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The amusement halls during the sixties did their part toward entertaining Washington people. Conspicuous among these was Metzerott Hall, on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue, between Ninth and Tenth Streets, where there were many concerts of high order, lectures, oratorios, entertainments of home talent and readings from famous authors. Among the readers was Mark Twain, whose humor drew great crowds.
In 1868 Carroll Hall, at southeast corner of Tenth and G Streets, northwest, held its own with Metzerott, where there were several celebrities of the day besides dramatic readings, concerts, et cetera. Among the readers here was Charles Dick-
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ens in January. Th famous "Boz" gave four nights of enter- tainment during which time he read or recited selections from The Christmas Carol, Pickwick, David Copperfield and Nicholas Nickleby.
Lincoln Hall in 1868 had Carlotta Patti, the renowned singer, in Grand Concert, and the following month, December, Mrs. Scott-Siddons was engaged for a "Night with Shakespeare and Mendelssohn."
In 1866, the Philharmonic Society of Washington was formed, with about fifty members. "St. Paul" was their first oratorio, which was given March 7. On the night of December 25 of that ycar, this society gave "The Messiah," conducted by Dr. J. P. Caulfield. The sopranos were Mrs. Butts and Miss Paulie C. Ewer; contralto, Mrs. J. P. Caulfield; tenor, Mr. Arthur Mathison; baritone, Mr. L. V. Gannon.
In April the Mendelssohn Quintette Club gave two concerts, which were both classic and well attended.
In 1869 the Choral Society was organized, composed of male singers of the District of Columbia. In a ycar the membership numbered one hundred eighty active members, with Harry C. Sherman, musical director.
Herr Franz Abt received his first American welcome in Washington, which occurred on the night of May 8, 1872, when he had a grand testimonial concert. This was under the auspices of the Choral Society and two German societies of Washington at Lincoln Hall.
The National continues successful until January 28, 1873, when the theatre was totally destroyed by fire.
After this misfortune to the National the only places of amusement were the Washington Theatre and various halls, which did their duty until February 22, when Wall's Theatre re-opened and became popular.
On December 1, the National, which had been rebuilt, opened under the management of J. G. Saville. The new thea- tre's initial attraction was Maggie Mitchell and her excellent company.
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In December, 1873, Ford's Theatre, or Walls's Opera House, as it was sometimes called, was again opened, and regained its old popularity. Among its stars that season were Joseph Jefferson and Clara Morris, and these two continued to appear there through the seasons following. All the remaining years of the decade it was among the most popular theatres of the city.
In October, 1877, the Redpath Lyceum Course opened in Lincoln Hall. This course opened with a Grand Concert by the Boston Philharmonic Club and during the season were inter- spersed several other excellent concerts. The lectures included one on "The Stage," by Daniel Dougherty ; "Superfluous Wom- en," by Mary A. Livermore; "Art" by W. W. Story; and "bubbling humor" from Josh Billings.
In 1878 "The Talking Phonograph" was exhibited and great crowds of Washingtonians marveled at this new invention. The theatres and halls gave their usual line of attractions.
During 1879 "Pinafore" seems to have been immensely popular and was presented at different times, winter and sum- mer, in nearly every theatre and hall in the city.
The decade of 1880-1890, showed not only the usual appre- ciation of good drama and music, but a continued improvement in taste. The amateur entertainments are notably good ; and the greatest stars of the world visit Washington during that time.
Among the many lecturers were John Fiske; Robert G. In- gersoll; Mary A. Livermore, and Stoddard, with lectures on his- tory and travel.
On February 27, 1885, the National Theatre was again total- ly destroyed by fire, after which the popular places of amuse- ment were Ford's, Albaugh's Theatre, the Grand Opera House and Herzog's Museum, afterward changed to Herzog's Ninth Street Opera House.
During the summer the National was rebuilt and opened for its fall season October 5, 1885, with comedy.
Band concerts grow in favor and summer out-of-door con- certs for the public were encouraged. One of the noted band leaders, Walter Damrosch, widely recognized for his ability as a musical leader, distinguished himself in another way in May,
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1890, by marrying Miss Margaret Blaine, daughter of James G. Blaine, the great statesman.
