USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > History of the city of Omaha, Nebraska > Part 46
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" Said bond to be further conditioned that any and all railroad companies that desire the privilege shall have the right to run passenger trains into and from said union depot upon just and equitable terms, to be agreed upon between the said Omaha Union Depot Company and the railroad company making application therefor. And, in case the said companies are unable to agree as to what are just and equitable terms, the ques- tion shall be submitted to three arbitrators, one to be chosen by each of said companies, and the two thus selected to choose the third, the decision of any two of said arbitrators to be binding upon both companies.
" Second. The written bond of the Union
Pacific Railway Company, to the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, as liquidated and agreed damages, conditioned that any and all railroad companies that may desire the privilege shall have the right to run their passenger trains over the Missouri River bridge and approaches thereto of said Union Pacific Railway Company, using therefor its tracks from the union transfer at Council Bluffs, Iowa, to and from the said Omaha union depot, upon just and equitable terms, to be agreed upon between the Union Pa- cific Railway Company and the railroad company making application for such use of said railroad tracks and bridge; and, in case the said companies are unable to agree as to what are just and equitable terms, the ques- tion shall be submitted to three arbitrators, one to be chosen by each of said companies, and the two thus selected to choose the third, the decision of any two of said arbitrators to be binding upon both companies. Upon the execution and delivery of said bonds to the City of Omaha, the mayor thereof shall deposit the coupon bonds of the city, herein provided for, with the banking firm of Kountze Brothers, who shall deliver them to the Omaha Union Depot Company on .January 1, 1891, or as soon thereafter as they are presented, with a certificate from the president of the Omaha Union Depot Com- pany, attested by the mayor of the city of Omaha to the effect that the viaduct in this proposition mentioned has been opened for use, and when not less than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars shall have been ex- pended on construction of said depot as ev- idenced by vouchers and contracts for mate- rial therefor."
The bonds required of the depot company and the railroad company were given, the city bonds voted November 30th, and the viaduct was completed and opened for traffic on the date specified; but new complications arose, in consequence of Mr. Jay Gould's hav- ing obtained control of the Union Pacific Railroad, in December, 1890.
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THE UNION DEPOT.
April 30, 1890, while the Union Pacific was under the management of Charles Fran- cis Adams, an agreement was entered into by the officials of that road with the officers of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- road Company, by which the latter company secured the right, for a term of 999 years, to move its trains, both passenger and freight, on the Union Pacific tracks as far as South Omaha, to stand its cars on certain tracks, and to use such portions of track as per- mitted it to get its cars on to the river bot- toms. For the use of these tracks, over which it was allowed to transfer its cars by its own motive power, the Milwaukee com- pany was to pay a rent of forty-five thous- and dollars per year, in monthly payments.
May 1, 1890, a like arrangement was made witli the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company, but, in addition to the use of the tracks between Council Bluffs and South Omaha, with depot facili- ties, the Rock Island company also acquired the right to use the Union Pacific tracks be- tween Lincoln and Beatrice, making connec- tion at the latter point with its main line to Denver. During the summer of 1890 the Rock Island company built a line from South Omaha to Lincoln, and would thus become, in effect, a competitor with the Union Pa- cific for Denver business, when it would enter upon the use of its new line, which it expected to do January 1, 1891. The Mil- waukee company, by the terms of its agree- ment, became a competing road with the Union Pacific for South Omaha business.
This state of affairs was evidently not sat- isfactory to Mr. Gould, and he took meas- ures to break the agreements, under which the Milwaukee company had been operating for several months. December 27, 1890, the latter company was prevented from crossing the bridge to Omaha by the Union Pacific company's locking its switches at the transfer. Four days later the Milwaukee officials ap- plied to Judge Doane, of the district court, for an injunction to restrain the Union Pa-
cific company from interfering with the running of the trains of the Milwaukee com- pany. A temporary injunction was granted, but the I'mon Pacific company transferred the case to the United States Court, and Judge Dundy decided that he would not interfere in the case without having all the points fully presented. January 5th the parties appeared in court, the Milwaukee company being represented by A. J. Pop- pleton, James M. Woolworth, and C. S. Montgomery, of this city, John T. Fish, the company's general solicitor at Chicago, and John W. Carey, the company's solicitor at Milwaukee, though the last two named took no active part in the proceedings. The Union Pacific was represented by John M. Thurston and E. P. Smith, of its law de- partment, and Bailey P. Waggener, general attorney for the Missouri Pacific, which road was also under the control of Mr. Gould.
