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 13
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The Aquarial Gardens, on Central court, off Washington street, opened in 1860 by James A. Cutting, had an interesting career. The house was carly secured by P. T. Barnum, who gave animal exhibitions and dramatic performances here until 1863. Then it was called Andrew's Hall, and used for balls and fairs. Subsequently, in October, 1865. Jason Wentworth reopened it as the Theatre Co- mique, having as his stars James S. Maffit and W. H. Bartholomew, the famous clown and pantaloon. Four prosperous seasons of variety performances. pantomime, and light spectacular shows followed. It was here that Mlle. Morlachi created such a furore ; often in the evenings when she appeared
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Washington street was lined with private carriages, a ballet and pantomime troupe. The excellent and her audiences included the fashionable folk of performances of Guignet's French company subse- quently given here will be recalled by many Bosto- nians. For a brief period E. L. Davenport and J. W. Wallack were managers of the house, but notwith- standing the high character of the dramatic work done here, it was not a prosperous theatre. It was finally converted into a hall for pedestrian matches, and is now used for a retail carpet-store.
the city, charmed by her graceful dancing. Next, in 1869, John Stetson leased the little theatre, and named it the New Adelphi. Burlesques and variety shows were the principal attractions under his management. Finally the house was destroyed by fire on a bitter cold Saturday night, Feb. 4, 1871, the fire starting soon after the audience had left the building. The site has since been used for business purposes.
The old Continental Theatre stood at the corner of Washington and Harvard streets, on the site of the old Apollo Gardens. It opened on Jan. I, 1866, under the management of "Lon " Morris. During its second season the late E. L. Davenport was the manager, and it was during his régime that the famous " Black Crook" was first produced with extraordinary success. It was at this house, on April 13, 1868, that Fanny Janauschek made her first appearance in Boston. Subsequently the name was changed to Willard's Theatre, and later, on Oct. 21, 1868, the playhouse was opened as the Olympic, by Madam Janauschek, on the occasion of her second engagement in Boston. From this time on its career was checkered, its fortunes rising and falling under its many managers. On Aug. 14, 1871, it was opened as the St. James Theatre, and in November of the following year its career ended.
Morris Brothers' Opera House, which stood on Washington street, opposite Milk, on the site of the old Province House, was once a fashionable place of amusement. It opened in 1852 as Ordway's Hall, under the management of Dr. John P. Ordway. " Lon " Morris, " Billy" Morris, and other famous minstrels of the day were in the company, and here it was that P. S. Gilmore, the well-known band-mas- ter, began his professional career by playing on the tambourine as an end-man. Some misunderstand- ing between Dr. Ordway and the Morris Brothers resulted in the opening by the latter of the School- street Opera House, near Niles' Block, in 1858. The new house proving a dangerous rival to Dr. Ordway, an arrangement was effected between the disputants, and the Washington-street establishment thereafter was known as the Morris Brothers, Pell & Trowbridge's Opera House. In 1869 it was sold, and the next season reopened as the Lyceum ; then, after a short life,. it was abandoned as a theatre and remodelled for business purposes.
The new Tremont Theatre, in the Studio Building, on Tremont street, was remodelled from Allston Hall, and opened as a theatre on Feb. 6, 1863, under the management of Mrs. Jane English, with
These were the leading theatres of the past, but there were a host of minor places that flourished for a brief while and then dropped out of sight : such as the Vaudeville Saloon, opened in 1840; the Olympic Saloon, 1841; New School-street Opera House, afterwards Bowdoin Theatre, 1858; Buck- ley's Minstrel Hall, 1863 ; Germania Theatre, 1876 ; Palais Royal, 1878; Gray's Opera House, 1878; Alhambra, 1878; Forest Garden, 1879; Park Gar- den, 1879 ; Siege of Paris Opera House, 1879; Union's Opera House, 1879 ; Ocean Garden, 1880 ; and Halleck's Alhambra, 1880.