In 1892 a law was passed that all theatres should have exits from the buildings, leading directly into the streets.
Several new theatres came into existence: Kernan's Lyce- um Theatre, Columbia Theatre, Lafayette Square Opera House, the Grand Opera House and The Academy.
In 1898 Josef Hofmann caused much enthusiasm among Washington music-lovers, as well as everywhere he appeared, with his wonderful playing. This trip brought him even more widespread fame than had his tour when a child, at which time listeners had marveled at the boy's execution.
Hall Caine's play, "The Christian," made a tremendous "hit" in September and October, 1898, at the National, with Viola Allen. The Star declared that "Nothing approaching the interest that this play has evoked is remembered in this city by the oldest playgoers."
Washington has become a center of culture, where good drama and classic music are appreciated for their worth and each year dramatists and musicians are received according to their proficiency in their art.
Dramatic and musical societies have done much to elevate public taste and encourage local talent, while some of the most talented and finished teachers of drama and especially of music, afford advantages to aspiring professionals and amateurs.
The summer band concerts have been a powerful force in improving musical taste and familiarizing the public with good and even classic music, especially the finished concerts given by the Marine Band, which attained a world wide fame through its relation to its old leader John Philip Sousa, the eminent compos- er of band marches and other musical works.
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WASHINGTON MONUMENT
CHAPTER XIV
Monuments
On December 21, 1799, just one week following the death of General Washington, Congress, on motion of Mr. Marshall of Virginia, unanimously passed the following resolution :
"That a marble monument be erected by the United States at the Capitol in the City of Washington, and that the family of General Washington be requested to permit his body to be deposited under it: and that the monument be so designed as to commemorate the great events of his military and political life."
This resolution was transmitted by President Adams to Mrs. Washington who promptly replied, expressing her apprecia- tion of the action of Congress and indicating her willingness to comply with the suggestion made. The subject was, however, postponed by the Senate until the next session and was there- after postponed from year to year for many years without other action than the passing of resolutions by Congress upon the propriety of carrying out the original intention.
Early in the century, popular sentiment, chafing at the delay of Congress, took shape in a movement to raise by public subscription the money necessary to erect a suitable monument in honor of Washington, the plan being to obtain a subscription of one dollar from each family throughout the United States.
On October 31, 1833, a meeting was held at which the Wash- ington National Monument Society was organized with Chief Justice Marshall as President; Judge William Cranch, Joseph Gales, Jr., and W. W. Seaton as Vice Presidents; Samuel Harri- son Smith, Treasurer; George Watterston, Secretary; and General T. J. Jesup, Colonel James Kearney, R. C. Weightman, Colonel N. Towson, William Brent, Peter Force, Colonel A. Henderson, Thomas Carbery, Thomas Munroe, M. St. Clair
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Clarke, W. A. Bradley, and J. McClelland as Managers. The President and Vice President and members of the Cabinet were made ex-officio members of the Board of Managers. The collec- tion of funds was arranged for by dividing the United States into four Districts, to which collectors were assigned, their com- pensation to be ten per cent of the amount collected. Upon the death of Chief Justice Marshall, Ex-President James Madison was appointed President of the Society July 25, 1835.
In 1836, $28,000 had been collected. In that year the Society advertised for designs, no restriction being placed upon the character of the design except that it should "harmoniously blend durability, simplicity, and grandeur." The estimated cost was put at $1,000,000.
Designs for the proposed monument were submitted by Robert Mills of Washington, S. M. Stone and Bennet and Platt of New Haven, Thomas McClellend of New York, E. Barasius of Baltimore, George Hadfield, William Elliott and others. On November 30, 1844, W. W. Seaton, Peter Force, and George Watterston were appointed a committee to select the design for the monument and confer with the proper authorities with a view to the selection of a site.
