BERKELEY
LIBRARY
UN1V6RSITY OP
CALIFORNIA
Arranged and Published by
THOMAS J. NOONAN.
Historical Pictures from Collection of
EDWARD FREIBERGER.
Plates and Engravings
F. G. JUNGBLUT & CO.
Press of
RAND, McNALLY & CO.
iKOfflfOIS THCaTRfi
RANDOLPH
BETWEEN STATE AND
DEARBORN STS.,
CHICAGO
Dedicatory'
"pciySrmance
Openinjr
^^ e>^itractioiv
NOVEMBER, 23 J 1 Kif^aRl^GERS.
^05 Ij /HRDLVEDEnRD
IROQUOIS THEATRE RANDOLPH BETWEEN STATE AND DEARBORN STREETS, CHICAGO. ILL.
r
II
Iroquois Theatre
RANDOLPH, BETWEEN STATE
AND DEARBORN STREETS
CHICAGO
erected and owned by
The Iroquois Theatre Company
directors and proprietors
William J. Davis Harry J. Powers
A. L. Erlanger J. Fred Zimmerman
Sam'l F. Nixon Marc Klaw
WILLIAM J. DAVIS. HARRY J. POWERS, Resident Owners and Managers
The Business and Working Staff Includes
THOMAS J. NOONAN, Business Manager and Treasurer
EinVARl) J. DiLI.OiN I Tj^^, , ,
ITT T A T 1- rsox ' '
Will J. Davis, Jr. )
Helen Hag ax, Secretary
J. E. G. Ryan, Press Rei-resentative
Antonio Frosolono, Director of Music
G. N. Disenberry, Doorkeeper
Ed. J. Clmmings, Master Carpenter
Walter Hueston, Electrician
Robert Murray, Engineer
613
IROQUOIS THEATRE
Randolph, between State and Dearborn Sts., Chicago.
Beginning Monday, November 23, 1903.
E,very E,vening, Including Sunday.
Wednesday and Saturday Matinees.
KLAW 6 EF^LANGELF^ present
MR. BLUE, BEARD
The Great Spectacular Entertainment from Theatre R^oyal.
Drury Lane, London
By J. HICKORY WOOD and ARTHUR COLLINS
Adapted for the American Stage by JOHN J. McNALLY
The Lyrics, unless otherwise indicated, by J. Cheever Goodwin.
Music, unless otherwise indicated, by Frederic Solomon.
Ballets by Ernest D'Auban.
Produced under Stage Direction of Herbert Gresham and Ned Wayburn.
Business Direction of Jos. Brooks. Edwin H. Price, Manager.
SYNOPSIS OF SCENES. MUSIC AND INCIDE,NTS
ACT T.
Scene 1— The Market Place on the Quay, near Bagdad. (.Bruce Smith.)
Mustapha plots to separate Selim and Fatima and sell the beautiful Fatima to the
monster Blue Beard. Blue Beard arrives; purchasess laves. Sister Anne falls in love
with Blue Beard and spurns Irish Patshaw. Blue Beard seizes Fatima and takes her
on board his yacht.
Opening Chorus—
a. "Come, Buy Our Luscious Fruits."
b. " Oriental Slaves Are We."
c. " We Come From Dalmatia."
d. Algerian Slave Song and Chorus.
aa. Grand Entrance Blue Beard's Retinue. Medley Ensemble.
bb. Song—" A Most Unpopular Potentate," Blue Beard and Chorus.
a. "Welcome Fatima."
Song — "I'm As Good As I Ought To Be," Blanche Adams.
Finale— "Then Away We Go."
POWERS' THEATRE THIS WEEK W. H. CRANE IN
"THE SPENDERS"
ILLINOIS THEATRE THIS WEEK CHAS. FROHMAN
PRESENTS "ULYSSES"
Only Way"
THE "ALTON" OCCUPIES
THE SAME RELATIVE
POSITION AMOJVG RAIL-
WAYS AS THE IROQUOIS
HOLDS AMONG THE
THEATRES OF AMERICA
CITY TICKET OFFICE
lOl ADAMS ST., CHICAGO
Scene 2-On Board Blue Beard's Yacht. (Bruce Smith.)