The theatres of the Boston of To-day equal those of any city in the country, and while some of them first opened their doors many years ago, they are yet thoroughly modern playhouses. The oldest theatre-building is the Howard Athenaeum, on the south side of Howard street. On the site was once a fashionable boarding-house, in which Governor Eustis died in 1825. Later there was erected here an ill-shaped wooden building for the use of the Second Adventists, known as the Millerites, and it was called Miller's Tabernacle. Subsequently this was purchased and remodelled; and here the first Howard Athenaeum was opened on Oct. 13, 1845. In February, 1846, the structure was burned, and in its place the present theatre was built, and opened in October of the same year. It has always been a successful house, and in its earlier days, when chiefly devoted to the legitimate drama, it was patronized by the best people of the town. Among its mana- gers have been John Brougham, Charles R. Thorne, Wyzeman Marshall, Henry Willard, J. M. Field, John Gilbert, E. L. Davenport, Isaac B. Rich, J. C. Trow- bridge, Josh Hart, John Stetson, Benjamin F. Tryon, and Fred Stinson and William Harris. Since 1868 variety entertainments have been its chief attrac- tions, but dramas, generally of the lurid type, have occasionally been presented on its boards. Its pres- ent manager, William Harris, has successfully con- ducted the house since 1879. The Howard will seat about fifteen hundred in its well-arranged orchestra, orchestra circle, and two balconies, the upper one devoted to the gallery gods. The stage, although somewhat compact, is admirably appointed.
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INTERIOR VIEW OF BOSTON THEATRE.
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The Boston Museum is in one sense the oldest theatre in the city. The enterprise was originally started in 1841 by Moses Kimball, in a building which occupied the site of the present Horticult- ural Hall on the same street. It was for some years called the Boston Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts, but theatrical performances in the " lect- ure-room" formed the chief attraction. Here the late Adelaide Phillips made her first appearance on the stage, as a dancer ; and here, in 1843, the first regular dramatic company was established. The present Museum - built of granite, with three stories of round arched windows, and its front still " adorned by elegant balconies and rows of ground- glass globes like enormous pearls, which, at night, are luminous with gas," as described by a local historian thirty years ago - dates from 1846. It opened on November 2 of that year, so that while as a dramatic institution it is senior in age, as a playhouse it is second to the Howard Athenaeum. Probably no stage in the country has produced such an array of famous actors and actresses as this. Such names as William Warren, Edwin Booth, Miss Kate Reignolds, Mrs. J. R. Vincent, Miss Helen Weston, the Mestayer Sisters, Miss Annie Clarke, Miss Marie Wainwright, the senior E. L. Davenport and Mrs. Davenport, L R. Shewell, W. J. LeMoyne, Eben Plympton, Charles Baron, with a host of others as well known, appear in its list of stock-company members ; and many brill- iant stars have shone upon its boards. E. F. Keach, the favorite leading-man for several seasons, was the stage manager from 1859 until his death, Jan. 31, 1864. Mr. R. M. Field, the present man- ager, assumed control of the business Feb. 15, 1864. The building covers twenty thousand square feet of land. The auditorium has four times been remodelled, the last time in 1880, when the interior was practically rebuilt, and it is now one of the finest playhouses in the city. It is supplied with all the modern apparatus for the comfort and safety of its patrons, and the decorations of the ceiling and proscenium arch, the work of the Boston artist, J. M. Gaugengigl, are gratifying to the artis- tic sense. The house has a double balcony and six stage-boxes, and will seat fifteen hundred per- sons. The Museum hall yet contains its collec- tion of time-honored curiosities, somewhat ancient, it is true, but still attractive to country visitors ; but the real attraction is the stage, where the best of dramatic performances are given. Two memorable events at the Museum within recent years were the celebrations of the fiftieth anniversaries of the first appearances on the stage of William Warren
and of Mrs. J. R. Vincent. The former occurred on Saturday, Oct. 28, 1882, when the cherished come- dian was seventy years old. The two performances were attended by audiences of marked distinction. A feature was the first public exhibition of the por- trait of Warren, painted by F. P. Vinton, which is now in the Art Museum. Mr. Warren also received a " loving cup," the gift of a number of his profes- sional friends. The testimonial to Mrs. Vincent, on April 25, 1885, was an equally notable occasion, and a fitting tribute to the genius and worth of the favorite actress.