'The position taken by counsel for the Union Pacific was: The agreement made April 30th was in the nature of a lease, and that it could not be legally made without the assent of the stockholders of the road; that the rights of the general government were jeopardized in its character as chief creditor of the company, iu consequence of the earnings of the road being largely re- duced if the agreement was carried out; that the charter of the Union Pacific Road pro- hibited a leasing of its lines, and if a mile of the road could be leased the entire road could be; that the United States supreme court had decided that the Missouri River bridge was a portion of the main line and must be operated as such. Mr. Thurston stated that he had serious doubts as to the legal right of the Union Pacific Company to enter into a contract with the City of Omaha to allow the eastern roads to run their trains into the new depot with their own engines,as provided for when the viaduct bonds were voted.
Counsel for the Milwaukee insisted that the agreement in question was not a lease,
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAHA.
as the Union Pacific retained full control of the premises; but that it was a contract which the officials of the Union Pacific Company had a right to make, and that similar con- tracts were now in operation at other points, to which the Union Pacific Company was a party, among which were cited the use of the Union Pacific line between Omaha and Valley by the Omaha and Republican Val- ley Railroad Company, the running of Pull- man cars over the line, the use of the Union Pacific Road between Omaha and Granger by the Oregon Short Line, and the use of the Union Pacific tracks between Topeka and Kansas City by the Rock Island Com- pany. They claimed that public interests demanded that parallel railway lines be avoided wherever it was possible to do the necessary business over one road. As to the bridge charter, they insisted that the act of February, 1871, required the Union Pacific Company to grant other roads the use of the bridge on fair and reasonable terms.
The arguments in the case occupied two days. Judge Dundy then requested a filing of the authorities presented, and on the 30th of January announced his decision to the effect that the bridge was a public thorough- fare and that the contract with the Milwau- kee company. if shown to have been made by the proper authorities, on behalf of the Union Pacific, would be binding, upon a suitable time table being arranged. Judge Dundy also held that other roads may also be allowed the use of the bridge upon pay- ment of a reasonable toll.
January 8th the Rock Island company also secured from Judge Doane a temporary injunction to restrain the I'nion Pacific com- pany from interfering with the running of the trains of the petitioner.
The case was taken by the Union Pacific attorneys to the court of appeals at St. Paul, Minnesota, and that court sustained the opinion of the United States court at Omaha.
Prior to these legal complications the Union Depot Company had entered into contracts for the erection of the main build- ing, and its construction had proceeded un- til the walls had reached a level with the Tenth Street viaduct. On December 30, 1890, Mr. Ernest Stulit, a tax payer, brought suit to restrain the delivery of the viaduct bonds and also to restrain Alvin Saunders, who for years had held the title as trustee to a portion of the land upon which the Union Depot was to be erccted, from delivering the deeds to the property. result of the trial is fully set forth in the chapter on bridges and viaducts. As a result of this litigation, work was stopped on the build- ing, and the question at this writing, August, 1892, appears to be no nearer solu- tion than it did seventeen months ago.
In the meantime there have been several meetings of the citizens ; committees have been appointed to wait upon the depot com- pany, and steps taken looking to the com- pletion of the depot; but so far without result.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THEATRES AND OPERA HOUSES-THE COLISEUM - SOME NOTABLE ENTERTAINMENTS.
The Academy of Music was the first build ing erected in Omaha for theatrical purposes- Its first season opened in the winter of 1866-7. The building was owned by Colo- nel John G. Clopper and S. S. Caldwell, forming part of the block on the south side of Douglas Street which extends from Thir- teenthi to Fourteenth Street, and which was considered, at the time of its ereetion, a business block of magnificent proportions and striking architecture. For several years the theatre was managed by Ilenry Corri, who maintained there one of the best stock companies in the West, and which supported at various times the leading stars of the country. The property afterwards passed into the hands of John I. Rediek, and of late years has been run as a variety theatre. During the summer of 1889 it was used as a headquarters by the liquor Prohibition party of Omaha.