Fatinia with Selim attempts to escape from Blue Beard's yacht, but i.^; prevented.
Selim jumps overboard.
Opening Chorus— "There's Nothing Like The Life We Sailors Lead."
Duet— Miss Rafter and ]Miss Adams.
" Beautiful World It Would Be." (Harrv Von Tilzer.) Harry Gilfoil.
" I'm a Poor Unhappy Maid." (Jerome a'nd Schwartz.) Eddie Foy.
Finale—" He's Gone."
Scene 3— The Isle of Ferns. (H. Emden.)
Fairv Queen appears to Selim, promises him her aid and the power or tlie Magic
Fan to reunite him to his loved one and to protect them from evil.
Scene 4— The Laud of Ferns. (H. Emden.)
Ballet of Ferns- Procession and waving of the Magic Fan, by the Fairies and
Grand Corps de Ballet.
ACT II
.Scene 1— i ik- i^a>Tie Terrace ami i.ai ucn^. i .ut*. irci > . >
Fatima believes Selim dead and agrees to marry Blue Beard. She get>
the Castle from Blue Beard, who enjoins her not to open the Blue Chamber,
Opening Chorus—" Davlight is Dawning."
"Songbirds of Melody Lane," Beatrice Liddell, Elsie Romaine, and Chorus. (Ed-
wards and Brvan.) . ,, . J
"Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous." (Harry Gilfoil. > Bonnie Magmn and
Pony Ballet.
Sister Anne and the Pet Elephant.
"In the Pale Moonlight." (Jerome and Woodward.)
"Ma Honey." (Hoffman.) Bonnie IMaginn and Chori-
Scene 2 — Chamber of Curiosities. (Mc»„n.t ■ _> . r
Conquered by curio.'^ity, Fatima opens the Blue Chamber and discovers Blue Beard's
awful secret.
Blue Beard's wives discovered.
Scene 3— Home of the Old Woman Who Lived In a Shoe. (E Albert, i
The disobedient children.
Song — " Wake L"p Mammv," Maude Nugent.
.Song— " Mother Eve." (Schwartz.) Eddie Foy, Pony Ballet, and Chorus.
Scene 4— Hall in Blue Beard's Palace. (E. Albert.)
Dancing Specialty by Frank Young and Bessie De Voie. Music by C. Herbert Kerr.
Scene 5— Triumph of the Magic Fan. (H. Emden.)
Tableau 1— The Land of Palms. Tableau 4— Japan.
Tableau 2— EgvT)t Tableau .5— Parisian Rose Garden.
Tableau 3— Indi;. Tableau (5-^ ~e Garden.
heosis.
THE (;R1G()I..\TIS TROUPE OF .A.KR1.\I,IS 1 S
Xellie Reed, Premiere, and Grand Corps de Ballet.
Scene 1— Hall of Pleasure in Blue Beard's Palace. (E. Albert, i
Scenes of revelry in Blue Beard's absence.
Opening Chorus— "Let Us Be Jolly As Long As We Can."
"Spoony Mooney Night." (Gus Edwards.) Bonnie Maginn and Chorus.
Ponv Ballet Specialtv. Music bv Jean Schwartz.
" Juiie." (Wm. Jerome and Jeaii Schwartz.) Herbert Cawthorne and Chorus.
Blue Beard returns unexpectedly.
Sister .\nne gives evidence of temporary insanity. Imagines herself Ophelia.
Song- "Hamlet" Was a Melancholy Dane," Eddie Foy. (Wm. Jerome and John
Schwartz.) " :
Blue Beard discovers that Fatima has disobeyed him and threatens her and her
friends with death.
Scene 3— Below the Ramparts. (Hicks and Brooks.)
Blue Beard gives Fatima one hour in which to accept his offer of marriage or per-
ish with her friends. Selim summons Fairies' aid. Attack on the castle by the Fairy
Army. Fatima and,l)ftr Jxiends in periU . . .