The Boston Theatre is one of the largest play- houses in the country. Although its exterior is not in keeping with the showy business structures in the vicinity, its interior is grand in proportions and fin- ish. Its career dates from the 11th of September, 1854, when it was owned by a stock company and placed under the management of the late Thomas Barry. Mr. Wyzeman Marshall succeeded Mr. Barry, and was manager for about a year and a half. The house then passed into the control of B. W. Thayer and Orlando Tompkins, and the management was in the hands of Henry C. Jarrett for two years ; then J. B. Booth had the direction of affairs for a term of five years. In 1878 Eugene Tompkins (son of Orlando) assumed the duties of acting manager, and on the death of his father, in 1885, became joint proprietor with Noble H. Hill, who had suc- ceeded Mr. Thayer (1875). The following year the entire control of the theatre passed to Mr. Tompkins, and he has ably maintained it as a play- house of the first class. His elaborate productions, enjoying long runs, have been notable. "The Ex- iles," " Michael Strogoff," " The World," " Jalma," " Zanita," " Run of Luck," " The Soudan," and " The Old Homestead " will live in our dramatic annals as evidences of his prescience, liberality, and capacity to provide entertainment for the New England pub- lic. The construction of the Boston is more elabo- rate in every detail than any modern theatre, for the reason that it was erected at a time when the cost of building was much less than at the present day, and the promoters of the enterprise, having suf- ficient funds at their disposal, spared no expense in any department of the work. As a result it is, from pit to dome, commodious and substantial, with spa- cious lobbies, broad staircases, large retiring-rooms, and every comfort for its patrons. Extending from Washington street through to Mason street, it affords a convenient rear-entrance for those using carriages, as well as ample access to the stage. The audi- torium is 90 feet in diameter, and reaches a height of 54 feet, and the house will seat over
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three thousand persons. It is illuminated with the electric light, which displays to the best advantage the tasteful coloring of the walls. There are three balconies and six proscenium boxes. Behind the curtain is found the same completeness of detail. The stage has a depth of about 75 feet, from the footlights, and a height of 66 feet to the fly floor, and the curtain-opening is 48 by 41 feet. Every precaution against fire has been taken in the provision of thick brick partitions, an iron curtain, and a complete system of sprinklers, stand-pipes, and fire-hose. Ample accommodations in the way of dressing-rooms are provided, and below the stage, where there is an apartment 30 feet high, are the rooms for the members of the orchestra, supernumeraries, dressing-rooms, and stage machin- ery. The architect of the building was E. C. Cabot. Besides the special productions of the management, grand opera is given here, and on its ample stage during the past quarter of a century the most famous singers have appeared. A number of grand balls and fairs have also been held in this theatre, notable among the former being those in honor of the Prince of Wales and of the Russian Duke Alexis, and among the latter that in aid of the Sanitary Commission, the National Sailors' Fair, and the French fair. Mr. Tompkins has associated with him on the managerial staff H. A. McGlenen and other able men who have done much towards making the house the success it is.