Many designs were submitted. That which was selected was by Robert Mills, a prominent architect of the time. The essential features of this design as published at the time were a grand circular colonnaded building, 250 feet in diameter and 100 feet high, from which was to spring an obelisk shaft 70 feet at the base and 500 feet high, making a total elevation of 600 feet. The rotunda forming the grand base of the Monu- ment was to be surrounded by 30 massive doric columns, 12 feet in diameter and 45 feet high, elevated upon a base 20 feet high, and 300 feet square. The colonnade was to be surmounted by an entablature 20 feet high which in turn was to be crowned by a ballustrade 12 feet high.
The entrance to the colonnaded rotunda was to be a portico of four columns in width and three in depth. Over the entrance was to be a triumphal chariot with a statue of Washington. Statues of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were
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to ornament the interior of the rotunda. The obelisk was terminated by a much flatter cap than as finally completed. In adopting this design the Society did not commit itself to the construction of the pantheonic base and proposed at first to erect the shaft and leave the question as to the remainder of the design for future consideration.
In 1845 the amount of money collected was $55,359.66. The Board of Managers at this time decided to resume their efforts to raise money by collection and to remove the limit of $1 from each contributor. They appointed Honorable Elisha Whittle- sey of Ohio, a general agent for this purpose.
On January 31, 1848, Congress passed a resolution author- izing the Society to erect the Monument upon such portion of the public grounds in the City of Washington as should be selected by the President of the United States and the Board of Managers of the Society. The site selected was public reservation No. 3 on the plan of the city, containing upward of 30 acres, for which President Polk executed a deed to the Society on February 22, 1849.
In his original plan of the city, Major L'Enfant had desig- nated the point of intersection of an east and west line drawn through the center of the Capitol, with a north and south line drawn through the center of the White House, as the site for an equestrian statue of Washington, the erection of which had been recommended by a resolution of Congress in 1783. The Managers of the Monument Association found it impossible to obtain an adequate foundation at this precise point, and were compelled to move the location of the monument a short distance east of it upon the center line of the Capitol.
The work of excavating for the foundation was immediately begun and the foundations were completed by the first of June, 1848.
The foundation as originally constructed was of blue gneiss rock in large blocks. It was 80 feet square at the base, pyramidal in shape with steps and extended 7 feet 8 inches below and 15 feet 8 inches above ground.
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The corner stone was laid on the afternoon of June 7. This stone, which had been donated by Mr. Symington from his marble quarries near Baltimore, transported by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company free of charge, was a block. of white marble six feet eight inches square, nearly three feet thick, and weighing 24,500 pounds. Joseph H. Bradley was in charge of the ceremonies. Honorable Robert C. Winthrop, of Massachusetts, delivered the oration; Reverend Mr. McJilton of Baltimore, delivered the prayer and Mr. B. B. French, Grand Master of the District of Columbia Masons, delivered the Masonic address. The dimensions of the Monument were reduced from a 70 foot base as designed by Robert Mills to one of 55 feet.
In May, 1849, Mr. D. C. Sayre of Alabama, on behalf of a number of citizens of that State, proposed to quarry and prepare a block of marble from the quarries of Talladega County, to be placed in the monument. This offer was accepted, and suggested to the Board the plan of soliciting similar stones from States, societies and individuals. It is noteworthy that a large portion of the stones contributed bore inscriptions testi- fying a hope for the preservation of the Union.
Meanwhile, the work of obtaining subscriptions was progressing rapidly and during the year 1850 contributions amounting to over $28,000 were received. By March, 1852, $130,000 had been received, and the Monument had risen to the height of over 100 feet. In the fall of 1852, $20,000 was raised by contributions obtained at the polls at the Presidential election of that year. In 1856, the total amount received was $230,000, which had been fully expended in the raising of the monument to a height of 174 feet. The work was at this time discontinued for a period of twenty years during the troubled times preceding and following the Civil War.
By Act approved August 2, 1876, Congress appropriated $200,000 for the completion of the Monument under a joint commission to consist of the President, the Supervising Archi- tect of the Treasury and the Architect of the Capitol, the Chief of Engineers of the Army and the first vice-president of the
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Washington National Monument Society. The Act required the reconveyance to the United States of all the property, rights and privileges in the Monument belonging to the Society, which was executed by W. W. Corcoran and Dr. John B. Blake as officers of the Society on January 19, 1877.