Scene 3— The Fairy Palace. (Bruce S'"'"^ >
Blue Beard is overthrown and the lovers are reunited.
Entrance and triumph of the Fairy .\riny.
Grand Transformation Scene.
Trains of Quality
"20th Century Limited"
CHICAGO-NEW YORK
IN 20 HOURS
Leave CHICAGO, daily.. 12.30 p.m.
Arrive NEW YORK, daily 9.30 a. m.
"The LaHe Shore Limited'
CHICAGO-NEW YORK, 24 HOURS
CHICAGO BOSTON • 26}4 HOURS
Leave CHICAGO, daily 5 30 p. ni.
Arrive NEW YORK, daily 6.30 p. m.
Arrive BOSTON, daily 9.03 p. m.
CITY TICKET OFFICIL
180 CLARK STREET
A. J. SMITH, Gen'l Pass'r and Tkt. Agt., CLEVELAND, OHIO
C. F. DALY, Chief Assistant Gen'l Pass r Agt., CHICAGO, ILL.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
MR. BLUE BEARD HARRY GILFOIL
SISTER ANNE EDDIE FOY
FATIMA MISS BLANCHE ADAMS
SELIM ADELE RAFTER
IMER DASHER BONNIE MAGIXX
ABDALLAH NORA CECIL
MUSTAFHA ROBERTA. EVANS
IRISH PATSHAW HERBERT CAWTHORXE
HATRAC J. SARONY LAMBERT
KORAFAI BESSIE DE VOIK
ABADDIN SAM REED
ABUMUN FRANK YOUNG
MIRZA .- -MISS DUPONT
ZAIDEE ^ MISS WYNNE
AMINA J \ MISS RICHARDS
ZARA I Blue Beard's Six J :\IISS BEAUTE
NADIE - r Prettv Wives, "^i MISS WILLIAMS
BECA \ ' I - MISS ROMAINK
ZOLI ; { MISS BRANDT
LAIDOPF ^ r BERTEWING
DUNFOR i \ L. A. MASSETTE
KNOUSE [ Blue Beard's Six J C. W. NORTHRUP
BADUN r Ug-lv Wives. i JOHN VATKS
BACNUM I ■ E.Z.MORA
PASSAI ' I CHAUNCEY HOLLAND
STELLA, Queen of the Fairies MISS ANABELLE WHITFORD
Elephant and Head Tricks by Lambert and Gallagher.
PONY BALLET: SEPPIE MCNEIL, LOUIE H.\UMAN, AD.\ ROBERTSON.
BEATRICE LIDDELL, ELIZABETH HAUMAN, EVA MARLOWE,
DOROTHV MARLOWE, CAROLINE POLTZ.
Costumes designed by Comelli, London. Made by Alias, Auguste, Simmons,
Baruch, D'Allessandri, and Harrison, London, Paris, and Berlin.
Costumes for Specialties, "Ma Honey," "In the Pale Moonlight," "The Old Woman
Who Lived In a Shoe," and the Pony Ballet, de.signed by F. Richard Anderson ; made
by Klaw & Erlanger Costume Company.
Shoes by Cammeyer. Tights by the Brooklyn Knitting Co. Wigs by Clarkson
London, and Hepner, New York. Electrical effects by H. Bissing & Co.