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The Globe Theatre, first known as Selwyn's Theatre, was built in 1867 by Dexter H. Follet and the late Arthur Cheney. It is one of the most at- tractive playhouses in Boston. John H. Selwyn, who gave it its first name, was its first manager. In 1869 Mr. Follet retired and Mr. Cheney assumed the sole management. It was at the beginning of the season of 1871-72 that the name was changed to " The Globe." The late Charles Fechter was at the same time made manager. He continued in this position, however, but a few months, when he was succeeded by the late W. R. Floyd. On May 30, 1873, Decoration Day, the theatre was burned in the serious fire which then raged in this section of the city, destroying several squares of buildings. A new house on a larger scale -- the present one - was immediately built by Mr. Cheney and one hundred and fifty associates, and this was brilliantly opened Dec. 3, 1874, with D. W. Waller as the manager. The following season the famous stock- company, including among its members George Honey, John Cowper, Harry Murdock, Owen Mar- lowe, Katherine Rogers, Lillian Conway, Mrs. Clara F. Maeder, and others, was organized, and a suc-
cession of brilliant English comedies was given, among them being "Our Boys," and other produc- tions from the pen of Henry Byron. All of the brill- iant men and most of the women in that company have passed away, and of the entire band not one is upon the stage to-day. From Dec. 30, 1876, to March 12, 1877, the theatre was remodelled under the direction of the city building-inspectors, and in the autumn of that year it was opened by John Stet- son. In 1880 Mr. Stetson made satisfactory ar- rangements with the stockholders and reconstructed the interior of the house, bringing it more into keeping with the modern style of playhouses. He has an able corps of assistants, and under his direc- tion it has had a prosperous career. During his régime there have been many brilliant engagements here, among them those of the late Adelaide Neilson, Sarah Bernhardt, Salvini, and seasons of English and Italian opera. The Globe has a seating capacity of two thousand two hundred. It has an unusually deep first balcony and large and small pri- vate boxes luxuriously upholstered. The stage is fur- nished with all modern appliances, and the front of the house has every convenience in the way of spa- cious lobbies, broad staircases, smoking and retiring rooms. There are three entrances, one on Wash- ington street, another on Essex street, and the third on Hayward place. The interior decorations are es- pecially rich, and show to advantage under the elec- tric light by which the house is illuminated. The architect of the Globe was B. F. Dwight.
The Park Theatre, opposite the Globe, was opened April 14, 1879. It occupies the site of the old Beet- hoven Hall. Though compact, it will seat about twelve hundred persons, and it is thoroughly equipped, be- fore and behind the curtain, as a first-class playhouse. The auditorium is provided with orchestra, two bal- conies, and four boxes, and every seat commands a good view of the stage. The interior decorations are quiet and tasteful. Three broad' doors afford ample means of exit. The opening bill was " La Cigale," with Lotta in the title role. The house was conducted by Henry E. Abbey and John B. Schoeffel from the opening until the season of 1889. Then the management was assumed by J. A. Crab- tree, a brother of Lotta, who owns the theatre.
The Hollis-street Theatre, one of the later addi- tions to the playhouses of Boston, is built upon the site of the old Hollis-street Church. It was opened on the 9th of November, 1885, with the first pres- entation here of Gilbert and Sullivan's " Mikado," which was given with a brilliant caste. The theatre covers about thirteen thousand square feet, and with its two balconies, six stage boxes, and broad
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orchestra, will seat about sixteen hundred and fifty London company in " David Garrick." It is persons. The interior is finished in ivory and gold, one of the largest playhouses in the city, covering producing a handsome and striking effect under the an area of 18,017 square feet. The auditorium is
INTERIOR VIEW OF HOLLIS-STREET THEATRE.
electric light, and the upholstering, both of the auditorium and of the different parlors and retiring- rooms, is especially rich and tasteful. The prosce- nium arch is 41 by 38 feet, and the stage has a depth of 40 by 74 feet, affording ample facilities for almost any class of stage production. A hand- somely decorated foyer gives entrance to the orchestra and first balcony. The building is the property of R. B. Brigham, and the theatre has been under the management of Isaac B. Rich since its establishment. John R. Hall was the architect.