The Act also required the examination of the foundations of the Monument, which being found insufficient were ordered by Congress to be strengthened. Lieut. Colonel, afterwards Brig. General, Thomas Lincoln Casey, assisted by Captain George W. Davis and Mr. Bernard R. Green, accomplished this difficult task in the course of which a deflection of 1.4 inches to the northwest due to settling was corrected. To strengthen the old foundation 70 per cent of the earth under it was dug away to a depth of 13 feet 6 inches and replaced with concrete extending 18 feet within and 23 feet 3 inches without the outer edges of the old foundation. The new foundation was 126 feet 6 inches square. The Monument settled two and one-half inches during the placing of the new foundation and four inches during the entire period of its construction.
The pyramidion which caps the Monument was designed by Mr. Bernard R. Green, and is a radical departure from and a marked improvement upon the flattened cap provided in the original design.
The cornerstone of the first course of the new construction was laid on August 7, 1880, in the presence of President Hayes. Four similar appropriations were made in the ensuing four years, and the work was completed December 6, 1884, on which day the capstone was set in place with elaborate ceremonies led by President Arthur at which it was estimated twenty thousand persons were present.
In the course of the renewed work a slight twist was given to the Monument to correct a misalignment of the faces of the lower portion with the points of the compass.
All the marble used in the Monument came from Baltimore County, Maryland, except the first 26 feet of the upper portion which came from Massachusetts. The total cost of the structure was $1,187,710.31.
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The famous statue of Washington by Horatio Greenough has probably received as much criticism, praise and censure as any statue ever made. Greenough received a commission from Congress for the work in 1832 and devoted his time and energy to it for eight years.
After its completion a war vessel was first sent to bring it to America, but could not handle the huge mass which weighed twenty-one tons and an American merchantman, the Sea, was chartered for its accommodation. The monument reached Wash- ington in 1843 and was placed in the center of the rotunda of the Capitol. This was before the large dome had been built and the huge marble seemed greatly out of proportion. It had friends and advocates from the first, but did not appeal to the people generally as a suitable representation of Washington, and became the butt of much ridicule. It was finally taken from the Capitol building and placed in the east plaza facing the Capitol. There it stayed for a number of years, unsuited to its environment and exposed to the weather, which had not been considered in its making, and from which it received con- siderable damage. . It was finally removed to the Smithsonian building.
The statue represents Washington seated, in a Roman costume, pointing heavenward with his right hand, while in his left he holds a sheathed sword.
This monument was the first colossal marble carved by an American and it cost for making, transportation, setting, etc., $43,000.
The equestrian statue of Washington in Washington Circle, at Pennsylvania Avenue and Twenty-third Streets, is the work of Clark Mills, a self-taught sculptor who had followed the trade of plasterer.
Congress in 1853 appropriated $50,000 for the monument and donated captured cannon as material for its composition. General Washington in this representation wears the uniform he wore at the Battle of Princeton, from which scene, just after he had rallied his troops in that battle, Mills chose to represent the leader. The face is modeled from Houdon's cast.
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The statue was unveiled February 22, 1860. President Buchanan dedicated the monument, civic and military organiza- tions taking part. The address of the occasion was delivered by a Virginia Representative, Honorable Thomas S. Bocock.
Clark Mills' earliest work was the rearing equestrian statue of General Andrew Jackson which stands in the center of Lafayette Square. This sculptor's talents attracted so much attention while he was living in Charleston, S. C., that friends contributed a purse to enable him to go to Europe to study. While stopping in Washington on his way for that purpose, he was offered the commission for the Jackson statue. After some deliberation he accepted the task and his European trip was deferred. It is said that Mills had never scen an equestrian statue up to the time he executed this work. He studied his subject diligently, learned all the parts of a horse and rider, taught a horse to rear and stand on its hind legs, that he might study it so and get its equilibrium. The monument is so per- fectly balanced that the creator claimed for it the power to stand in its perfectly poised position, without fastening, indefi- nitely. For safety against high winds or other disturbing force, however, the feet of the horse were fastened to the pedestal.