Z,XE,CUTIVE, STAFF
Business Manager Mr. Samuel Harrison
Stage Manager Will Carleton
Assistant Stage Managers Wm. Plunkett, Carl Kahn
Musical Director Herbert Dillea
Ballet Mistress Mme. Sarraco
Mechanical Department Max. Mazzanovich, J. Andrew and Wm. Owen.'i
Properties Wm. Price
Electrician Wm. Dunn
Wardrobe Mistress Mrs. Quist
Assistant Wardrobe Mistress Mrs. Kelly
Wardrobe Man Bert Ewmg
Armorer Wm. Shermna
THE THEATRE
By Charles E. Nixon
THE pioneer days
of players iisino-
the vernacular
were anything but
"palmy." These poor
wandering Thespians
were opprobriously
called "vagabonds," and
when they attempted to
give performances in the
larger towns, the author-
ities, under pressure of
the prevailing sentiment,
were ever trying to for-
bid them. As a result
of petty persecution and
municipal meddling, a great change eventually came
about, bettering both the drama and its expositors,
for the players wisely abandoned strolling and pre-
pared to establish themselves permanently
MR B. H. MARSHALL
Undesirable tenants, the actors were forced, as a
makeshift, to build houses of their own beyond the
town limits. Fairly familiar with the classic drama,
they had neither the means nor the motive for
reproducing the imposing slavcbuilt theatres of
antiquity, seen amid the ruins of Rome and Athens.
As the strollers had been accustomed to performing
in the court-yards of humble inns or feudal castles, a
simple enclosed court served their modest architect-
ural ambitions. Their most popular model was
square eighty feet in each direction, the central por-
tion open to the sky. The enclosure was a quadrangle
of galleries that were divided into " rooms " for the
wealthy and aristocratic class. Currently these
" rooms" would flank the stage and be called boxes;
as it was then the lords and ladies occupied the
galleries exclusively.
The ground floor was so in reality, for it was
merely a yard wherein the ordinary spectators had
to stand. Projected into this space was a platform
forty feet square which served as a stage. Along the
base of the rear gallery spanning this stage were
himg tapestries to shield the space behind, which
might be used as a dressing-room. The gallery was
for the use of actors and stage service. Its elevation
served as an upper room, a balcony, a beetling cliff,
or the drawbridge of some besieged castle to be
valiantly defended. This " stage was considered so
spacious that spectators could hire stools and sit at
the right or left, viewing the play and players at
close range.
This severely simple platform, minus scenery or
14
furnishing, save the
arras at the back and
its quaking balcony,
had of necessity t<
represent all the se-
quence of places that
the imaginative play-
wright could demand.
This poverty of re-
source may have pro-
1 J ., J .„ 4.- *- DRESS CIRCLE PROMENADE
voked the dramatist
and plagued the actors. Yet the inadequacy and
provoking plainness appeared to be acceptable to the
majority of the uncritical spectators in the golden
Elizabethan age. This condition of simplicity was
not, however, relished by all the patrons of the
playhouse. The censorious Sidney, familiar with
better conditions on the stage of Italy, protested
against the stage on which the scene would seem
to change continually, simply because there was no
scenery to be changed. Sidney wrote of it as he saw
it: "The player, when he comes in, must either
begin with telling where he is, or else the tale will
not be conceived. Now shall you have three ladies
walk to gather flowers, and then we must believe the
stage to be a garden. By and by we hear the news
of a shipwreck in the same place ; then, we are to
blame if we accept it not for a rock. Upon the back
of that comes a hideous monster with fire and
smoke ; and the miserable beholders are bound to
take it for a cave ; while in the meantime two
armies fly in, represented with four swords and
16
bucklers, and then what hard heart will not receive
it for a pitched field."
The undertakings advanced by ihe heroism of the
poor persecuted pla}^ers in the elder day of the Eng-
lish drama, the practical and progressive managers
have improved and perpetuated and the modern
architects have beautified. During the past decade
theatrical architecture has made wonderful advance
in this country. Inconsiderate travelers may remark,
in contrast to local achievement, the Grand Opera of
Paris, the Royal Opera of Vienna, or the wonderful
stages of Bayreuth or Budapest, overlooking the
pertinent fact that such structures are subvented
institutions under governmental jurisdiction or royal
patronage, while all the opera houses and theatres
in America are private enterprises, and, generally
speaking, provide better entertainments and far
better accommodations for the public than the most
pretentious of the famous foreign opera houses.
The American public now, more than ever before,
demand elegance of environment for their amuse-
ments, as well as provisions for comfort and security ;
yet the opportunity for architectural compliance with
these exactions is restricted by reason of the enormous
land values in the heart of great centers of civiliza-
tion, the most advantageous locations for theatres.