A yet younger theatre is the Tremont, on Tre- mont street, opposite the Common, which, as has already been recalled, stands on the site of the old Haymarket Theatre. It was brilliantly opened on the night of Oct. 14, 1889, under the management of Henry E. Abbey and John B. Schoeffel, the former lessees of the Park, for whom it was built, the attraction being Charles Wyndham's excellent
75 feet high, of the same width, and 80 feet deep from the stage front to the back wall ; the stage is 73 by 45 feet, with a height of 69 feet to the rigging-loft ; and the lobby with the vestibule is 110 feet long, 27 wide, and 18 high. The auditorium is fashioned on the plan of a mammoth shell, the lines of vision radiating, so to speak, from the inner surface to the stage centre. There are no absolutely flat surfaces of any length on the main floor. The hearing as well as the sight gains by this arrangement. There is a graceful sweep to the first balcony, and the ten private boxes, - four on the first floor, four on the second, and two on the third, - richly ornamented with brasswork and trimmed with sage-green silk- plush draperies relieved by white lace, add a novel effect to the interior. The decoration of the main ceiling is modernized Renaissance treated in Gobe- lin-tapestry effect : the coloring of the walls grows deeper and deeper until the lowest wall forms the
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foundation, of which the ascent is in harmonizing shades. The coloring of the woodwork and papier- mache of the proscenium arch, of the boxes and columns, is in antique ivory, and this is supple- mented by the effect of metal upon the wainscoting and the doors leading from the auditorium. The foyer, lobby, and vestibule are also highly deco- rated with an artistic blending of colors. The work of construction has been thorough through- out, and every precaution against fire has been taken. A newly invented fire-proof material has been applied to every part of the woodwork, and to all curtains and portières. Stand-pipes are beneath the stage and in the proscenium arch, so arranged that a water-curtain, or sheet of water, can be quickly thrown, completely separating the stage and auditorium. There is also a system of electric door- openers, by means of which the auditorium can be quickly cleared. The architects of the Tremont were J. B. McElfatrick & Sons, of New York. Of the two proprietors Mr. Schoeffel is the resident manager, and he has an exceptionally able staff, with William Seymour as acting and stage manager, and Nathaniel Childs as business manager.
The Grand Opera House is the farthest up-town theatre. In point of seating capacity it is one of the largest, seating two thousand six hundred per- sons. It was built in the fall of 1887, in part from a skating-rink which had occupied the site, and from basement to roof great care was taken in its con- struction to make it practically fire-proof. The arrangement of the house also is such that in case of a sudden emergency the auditorium can be deared in unusually quick time. It is large and tommy, and the seats in the orchestra and the two balconies are so skilfully arranged that a good view of the stage is obtained from each one. The stage is 80 by 50 feet, and the prosce- nium arch 36 by 40 feet. The space behind the curtain contains ample dressing-rooms and all the appliances necessary for any kind of production. The house is lighted by electricity, which shows the interior decorations to the best advantage. The ornamented lobby is the largest of any theatre in the country. The Grand Opera was opened for the first time on the evening of the 9th of January, 1888, with a gorgeous pro- duction of " The Arabian Nights." Messrs. Proctor and Mansfield, who conduct theatrical enterprises in various cities, are the proprietors and managers.
The Columbia, completed in 1891, presents the most ambitious façade. Occupying an ample lot on the corner of Washington and Mott streets, it rises majestically above its neighbors and attracts
attention by its uncommon design. It follows the Moorish style, with stately arches and heavy towers. The material used is pressed brick and terra-cotta, supported by cast-iron columns and arches, and the towers and cornices are of copper. The auditorium, reached through the lobby extending entirely across the front and decorated with stereo-relief work, combines the elements of spaciousness and cosi- ness. The dainty loges for theatre parties, four on the main floor and two in the first balcony, heighten the effect of the interior arrangement, and the two balconies are well designed. In the decorations, buffs, creams, and salmon are the pre-
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EXTERIOR VIEW OF THE NEW COLUMBIA THEATRE.
