USA > Rhode Island > The "Old Stone Bank" history of Rhode Island, Vol. IV > Part 24
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lence; it stands as a noble monument to a full century of unselfish devotion of men among their fellows: it represents the
DR. ISAAC RAY, FIRST SUPERINTENDENT OF BUTLER HOSPITAL.
highest of accomplishments in the solu- tion of one of mankind's most baffling remedial secrets; Butler Hospital, for 100 years, has contributed immeasurably to the sum total of human happiness.
JENNY LIND AND HOWARD HALL
H OWARD HALL . .. what does the name mean to old Providence, to the people who were born in this city in the fifties and sixties of last century? It means little enough to our man-about-town of today, but to these, his ancestors, perhaps his grandparents, his great-aunts and great- uncles, it means a whole gamut of names, a long list of poignant memories, a score, a hundred, a thousand happy recollections. To them, Howard Hall, now the Howard Building, means Charles Sumner, Horace Greeley, Wendell Phillips, Bayard Taylor, Henry Ward Beecher, and Starr King. It means the Brown and Reeves Orchestra on the nights of the Washington balls; the old square dances with Bob Sprink calling off the numbers; Tom Thumb and Minnie Warren, accompanied by P. T. Barnum;
the old minstrel troupes, Sharpney Broth- ers in particular with their rousing songs and jokes; the Brown commencement dinners, held there before Sayles Hall was built; Professor Cromwell with his travel talks and stereopticon views; John B. Gough, agitating for temperance at any cost and portraying the convulsions of a victim of delerium tremens; Mary Scott Siddon giving readings; the troupes of jubilee singers; the American Band con- certs; the First Light Infantry balls in all their annual splendor; the great Catholic fairs, held during the lifetime of Bishop McFarland and called "Cathedral Fairs"; and the annual dinners of the Irrepressible Society, dinners patronized by the elite and paid for at the rate of from five to ten dollars a person. All these events, all
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these people came to the Howard Hall our grandfathers knew. It was the leading hall of the city from 1847 to 1881, at which latter date it was turned into a wholesale hat and cap salesroom. During the Civil War it became something of a U.S.O. where soldiers were fed lunches and given receptions before leaving for the battle fields and again after their return, if they did return.
Those who lived in the forties and early fifties went to Howard Hall to hear Thack- eray, Poe, and Sam Houston, to hear Ade- lina Patti and Ole Bull, the Kreisler of his day, and, especially, to hear Jenny Lind, the Swedish nightingale.
Howard Hall, the name, has lived from 1847 to the present day, but in actuality there were three halls in all. The first was built in 1847 by George A. Howard on the site which is now the northeast corner of Dorrance and Westminster Streets (Dor- rance Street was not cut through then). It was of wood and was capable of seating a thousand people. In 1853, it burned to the ground, the flames also destroying Forbes' Museum located next door. This was the hall in which Jenny Lind made her famous appearance.
Almost within the year a new building was erected on the same site by Lawyer Dwight who leased it to Mr. Howard. The museum was also re-built at the same time. Five years later, on November 15, 1858, Howard Hall again burned down. Oddly enough, or rather, tragically, Mr. Howard, who had had a fine furniture establish- ment on the second floor of the building, had just completed arrangements for mov- ing out the day before the fire. He had everything all finished and ready. His fire insurance had run out that day; but, dis- crediting the idea that anything might happen before the next morning, he did not renew it. Before the next day was out Howard Hall was a ruin of blackened walls and smoking ashes; he was $100,000 poorer. Both of these fires seem to have been of incendiary origin; but, although the culprit might well have been sus- pected, he was never apprehended.
Once more a new Howard Hall grew again out of the ashes of the old and in 1857 was formally dedicated by the Ladies City Temperance Society. This is the hall
that we still see and visit today, the home of many present-day stores and offices. No additions have been made since its erec- tion, except in 1909 when an extra story was added, but its interior has been changed as it filled with offices. The hall itself used to be on the third floor. This had a stage at one end and was admirably suited for the varied types of amusements that were presented there. The usual cost for hiring it for an evening was quite low, only $50, but for all night functions the price was doubled. It was somewhat larger than its predecessors and had a seating capacity of 1600.