The latest and most noticeable achievements in
theatrical construction, not reckoning the cost to
secure the finest results, are significant in the re-
cherche New Amsterdam Theatre in New York, the
finest concrete example of L' Art Nouveau in the
world; the beautiful Nixon Theatre, now approaching
MR. WILL J. DAViS
completion in Pittsburg-, and last but not least, the
Iroquois in Chicago, the finest and most complete
of its many modern houses devoted to the drama.
The desirable site chosen for the Iroquois is
close to that associated with the very beginning of
things theatrical in this municipality nearly sixty
years ago. It is located within " The Loop," is more
readily accessible from traction and railway lines
than any other Chicago theatre, and has a frontage
on three thoroughfares, with many avenues for exit.
The practical part of its promotion as an elegant
edifice as w' ell as a perfect theatre show the result of
skill added to good judgment in unstinted financial
outlay, with a determination to secure the best as
befitting such an important artistic adventure. Every
penny of the large expenditure represented in the
Iroquois was made in the theatrical business. Mr.
Will J. Davis and Mr. Harry J. Pow^ers, as the result
of ripe experience, understood exactly what was
needed. The judicious character of their invest-
ment is unquestionable and the artistic addition to the
city most advantageous. Associated with the Chicago
managers are Messrs. Klaw and Erlanger of New
York, and Messrs. Nixon and Zimmerman of Phila-
delphia, both firms being large producers as well.
The George A. Fuller Company is second to none
in handling building enterprises of magnitude, and
in carrying them to completion in spite of all ob-
stacles that the uncertain temper of the times may
impose. It may be recalled that this corporation
carried the Illinois Theatre to completion under con-
ditions that seemed prohibitive, and has been equally
18
MR. HARRY J. POWERS
successful in completing" the Iroquois at a time when
other builders have been seriously delayed or entirely
abandoned constructions, discouraged by the attitude
of labor and contract conditions.
Mr. Benjamin H. Marshall, the architect, has
shown admirable capability as a modern theatre
builder, and in this instance has again given Chicago
its most beautiful temple of the drama. The Illinois
Theatre was the first monumental structure of the
kind in Chicago, and the Iroquois is a surpassing
second, as the entire building is devoted to theatrical
purposes.
The Iroquois presents the most imposing and
attractive fagade to be seen in this city of modern
structures, and will impress even the most superficial
observer by its beauty and grandeur. The style,
architecturally, is French renaissance, which has a
strong suggestion of the classic. This mingling of the
heroic and lighter lines is artistically adroit, and the
result very satisfactory. The Randolph Street front
is of Bedford stone deeply recessed (sixty feet wide
and eighty feet high), the admirable proportion and
architectural treatment making it appear larger than
it really is. The central feature is a deep French
coved arch thirty-five feet in width and fifty-two
feet high, flanked on either side by stone columns
four feet in diameter and thirty-eight feet high,
weighing thirty-six tons each. Next to these in cor-
rect architectural spacing is an engaged pilaster
four feet wide that returns back of the columns,
acting in double function. The front view gives the
impress of double free columns on either side of the
to
arch, adding grace and strength to the uplift of the
edifice. These columns and pilasters rest upon a
mammoth pedestal of St. Cloud granite sixteen
feet square. The width of these bases will serve as
bulletins of attractions, for which a space five feet
square is recessed and framed in carved leaves of
laurel, the top center being a rich cartouche. The
columns and pilasters are surmounted by a cornice
nine feet high, running across the entire front from
pilaster to pilaster, breaking back to the face of the
MR. J FRf D.
ZIMMERMAN
MR. SAMUEL F.
NIXON
MANAGER'S PRIVATE OFFICE
arch at the top of either
column. These returns
are sustained by elabo-
rately carved massive
brackets of French
pattern. The upward
continuation of the cor-
nice forms a pediment
or gable, the apex of
which is seventy-five
feet above the pavement. Above its crown moulding
is a parapet. Surmounting the center as a terminal
is a monolith of stone twelve feet wide and fifteen
feet high. The massive character of the masonry
will be appreciated when it is stated that this upper
wall is fourteen feet thick.