vailing tints, with gold bronze. The proscemum. with its lofty arch and the pairs of tasselled col umns on either side, is not the least effective feature of the interior. The stage is 50 feet deep; width from wall to wall, 71 feet; the
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first fly gallery, 30 feet ; second fly gallery, 71 the stage and under the rigging-loft, and perfo- feet ; and the gridiron is 75 feet above the rated pipes, which frame the curtain-opening. Charles H. Blackall was the architect of the theatre, and its proprietors are Messrs. Harris and Atkinson. The Bowdoin Square was first opened on the evening of Feb. 15, 1892, with the per- formance of "A Night at the Circus," by Nellie McHenry and company. stage. It is thoroughly equipped with every contrivance for producing modern plays and pre- senting stage effects. In an annex to the main structure are scene-rooms and dressing-rooms. The house is lighted by electricity, the lights ar- ranged in brilliant groups in which a great chan- delier is made up of Maltese crosses. There are abundant exits. Leon H. Lampert & Son, of Rochester, N.Y., were the architects of the theatre. The building is owned by J. J. Grace, and the managers of the theatre are William Harris and Charles F. Atkinson. It opened on the evening of Oct. 5, 1891, with the performance of " Men and Women," by Charles Frohman's New York Comedy Company.
The dime museum, with its variety-show attach- ment, flourishes in cultivated Boston as in no other city. Since the opening of the first show place of this class here, so recently as 1881, a half-dozen have been successfully established, and their popularity does not appear to wane. At the present time there are Austin & Stone's Museum, the Palace Theatre, the Gaiety and Bijou, the World's Theatre, and the Grand Museum, each driving a thriving trade. The Italians have their own theatre on North street, in the heart of the Italian quarter, and the Chinese Theatre on Harrison avenue is opened semi-occa- sionally.
The newest theatre, the Bowdoin Square, is striking in plan and decoration. From the main entrance, under a handsomely curved arch with borderings of rosettes, an electric light glowing from the middle of each, the auditorium is reached through the long vestibule, richly panelled and wain- scoted, and the highly ornamented lobby, with elliptic arched ceiling, heavily panelled, the floors XI. of mosaic, and the decorations in old ivory and gold, the prevailing tints of the interior. From THE CLUBS. the lobby at each end handsome staircases rise to the balcony floor, and doors open to extra exits, and FEATURES OF THE MANY SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL. ORGANIZATIONS OF THE TOWN. to the cloak and toilet rooms and the ladies' parlor, the latter a daintily designed and furnished apart- ment. The arrangement of the auditorium re- sembles that of its sister theatre, the Columbia ; the style of boxes is the same, and the series of loges upon the level of the balcony are provided. Upon either side of the box are pilasters, and around the bases groups of figures. The chairs, upholstered in. salmon mohair plush, are roomy and comfortable, and behind the rail in the rear is unusual accommodation for "standees." The richly gilded proscenium arch gives space for curtain- opening, 36 feet wide and 32 deep, and the ample stage, in size only second to that of the Boston Of those clubs possessing houses of their own most noticeable are the Somerset, the Union, the Algonquin, the St. Botolph, the Art, the Puritan, the Athletic, the Century, the Elysium, the Massachu- setts Yacht, the Union Boat, the Press, the Tavern, and the Roxbury and Dorchester clubs. In this list also should be classed the Temple, a club little known to the newer Boston, but one of the oldest in the city. Its house of sober exterior, on West street opposite Mason, within a few steps of the Boston Theatre, used to be, on fashionable opera- Theatre, is furnished with the most approved modern devices for setting scenes and producing effects. From the middle of the arched ceiling of the auditorium, the chandelier of novel design - a huge expanding flower of electric lights-depends. Behind the scenes the work is thorough and complete. There are twenty-one large dressing- rooms for the players, and an unusually large scene-loft. The house is most thoroughly built, and is provided with stand-pipes, an abundance of hose, automatic sprinklers on each side of nights, a favorite meeting-place between the acts for
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