In 1870, Mr. Redick built at the north west corner of Farnam and Sixteenth Streets a large, frame structure, the upper portion of which he designed for an opera house. The first entertainment within its walls was a lecture by Mrs. Livermore, the audience be- ing kept waiting a couple of hours in conse- quence of a delayed train. During the wait the gas had been turned down, and when Mrs. Livermore finally made her appearance the footlights were turned on first, and, in the effort to give the audience the full bene- fit of the five large reflectors in the ceiling, those lights were turned off entirely, in the hurry and confusion, the result being that the lecture was delivered with only the foot- lights burning. The building did not fasten itself in the regards of the public as a place
of amusement, and a few years later, having passed into the hands of J. M. Pattee, of lot- tery fame, was rented to the city for council chamber and city offices. In 1889 it was torn down to give place to the handsome buildings of the Commercial National Bank and F. L. Ames.
Early in 1878, an effort was made to erect an opera house, and so gencral was the inter- est manifested that the prospect appeared very encouraging. Mr. James E. Boyd offered to sell, for that purpose, his lot at the northeast corner of Farnam and Fifteenth for $20,000, and take stock in the enterprise to that amount, the total cost of the build- ing to be not less than $10,000. General W. W. Lowe offered to sell to an opera house company a lot 66x132 feet, on the southeast corner of Dodge and Sixteenth, for $12,000, or one of the same size at the southwest cor- ner of Harney and Sixteenth for 87,000. S. E. Rogers offered a lot, 44x132 feet, at the northwest corner of Douglas and Twelfth for $6,000, and Joseph Barker offered his lot, 44x132 feet, at the northwest corner of Farnam and Fifteenth, for $10,000, on twen- ty-five years' time, with interest at ten per cent. It is interesting to note the increased price these various lots would bring now (1892). It is safe to say that the Boyd lot would bring $150,000; the Dodge Street lot, offered by General Lowe, is worth $100,000, and his Harney Street lot $60,000; the Rog- ers' lot would probably sell for $45,000; and the Barker lot would be a good investment at $132,000. It was the design to have the pro- posed structure a chamber of commerce build- ing and an opera house combined. The enter- prise was taken in hand by the board of
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAHA.
trade, and Messrs. J. I. Gibson, C. C. Ilousel, W. J. Broatch, G. W. Lininger and Edward C. McShane were appointed a committee to canvass the city for the sale of stock. The city press " boomed " the project, and the committee worked faithfully in its behalf, but failed to secure sufficient pledges to carry out the scheme, and it was given up.
Boyd's Opera House was built by James E. Boyd, at a cost of ninety thousand dol- lars, and was first thrown open to the public on the night of October 24, 1881, on which occasion the Fay Templeton troupe pre- sented the play of " Mascotte " to an andi- ence which filled the building in every part. At the conclusion of the first aet, General C. F. Manderson made a short address and pre- sented the following:
" Resolved, That this complete building, resting secure upon its solid foundations, with its thorough protection from danger by fire, its ample means of ingress and egress, its supply of stage conveniences, its artistic decorations, its luxurious comforts for its patrons, and its perfection in every detail, supplies a long felt want of Omaha. We, in common with the people of this community, most heartily appreciate the generous enter- prise of our fellow townsman, the Honorable James E. Boyd, and congratulate him upon the great success attending the opening of this beautiful temple of the Muses."
The motion to adopt the resolution was seconded by IIon. Ezra Millard, followed by suitable remarks, and the resolution was then adopted by a hearty vote, to which Mr. Boyd responded in a short address. The next day a valuable silver service was pre- sented Mr. Boyd, inscribed: "Citizens of Omaha to James E. Boyd, October 24, 1881." On the evening of the 27tli he was tendered a banquet at the Withnell Hotel. Soon after its completion the opera house passed into the management of Mr. Thomas Boyd, who conducted the business until the close of the season in 1891 with profit to the owner and satisfaction to the public. During the sum-
mer of 1889 the property was sold to a syn- dicate, consisting of Mr. O. M. Carter and others, for $235,000, and leased for a term of two years to Messrs. Thomas Boyd and D. W. Haynes.