The ornamentation of the pediment is emble-
matic, showing the semi-recumbent figure of a woman
heroic in size, representing Traged)', and the figure
of a jester, typifying Comedy. They support a richly
carved cartouche as the central ornament.
The sculptors of this large group are Beil and
Mauch, and the carver, Joseph Dux. The figures are
cut out of the solid stone projection, the relief being
3^ feet from the face of the pediment. The size of
these sculptures may be judged by the fact that the
ornamental head forming the keystone of the arch
ten feet below them is 3^{> x 4 feet.
Springing up within the arched entrance are a
pair of stone pilasters thirty-four feet high, support-
ing a cornice spanning the arch at the beginning
of the curve. The upper members of this gable are
23
cut out as a broken pediment, allowing space for the
sculptured bust of a noble Iroquois that Mr. Davis
selected as typical from his large library Americana.
Back of this arch is an elaborate screen of orna-
mental iron work (in which the Winslow Brothers
have fairly outdone the Germans in their handicraft).
This screen is set with heavy plate and jewel glass,
giving light and airiness to the inner lobby and
outer front. Five pairs of wide mahogany doors
with glass panels give entrance to a vestibule 20x40
feet, with an eighteen-foot ceiling beamed and pan-
eled with marble. This is elliptical in shape, allow-
ing room for ticket and other offices on either side,
their windows being an attractive feature of the
otherwise plain solid construction. At the east end
ornamental iron stairs lead to the business offices of
the house and to the third floor above, the manager's
private office. A second series of swinging doors
admit to a foyer truly palatial (sixty feet wide and
eighty feet long), with a colonnade of pavonazzo
pillars carrying the ceiling upon groined arches sixty
feet above the tessellated floor. It is- by far the most
majestic interior in this city or in this country,
rivaling many vistas to be seen in the Congressional
Library in Washington. In the dignity of its dec-
orative disposition it siiggests some kinship with the
latter noble structure; but its lines are lighter, its
treatment not so severely studied, while its originality
is worthy of the highest praise.
A point worthy of remark is that the foyer of this
house is not only in itself wonderfully impressive
and attractive, but its relation to the auditorium is
VIEW OF FOYER FROM DRESS CIRCLE
singularly harmo-
nious and effective.
All parts of the house
are open from this
noble, lofty room of
entrance, and in turn
it is intimately close
to the great audience
room — the architect
has turned the trick
of the angle to per-
fection. To see and
be seen is the duality
of advantage presented for the patrons of the
Iroquois.
The colonnade of tinted marble pillars on white
marble bases sentinel the sides of the foyer, and
mark the landings along the graceful lines of the
grand staircases rising along the wall of the outer
courts. These broad, easy ascents have five landings
opening upon balconies that project between the
columns, the ornamental iron filagree supporting
graceful candelabra used as electroliers. The wall
dado, as well as the wall itself, is of white marble,
while high up along the line of the second story is a
succession of arched French windows ornate with
graceful little balconies. The draping of these win-
dows show rich oriental colors, and their frames are
set with plate mirrors which add to the brilliancy of
the decorative detail and magnify the spaciousness
of the interior. Pendant from the bosses of the
groined arches are Etruscan crystal bowl lamps, giv-
as
ing; soft light to the stairs and the plastic beauties of
the ceiling. Deeply tufted settees, upholstered in fine
fabrics, are in every embrasure along the walls of the
foyer and highway of the stairs, giving a fine color
note to the marble walls, the delicate veining of the
pavonazzo pillars, and the decorations of the coves
and arches. The line of these staircases leading to
the dress circle and balcony is fascinating in its
formation, framing the pillars of the inner court,
whose Capitols sustain an elaborate cornice and a
number of heavily recessed arches along the balcony
promenade. In turn these lead to ornate beaming
around a skylight, 20x40 feet, of delicately tinted
glass in cloud forms, studded with jewels, giving the
effect (from concealed lights) of stars in the changing
clouded sky.
The ladies' parlors and check rooms are at the
center of the foyer to the left, and opposite are siin-
ilar conveniences for gentlemen. These rooms sink
under the broad staircases clear of the foyer. Below
stairs on the right is a gentlemen's smoking room
fitted up with special reference to its use. The whole
effect of this foyer is delightful in detail and striking
in its dazzling ensemble.
There are a number of interesting innovations in
the construction of this building that will never be
seen by the public. There are no obstructing pillars
in the body of the house to interfere with the fine lines
of sight. The dress circle and balcony are carried upon
cantilevers that upon an eight-foot anchorage carry
an overhand of twenty-six feet, the enormous roof
trusses on the rear wall holding down the cantilevers.
26
Glass -paneled .
doors, swinging be-
tween the arches on
the north of the foyer,
lead to the parquette;
a similar entrance for
the dress circle is
directly above, and
that for the balcony
on the third floor, all
parts of the house, vestibule
being accessible from the grand foyer. As for
exits, they are far more numerous, the entire north
frontage being available for such service in case
of emergency. Another large emergency exit leads
across the stage to Dearborn Street from the passage-
way and doors behind the boxes on the south side of
the auditorium proper. The directness of entrance
and the availabilit}' of exits are a praiseworthy fea-
ture of this admirabl}- planned house of amusement.
The great audience room is attractive in its
arrangement, spaciousness, and decoration. It is
wide, compared with its depth (ninety feet wide by
seventy-one feet in depth), this shell shape giving
direct lines of sight and aiding the excellence of
acoustics, so that the stage entertainment can be
thoroughly enjoyed by every spectator.
The aisles are wide and the distance between the
rows of chairs is two inches more than ordinary.
The latest and best systems of heating and venti-
lation have been installed, so that the pure-air prob-
lem has been successfully solved. A series of col-
37
umns seven feet from the rear wall of the lower floor
follow the curve of the rear row of seats supporting
the unseen cantilevers, adding grace to the structure
by carrying a series of attractive electroliers. The
dress circle sweeps in a flat curve so high above the
parquette that the top of the proscenium arch can
be seen from every seat.
There are 744 seats in the parquette, not counting
the box seats, numbering 24, one of the largest lower
floor capacities in the city. The dress circle has 465
seats, with two upper boxes accommodating 16 ; and
the balcony has seatings for 475, making a total of
1,724 chairs, with plenty of good standing room on
each floor.
The ceiling under the dress circle is effectively
treated in a decorative way with elliptical panels,
delicately defined, giving the effect of a Titanic fan
spread open. The paneling of the walls is in French
style and the color scheme of the house is American
Beauty red, opulent in association with neutral tints
of green and gold used on the plastic details. Around
the house on all floors is a wainscot six feet high, of
curly Hungarian ash.
Over the proscenium is a sounding board twenty
feet wide, its Rococo paneling giving the key to all
the ornamentation about the frame of the stage,
involving the order of its proscenium boxes. The
line of the elliptical proscenium arch is ornate with
wreath of laurel leaves; the opening is forty-one feet
wide and thirty-six feet high. The orchestra pit
is spacious, with ample room for forty instrumental-
ists. The projection in front of the footlights is
convexed and decorated in conformity with the pre-
vailing style of the house.
In the rear of the boxes there is ample space,
which will allow plenty of room for comfortably dis-
posing- of wraps, bonnets, hats, and such other wear-
ing apparel as patrons may desire to discard before
entering the boxes.
The plan of the decorations in the Iroquois is one
full of variety in design and color and more sumptu-
ous than anything hitherto attempted in a Chicago
theatre.
The walls of the vestibule are of white marble,
with a subtle treatment of antique gold in the ceil-
ing, leaving the total effect very rich yet quiet.
As you enter the foyer, the effect is in rich con-
trast to the vestibule. The walls are of white mar-
ble, with pavonazzo columns. