed some of the furniture. No one, however, was seriously hurt, the riot act was read, and the demonstration ended. Kean hastily left the theatre, fleeing to a house in Roxbury, and the next morning went to New York, shaking the dust of Boston forever from his feet.
The next theatre established was the Haymarket, on Tremont street, the site of which is covered by the auditorum of the present Tremont Theatre. It was set up as a rival to the Federal-street, and was opened on the evening of Dec. 26, 1796, under the management of Charles Powell, the Fed- eral-street's first manager. It was a great wooden building, with unattractive exterior but admirably arranged interior. There were three tiers of boxes, a gallery, and pit, and the inevitable " saloon" from the entrance. The opening bill was " The Belle's Stratagem," with the Powells in leading parts. Although several actors and 'actresses fa- mous in their day appeared on its boards, its
career was not a successful one, certainly from the financial point of view, and after an existence of seven short years it was abandoned and torn down. Thereafter the Federal-street was the only theatre in the town until 1823, when the City Theatre was opened in the Washington Gardens, a place for summer entertainments, first opened in 1819, which occupied the land midway between Winter and West streets, enclosed within a high brick wall. The playhouse was constructed from the amphi- theatre here, which was in the rear of the lot now occupied by St. Paul's Church, and was so arranged that it could easily be transformed into a circus, and such entertainments were frequently given in it. Early in its brief and uneventful history its name was changed to the Washington Theatre, and again to Vaux-Hall.
Four years later, in 1827, the most interesting of all the early playhouses of Boston was established. This was the first Tremont Theatre, the site of which is now occupied by the Tremont Temple. It was a small playhouse designed by Isaiah Thomas, the architect of the Tremont House, which was built the following year. From the arched entrance- doors in the granite front opened a wide hall, simi- lar to that in the old Federal-street, with staircase ascending to the boxes of the dress circle, ample lobbies for promenade, and the usual saloon, in which public dinners were sometimes given, - a notable one being on the occasion of the laying of the corner-stone of the Tremont House, - and the interior was attractive and well arranged. The house was opened on the evening of September 24. The opening bill was " Wives as They Were, and Maids as They Are," and the farce of " The Lady and the Devil," with a prize address read by the famous comedian, W. R. Blake, before the comedy. From the first it maintained a high standard. Here Charlotte Cushman made her début, on April 8, 1835. Here also Fanny Kemble first appeared before a Boston audience, Fanny Ellsler dinced, and among others known to histrionie fame were J. Sheridan Knowles, James E. Murdock, John Gilbert, Ellen Tree, John Vanden- hoff, Buckstone, and Henry J. Finn. The old Tremont is also renowned as the first playhouse in Boston in which operas were produced. William Pelby was the first manager, and others who suc- ceeded him included Junius Brutus Booth, for a short time only, Richard Russell, and Thomas Barry. After an experience of twenty years of varied fortunes, sometimes prosperous but more frequently unprofitable, the theatre was sold to the Baptists for religious purposes, and on the 23d of
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June, 1843, the last performance was given within The Bijou was opened on the evening of December its walls. It was then transformed into the Tre- mont Temple.
Next was established the Warren, which Mr. Pelby, the first manager of the Tremont, opened on the evening of July 3, 1832. It was a small wooden building on Travers street, the " Ameri- can Amphitheatre " (built in 1831 for circus shows) remodelled. The enterprise proved so suc- cessful that four years later a new house was built, and this was opened on Aug. 5, 1836, as the National Theatre. The National was another inter- . esting old-time playhouse, and it is often recalled in the pleasant reminiscences of old Bostonians who are yet with us. It stood on Portland street, near the corner of Travers, where is now an ex- tensive horse and carriage mart. It was destroyed by fire on April 22, 1852, but was rebuilt and opened on November I of the same year. In the years that followed its titles underwent several changes ; for a time it was called Willard's National, then the People's National, and in 1862, when it degenerated into a variety theatre, Union Concert Hall. On March 24, 1863, it was again burned, and was never rebuilt as a playhouse. Thomas Barry was at one time its manager, when the thea- tre was devoted to the " legitimate."
The land occupied by the present Gaiety and Bijou Theatre on Washington street has long been held by playhouses, the first being the Lion Theatre, opened on Jan. 11, 1836. In the year 1839 this was changed into a lecture hall and called the Mechanics' Institute. In the same year it was scented by the Handel and Haydn Society and the name again changed to the Melodeon, and in 1844 it was reconverted into_a temporary theatre for the engagement of Macready and Charlotte Cushman. Thereafter, for many years, it was used as a concert and lecture hall, and also for minstrel shows and amateur theatricals. During the Na- tional Sailors' Fair, held in the Boston Theatre in 1864, a series of brilliant amateur performances was given in this hall for the benefit of that enter- prise. Then for a time the place was occupied as a billiard hall, known as the Melodeon, and in 1878 it was converted into the Gaiety Theatre, under the management of Mr. Jason Wentworth. On the Gaiety stage were first produced here in Boston many of the comic operas which have since become so popular. " The Mascot " was first given here, also " Billee Taylor ; " and " Olivette " received one of its first performances in Boston at this house. In 1882 the theatre was entirely remodelled into the dainty Bijou, George H. Wetherell, architect.
II, that year, with the first performance in Boston of Gilbert and Sullivan's " Iolanthe." It was con- tinued with varying fortunes as a theatre for light opera until 1886, when it was leased by B. F. Keith, who subsequently enlarged it into the Gaiety and Bijou, conducting a museum in connection with it.
The Eagle Theatre, on the corner of Haverhill and Travers streets, first opened in June, 1842, under the able management of Wyzeman Marshall, lived less than a year. Mr. Marshall secured a strong company, and established such popular prices that the place proved a serious rival to the old National Theatre near by. Accordingly Mr. Pelby, the manager of the latter, having obtained a part interest in the Eagle, proceeded one night to make changes in the house, by sawing away a part of the roof directly over the stage, thus rendering the building useless. The last performance was given in March, 1843.
Brougham & Bland's Boston Adelphi, on Court street, between Cornhill and Brattle street, opened in 1847, also had a brief career, closing in 1850. During the latter part of its existence it was known as the Adelphi Saloon, and was devoted to minstrel entertainments. Bland's Lyceum, on Sudbury street, near Court, struggled through five years, opening late in 1848 and closing early in the year of 1854. For a time it was called the Eagle Theatre, then the Odeon, and again Goodall & Olwine's American Theatre, and under its various managers it furnished almost every kind of dramatic and variety enter- tainment. The Dramatic Museum, on Beach street, near the United States Hotel, opened in 1848, with Joseph Proctor as manager. Then in 1849 Charles R. Thorne, Sr., took the house and called it Thorne's American Museum ; but this dignified title it re- tained only a few weeks, when it became the Beach- street Museum. In its last days it was known as the Olympic, and it expired in 1850.
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