The opera house was leased in the sum- mer of 1891 by Mr. L. M. Crawford, who had formerly conducted the Grand Opera House in the Exposition building, and was opened as a popular priced house. Mr. Crawford intended that it should continue to be called Boyd's Opera House, but Gov- ernor Boyd objected, on the ground that it would interfere with the business of his new theatre which he was then erecting on the corner of Harney and Seventeenth Streets. The matter was carried to the courts and Mr. Crawford was compelled to change its name, which he did, calling it the " Farnam Street Theatre." The house is managed by Mr. W. J. Burgess.
On the 20th of April, 1885, Max Meyer, Frederick W. Gray, William Wallace, John A. McShane, J. A. Wakefield, C. E. Squires, I. W. Miner, B. F. Smith and Louis Men- dehilson organized a company for the erection of an exposition building. The south half of the block, bounded by Capitol Avenue, Davenport, Fourteenth and Fif- teenth Streets, was leased of A. J. Popple- ton for a term of thirty years, and on this ground was put up a brick building with a frontage of 266 feet on Capitol Avenue and a depth of 120 feet. Mr. Meyer was elected president of the association, Mr. Gray, vice president, Mr. Wallace, treasurer and Mr. Miner, secretary, of the association, and to those offices these gentlemen have been elected annually since. The design was to put up a building to cost about 825,- 000, but the outlay soon reached double that amount. On the evening of February 18, 1886, there was a formal opening of the building, on which occasion there were about five thousand people present. The musical orchestra band, comprising sixty pieces, furnished the instrumental music, and there
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THEATRES AND OPERA HOUSES.
were solos, duets, quartets, and choruses, with an address by A. J. Poppleton, Esq., reviewing the growth of Omaha from the date he had built his home on that identical ground, a quarter of a century before, with a view of getting away from the turmoil of the business portion of the town. In the fall of 1886, the Exposition Company leased a lot adjoining their building on the north, and built an addition of 120 feet on Four- teenth Street and sixty-six feet on Daven- port. In the main building and annex was held that fall a very successful exposition. In June, 1886 a grand musical festival was held, under the management of C. D. IIess, of Chicago. All sorts of entertainments have been given in the building since that date: contests on roller skates and bicycles; sparring exhibitions by John L. Sullivan; Patti has sung there to an eleven thousand dollar house; two great religious revivals were held in the building, one of them be- ing under the management of Rev. Sam Jones; a meeting of the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church, in 1887; charity balls, from which thousands of dollars were realized; a season of American opera; city, county and State conventions. Varied and extensive have been the attractions which have drawn the public to the Exposition building during the past six years. The annex was leased by the city in 1887, and re-arranged for the purpose of council cham- ber, police court, police station, and city offices, vacated by the city May 1, 1890. In the same year, L. M. Crawford leased the western portion of the main building for opera house purposes, with Mr. I. W. Miner as manager. The amount expended in fitting the building for this purpose, and for changes made since, brings the total outlay of the Exposition Company up to $113,000. There being a general desire, in 1889, to es- tablish a public market for the sale of veg- etables, fruits, meats, etc., in some central locality, the Exposition Association offered to sell the building to the city for that pur- 20
pose, fixing the very low price of sixty thousand dollars upon the property. A vote was taken upon the proposition, but it failed to secure the necessary majority. In Febru- ary, 1891, the property passed into the pos- session of Mr. Poppleton.
The Eden Musee was established in 1887, by William Lawler and J. E. Sackett, in a three-story building at the northwest corner of Farnam and Eleventh Streets, in what had formerly been Creighton Hall. It proved a very profitable as well as a popular enter- prise. A considerable sum of money was expended in fitting the building for the pur- pose, and the management has been charac- terized by a spirit of enterprise and liberal- ity from the outset. It took fire on March 6, 1892, and was completely destroyed, the loss being about twenty thousand dollars. With characteristic enterprise the managers at once leased the Grand Opera House, re- arranged it for the purpose, and opened it March 14, 1892, with new attractions throughout. It continues to be a very popular place of entertainment.
Governor James E. Boyd, in 1890, pur- chased of General W. W. Lowe a beautiful site for a new opera house, at the southeast corner of Seventeenth and Harney, with a frontage of one hundred and fifty-two feet on the former street and eighty-eight on the latter, and erected thereon Boyd's New Theatre. It is five stories high, built of stone, iron and pressed brick, with a fire- proof protection of the auditorium from the stage, a seating capacity of two thousand, and possesses all the modern appliances and improvements for buildings of this charac- ter, it being one of the best theatre edifices in America. The house was opened Thurs- day evening, September 3, 1891, by Mr. Thomas Boyd, the lessee, a large and fash- ionable audience being present. Augustus Thomas' American play, " Alabama," was presented by A. M. Palmer's company. Governor Boyd was called before the cur- tain, when he made a short address in regard
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAIIA.
to the progress of Omaha, and alluding to the work which he had undertaken, all mod- estly put and well delivered. When the applause had subsided Hon. J. M. Thurston was called for, and spoke in praise of the man whose capital had gone into the build- ing. " Whoever causes a smile to ripple upon the lips, whoever causes a gleam of joy in the eye where a tear drop is about to fall," said Mr. Thurston, "has done some thing for the good of humanity."
The estimated cost at the outset was $150,000, but nearly $100,000 additional was expended on the building in carrying out the desires of Governor Boyd to make it the equal of any theatre in the country.
In the early history of Omaha the Hern- don House dining room, the main room of the old court house, and a hall on the third floor of the J. J. Brown building, at the southeast corner of Fourteenth and Doug- las, were utilized at intervals for theatrical purposes. The place last mentioned was fitted up with a stage, curtain and foot- lights, and for some months was known as " Potter's Theatre." There have been va- rious places of amusement of a lower order, but were usually managed in such a way as to excite the hostility of the authorities in a few months after opening, so that their existence has been short-lived. M. B. Leavitt, now somewhat famous as a mana- ger, at one time conducted a place of amuse- ment on lower Farnam Street, in company with the late Frank Walters.
A portion of the Goos Hotel building, erected some five years ago, was fitted up for theatrical purposes, and here plays were presented in the German language, for three years, and for many years a stock company did a successful business in the old Stadt Theatre on Tenth Street. At Kessler's IIall on Thirteenth Street is a Bohemian thea- tre. In various portions of the city are halls fitted up with stage and accessories for amateur theatricals and concerts.
In 1888, there was erected at the intersec-
tion of Twentieth and Lake Streets a large frame structure, 200x300 feet,with a seating capacity of eight thousand, and standing room for nearly as many more. It was de- signed for bicycle races, running races, walk- ing contests, conventions, concerts, etc., and was built at a cost of forty-five thousand dollars, by a stock company, of which Sam- uel E. Rogers, Julius Meyer, William Mar- dis, E. S. Flagg and Jolin S. Prince were the incorporators. The last named was given the management of the enterprise, and many notable entertainments have been given in the building; but it has not proven a finan- cial success, and during the summer of 1890 there was considerable litigation with regard to the property. One of the most noted en- tertainments given at the Coliseum was on the afternoon and evening of March 4, 1890, when Patti appeared in grand opera, with her famous troupe, before an audience of 8,500 people. On this occasion Patti was on her way from San Francisco with one date unfilled. Proposals were made by her man- ager to Omaha, Kansas City and Minne- apolis, for this date, but Omaha was the only city of the three which accepted the required condition, that a fund of $13,500 be placed in the bank as security against loss by the troupe, this money being raised by the Coli- seum Company without appealing to the citizens for help. A further sum of $2,500 was expended in fitting up the stage and in making necessary changes in the building. The event was a success in every particular, the afternoon and evening performances be- ing each attended by so large an audience that the Coliseum Company made money by their enterprise. A grand Merchants' Expo- sition, which was held in the building in October, 1889, was also a satisfactory exper- iment financially, and added much to the popularity of the management with the peo- ple of Omaha. Probably the most surpris- ing exhibition ever held in the Coliseum was that of the Manufacturers' and Consumers' Association, of Nebraska. The exhibits were
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THEATRES AND OPERA HOUSES.
confined wholly to goods manufactured in the State, and the result was a surprise to all, even to the manufacturers themselves. There were exhibitors from the several cities in the State, and the people of Omaha were much pleased by the display made by their own manufacturing concerns, and equally so by the showing from Lincoln, Beatrice, Ne- braska City, Fairmont, and other cities of the State. The exhibition opened June 11, and closed June 22, 1892, and was attended by about fifty thousand people, every one of whom gave evidence of gratified surprise at the magnificent showing. One other grat-
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