This present building could tell many an interesting story, but perhaps the one which we would like most to hear is of the visit of Jenny Lind to the building of 1850.
Probably no other one individual ever caused so much excitement the length and breadth of the country as did the "Swed- ish Nightingale." For weeks every city was nervous with anticipation. P. T. Barnum, then, as always, a superb show- man, had done everything to prepare the country for her arrival. Her European career had been one long triumph. Now Barnum was bringing her to America, to the United States. All sorts of stories had been told about her beauty, her charm, her wonderful singing voice.
Her reception in New York was as great as that accorded any queen. Huge crowds filled the dock, cheering and waving; arches of welcome, made of flowers, were set up and inscribed with her name. It was a great event that satisfied all curi- osities. New York found Jenny Lind, at first sight, everything that she was said to be. The next test was her voice. With- in a few days she sang. New York listened and was completely conquered. Musical critics went into ecstasies over her pure soprano. And so she began her triumphal tour of the United States.
P. T. Barnum knew the fortune he had in Jenny Lind. He had arranged for 150 concerts in this country for her at $1000 per concert. There was a bit of verse, composed and published at the time and dedicated to Barnum, which might well be quoted, for it well foretold what later transpired in Providence :
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"So Jenny, come along, you're just the card for me,
And suit these kings and queens for the country of the free.
They'll welcome you with speeches and serenades and rockets,
And you will touch their hearts, and I will tap their pockets;
And if, between us both, the public isn't skinned,
Why my name isn't Barnum, nor your name Jenny Lind."
But why concern ourselves with what vast royalties Barnum made out of the venture? He may well have "skinned " the public in this case as in many another, but who can say that the public was not happy to be so "skinned"? In the case of Jenny Lind, all the ballyhoo in the world could not harm her. She had the ability and the charm to rise above it all. Her simplicity of character and unaffected sweetness in private life endeared her to her American public fully as much as her concert voice.
Finally, after having appeared in many other cities . . . Boston, New Orleans, and Philadelphia . . . she came to Providence. An immense crowd waited to see her when she arrived at the Union Station, a crowd augmented by droves of school children who had been let out of school early in order to see her. A coach and four white horses waited to take the great singer to her hotel; but, according to one story that is told, she shyly avoided crowds and all by getting off in the railroad yards and making her own roundabout way to her hotel.
Tickets for her concert were priced at three dollars apiece, but for a day or so before P. T. Barnum, according to cus- tom, auctioned off many of the choice tickets as a special way of raising more money. The first one was the best seat in the hall. In New York, Boston, and Philadelphia similar seats had brought $225, $625, and $625 respectively, but it was Providence that had the honor of top- ping them all.
The first bid for the prize ticket was only $25. Then a man named William Ross leaped, to the auctioneer's platform and into nation-wide fame. He harangued the crowd for not paying Jenny Lind a
more decent compliment and immediately raised the bid to $650. No one outbid him. For that superb stroke of gallantry he was brevetted a colonel on the spot, a title which always stuck to him. Eccentric as his action may have been, he at least pre- served the honor of the city and caused the chagrin of more musical Boston. Best of all, Jenny Lind was so impressed that she autographed the ticket, the only one she ever did. The ticket itself later passed into the possession of Colonel Ross' family and few ever saw it. It was of heavy cardboard, 21 by 17 inches in size, with a very ornate border in blue and gold inside which was the following inscription :
Prize Ticket No. 650 Jenny Lind's Concert Providence, R. I. Col. William Ross Price 653 dollars
Received Payment, Oct. 4, 1850 P. T. Barnum
Her program followed.
An immense crowd gathered about How- ard Hall that night. Every seat in the hall was taken and people were crowded in the aisles. Even Forbes' Museum next door was sold out to the many who wanted to hear her sing. and the windows between the two buildings opened. A tense air of expectancy was broken only by the hum of voices. Then, as one person described it, "Jenny Lind then came and we sat face to face with the world's wonder. It was clear to see in her flushing cheeks - in her wandering and wondering eye - and by her foot slowly patting the platform that she was conscious of again facing thousands of strangers who had hoped and dreamed of her, as we do of our Ideal, and of those two or three thousand faces knew none and was sure of no single sympathy."
During that concert, held on the eve- ning of October 7, 1850, Jenny Lind was assisted by the Providence Brass Band, conducted by Joe Greene. The program was divided into two parts and one or two other soloists gave numbers as well, in- strumental and vocal. As for Jenny Lind herself, she sang first an aria, a ballad, a trio in company with two flutes, another ballad, and lastly, in Swedish, a beautiful melody called the "Herdsman's Song."
THE FIRST BANK BUILDING OF THE PROVIDENCE INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS. ERECTED IN 1854 - ENLARGED AND REMODELED IN 1896.
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The concert thrilled Providence as noth- ing in years had done before. "We have heard; she is ours now!" exclaimed a critic in the Providence Journal the next morn- ing. The whole affair was a thorough suc- cess. Barnum had taken in $9000 through
his ticket selling and auctioneering. Jenny Lind was happy to have pleased another audience. Providence was prostrate at her feet. When she left, she was given another tremendous ovation. She had been the greatest event of a decade.
FORBES' MUSEUM
T' THE passing of the Providence Opera House, during 1931, stirred in the minds of many a host of reminiscences, not especially about the famous old play- house itself, but about the old-time theatre. . life of Providence. It is rather odd how one theatre after another has had its day of eminence, bowing after a while to a successor in importance and favor and settling back into a mediocre career with only occasional flashes of its former bril- liance.
But this is not to be a dissertation upon old Providence theatres which are still offering entertainment to the community. Our purpose is to turn back a few pages of history to the day when Forbes' Museum, later called Forbes' Theatre, was offering "celebrated" performances to the Provi- dence of the 1850's. It stood on West- minster Street on the site now occupied by the Phoenix Building, right next to Howard Hall, the predecessor of the present Howard Building. And there, between the years 1848 and 1858, the Forbes' Theatre stock company played such old favorites as "The Old Homestead," "The Maid of the Milk- ing Pail," and "The Little Treasurer" to capacity audiences. In those days the local stock companies supported visiting stars, although the stars often took not only the leading part but several others as well during a single show.
William C. Forbes first came to Rhode Island for his health and took up his resi- dence in Newport. A few years later, in 1825, he moved to Providence and in 1848 assumed the management of the theatre and museum which soon took his name. It was quite a large playhouse, having a dress circle, a pit or family circle above the dress circle, and above that a gallery. The seats in these sections of the house
were exceedingly low priced, considering the first class plays which were presented and the great stars which appeared in them. In 1851, prices were as follows: dress circle, 37gé; pit, 25¢; and the gallery 13c. This last section was always filled with idlers and sailors who as frequently as not wound up the evening's entertain- ment with a free-for-all fight. Bad char- acters were always excluded from the dress and family circles. If one was seen by the old time "bouncer," the latter would walk down the aisle, tap the objectionable in- dividual on the shoulder, and point sig- nificantly to the gallery. Such a gesture was usually sufficient; but if physical em- phasis was required, it was supplied.
For the convenience of the actors there was a fine lounging room under the stage, called the "Green Room." Here the mem- bers of the cast gathered before the per- formance began, idly joking and talking. They did not have to remember their own cues, for a call boy, who kept a book with the names of all the characters and the time of their appearance, notified each actor shortly before he was due to make his entry upon the stage. Strict rules were in force for all the players and theatre employees. Everybody had to be out of the building by 11 P.M. each night, and the house was entirely closed over Sat- urday and Sunday. Because of this, per- formances usually began early, the doors opening at either 6 : 30 or 7 P.M. and the overture beginning a half-hour later.
Quite a crowd would be assembled be- fore the entrance waiting for the doors to open each evening, especially if some great actor or actress was appearing in a favor- ite tragedy or comedy. A number of people were allowed to see a performance free of charge, but through one pretext
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and another the list of the privileged grew to such proportions that Mr. Forbes de- cided to put a stop to it. Accordingly he gave the ticket taker a revised list of names with instructions to let no one else in free besides those listed. The employee obeyed orders strictly. On one evening, when a certain notable in top hat and frock coat grandly elbowed his way through the crowd without so much as a glance at the ticket booth, the ticket taker looked at his list, saw the gentle- man's name was absent, and immediately laid hold of his coat-tails. He pulled. So did the gentleman, using numerous exple- tives for emphasis. Finally after united exertion by both parties, the coat-tails weakened, ripped, and parted. Enraged, the dignitary sought out Mr. Forbes, com- plaining emphatically of gross mistreat- ment. The latter soothed his customer but later commended his ticket taker, telling him, if necessary, to do the same thing right over again.
Once inside the emporium of pleasure, the audience would turn to its elaborate programs for information concerning both the play of the evening and the players. The theatre programs of those days left little to the imagination. They made up only one long printed page, but they omitted no details. The abilities of the various stars were given at length. The management always "took pleasure in announcing" the engagement of "the eminent comedian" or "the eminent tra- gedian " of the evening, according to who the star might be. If an actor was not "eminent," he was sure to be "cele- brated," "distinguished," or "hand- some." It was up to the audience to dis- cover whether or not he deserved such classification. The rest of the program followed in suit. The titles, in huge capi- tals, were always double, while, with an abundance of exclamation points and pointing hands, the fine aspects of plot, scenes, important situations, etc., were graphically explained. Finally, added at the very bottom, would frequently be a note such as this: "An Omnibus will leave the Theatre after the Performance for High Street and Olneyville, Also - South Main and Hope Streets and Young Orchard."
Mr. and Mrs. Forbes themselves were leading players in the local stock company that supported the various visiting stars. The whole company at Forbes' Theatre must have been of unusual ability, for Mr. Forbes was able to secure the appear- ance of such noted actors and actresses as the elder Booth, E. L. Davenport, John Drew, Forrest, F. S. Chanfrau, Maggie Mitchell, and Lola Montez. The last mentioned, that great courtesan whose life story is exceptionally vivid and whose great charm and diplomatic ability at one time won for her dominion over a Bava- rian kingdom, drew great crowds, but it is very probable that it was her reputation rather than her particular acting ability which was irresistible. She was beauty incarnate, as spirited as a thoroughbred, as ironwilled as any man. Drifting across the country in the surge of the gold rush, she continued her career in California, going on to Australia but returning once more to America, this time to die.
All of those once connected with the theatre, actors, managers, and stage hands, are long since dead, but we can recall one or two of them for a moment. Billy or "Pop" Monroe was the general property man. He started in as an ap- prentice, making all sorts of papier mâché properties for the museum - heads, arms, legs, busts, beasts, birds and fishes. "I believe," he said, during a moment of reminiscence, "that I made every fish that swims in the sea." After the day of Forbes' Theatre had passed, he went to work as property man at the Westminster Theatre.
Nathan H. Griffith, the ticket taker, provided more interesting information in recalling old days for the benefit of a newspaper reporter, "I remember a scene in one play," he said, "when a tree was struck by lightning. A wire was rigged connecting with the tree top, and on this was the nose of a bottle, wrapped with cotton saturated with oil. At the proper moment the cotton was ignited, and si- multaneous with a deafening crash the bottle nose, ablaze, slid over the wire and struck the tree. The tree split open and disclosed one of the characters of the play within."
Mr. Forbes himself was greatly loved and respected by visiting celebrities and
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THEATRE COMIQU
SIGN
STER
BLAZING NY
COPYRIGHT BY WM. MILLS & SON
Courtesy, Wm. Mills & Son
THEATRE COMIQUE, VARIETY AND BURLESQUE HOUSE, CORNER OF WEYBOSSET AND ORANGE STREETS, OPENED IN 1874 AND DESTROYED BY FIRE FEBRUARY 18, 1888, A FEW DAYS AFTER THE ALDRICH HOUSE CONFLAGRATION AND A DAY BEFORE THE DESTRUCTION OF THE DANIELS BUILDING ON CUSTOM HOUSE STREET.
every member of his own company. He was the kind of showman who could be counted upon to help out anyone of his employees or cast to the extent of paying the bills in the case of sickness or funeral expenses in case of death. But two un- fortunate reverses made him abandon the show business. Both were fires, totally destroying the theatre. The first came in 1853, a great conflagration which started in Howard Hall next door, and consumed two blocks. Both the theatre and the hall were rebuilt, the former by Lawyer Dwight, who then sold it to George A. Howard. From Mr. Howard, Forbes leased the new building, changing its name at that time from Forbes' Museum to Forbes' Theatre.
The new theatre had a few improve- ments over its predecessor. The general
equipment and interior furnishings were much finer. There were still the three sections of seats, the dress circle, pit, and gallery, but in addition there were stage boxes for the performers. During a first season, plays were put on before the in- terior of the house was painted, but soon it was lavishly decorated in Italian style.
November 15, 1858, Howard Hall again caught fire and Forbes' Theatre was de- stroyed. This was the last straw for Mr. Forbes. He left the life of the stage for good, abandoned the scenes of his former successes, and went to California. The Phoenix Building was used as a sort of a theatre after its erection, but without success. The glory of even the site itself seemed to pass with Forbes, and it was left to other theatres to carry on the tra- ditions of the Providence stage.
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STATUE OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ABOVE EMPIRE STREET ENTRANCE TO EMPIRE-ABORN BRANCH OF THE PROVIDENCE INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS.
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FRANKLIN LYCEUM
M ANY are inclined to regard as modern, twentieth century institutions such as the clubs, societies, and other organized groups that encourage literary pursuits among their members. An analysis of the active organizations in the State today would show that a great many of them exist purely for cultural purposes. Dis- cussions, debates, lectures, the reading of papers, and other forms of intellectual entertainment attract members of such bodies to meetings regularly, and it seems that the more complex our community life becomes, the more specialized become our groups and gatherings in their pur- suits of knowledge and understanding. Here, we have a club meeting regularly for the reading and discussion of Shakes- peare; there, a group called Friends of the Library of Brown University. Some meet to talk science, others to discuss the theory of music, language, art, books, plays, philosophy, religion, bringing-up children, poetry, politics, charity, govern- ment, stamps, coins, cattle raising, gar- dens, homemaking, bees, business, and boxing and these are but a few of the varied interests that draw people together into organizations. Although some of these common interests may not be classed as strictly intellectual, in the majority of cases, the chief intent of most organiza- tions is the sharing of knowledge of a par- ticular interest with others, whether the interest be literature, art, music, science, philosophy, religion, or simply a popular hobby.
A century ago, life in Providence was not organized into specialized groups, as it is today. There were only a few insti- tutions composed of people who sought knowledge and enlightenment through organized assemblies. But there was one well-established cultural enterprise that made up for the wide diversification of club and society interests that exist in this community at the present time. This very popular and highly successful cul- tural endeavor was known as the Franklin Lyceum, and was established in the sum- mer of 1831 by Levi Holden, Daniel A.
Jackson, and William B. Shove, who were then pupils in a Mr. DeWitt's school on Waterman Street. The first name chosen for the organization was the Providence Lyceum, but, on April 28, 1832, the name was changed to the Franklin Lyceum, in memory of Benjamin Franklin.
The purpose of the organization was strictly intellectual; the encouragement of literary pursuits among its members, and the discussion of various questions of general interest. The first meetings of the Lyceum (the name "lyceum" was orig- inally that of the grove at Athens where Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, taught) were held at the homes of the different members on Friday evenings. A steadily increasing membership encouraged the society to secure a room, and start the collection of a library. The basement of Mr. William Shove's house on Benefit Street was selected, and the meetings were held there until a larger meeting place was secured, opposite the First Congrega- tional Church (Unitarian) on Benefit Street, the minister of which, at the time, was the Rev. Edward B. Hall. From then on, however, the meeting place and library of the Lyceum were removed to various places in the downtown section, not remaining long in any location.
The members had much to debate about during the early years of the organization. Anti-slavery feeling was beginning to spread among the citizens of Providence, and doubtless, many a stormy, but en- lightening, discussion of that burning issue provided hours of excitement as the pros and cons attempted to solve a prob- lem that finally took a Civil War to settle. Then too, the purely local issue of a pro- posed Constitution for Rhode Island must have afforded many a lively contest for the serious-minded debaters among the Lyceum's founders.
When essays, historical papers, or phil- osophical theories were not on the Friday evening discussion programs, there was ample subject matter for 'round the hot stove talk in the news of the times - South Carolina's threat to secede from the
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