After conceiving and modeling this unusual statue, the sculptor himself cast it in bronze at his foundry near the present site of the Catholic University. The statue was dedicated with elaborate ceremonies, January 8, 1853, the thirty-eighth anniver- sary of the Battle of New Orleans.
Twelve thousand dollars was first appropriated for this monument but as that amount did not even pay for the expense of the making, Congress made a later appropriation of twenty thousand dollars. Two replicas of this unusual monument have been made, one erected in New Orleans and the other in the Capitol grounds of Nashville, near the home of the hero of New Orleans.
Several monuments have been erected in the city to the mem- ory of the martyr-President, Abraham Lincoln. The first of these is a life-size white marble standing figure of Lincoln by Lot Flannery, who was a local marble cutter, and is erected
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on a marble pillar twenty-seven feet in height, in front of the Court House. This tribute was paid for by private subscrip- tion and cost $7,000. It was dedicated April 15, 1868, President Grant leading in the ceremonies.
On April 14, 1876, on the eleventh anniversary of Lincoln's assassination, another statue to his memory was unveiled in Lincoln Park, a mile from the Capitol. This is known as the Emancipation Monument and represents Lincoln standing with extended hand to help an unshackled slave to rise. This statue, which cost $18,000, was paid for by subscriptions of freed slaves, the first contribution to the fund being five dollars from Charlotte Scott, an ex-slave of Virginia. Congress appropriated $3,000 for the pedestal. The composition is the work of Thomas Ball.
In the seventies the eminent sculptor Henry K. Brown, was commissioned by Congress to make two equestrian statues, one of General Winfield Scott and one of General Nathaniel Green.
These were executed, that of General Scott being completed and turned over to the city in 1874. It is erected in Scott Cir- cle, at the intersection of Massachusetts and Rhode Island Avenues and Sixteenth and N Streets.
Congress appropriated $45,000 for this monument and sup- plied the metal from which it was cast from cannon captured during the Mexican War.
Another monument to General Scott, executed by Launt Thompson, is the heroic, standing figure, situated in the grounds of the Soldiers' Home. This large bronze figure looks toward the Capital City and, like the Brown statue, shows the General at an advanced age.
At the intersection of Pennsylvania and Louisiana Avenues and Ninth Street, is a statue of General John A. Rawlings by J. Bailey. General Rawlings was Chief-of-Staff to General Grant and later Secretary of War. This monument is made of cannon captured by Grant's army and was erected in 1874. It cost $12,000, which amount was subscribed by friends and
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admirers of General Rawlings. Congress appropriated $3,000 for the pedestal.
The monument to General James B. McPherson, by Louis T. Rebisso, standing in the center of McPherson Square, was the gift of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee. The monument was unveiled October 18, 1876. The ceremony was opened by General Sherman and the address of the occasion was given by General Logan. The cost of the monument was $23,500. The pedestal was provided by Congress at a cost of $25,000.
The ornate fountain which stands in the Botanical Gardens is the work of Bartholdi, the designer of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor. It was first exhibited at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, and was brought to Washington after the close of the Exposition.
In Stanton Square in northeast Washington, stands the bronze equestrian figure of Nathaniel Green, mentioned above, represented in carly Continental uniform, by Henry K. Brown.
Two months after the death of General Green which occurred in June, 1786, Congress made an appropriation for the erection of a monument to his memory. This appropriation was never applied, and not until nearly a century later-June 24, 1874 -- was another appropriation, of $40,000, made to honor the early hero, and the act put into effect. The work was completed and turned over to the city in 1877.
The Naval or Peace monument stands at the western entrance of the Capitol grounds, facing Pennsylvania Avenue. This memorial was designed by Franklin Simmons, after a sketched design by Admiral D. D. Porter. The foundation was designed by Edward Clark. The work cost $41,000, half of which was furnished by contributions from the Navy and half by Congress. This monument was dedicated in 1878.
The statue of General George H. Thomas by J. Q. A. Ward, situated in Thomas Circle at the intersection of Massachusetts and Vermont Avenues and Fourteenth and M Strects was a contribution from the Society of the Army of the Cumberland
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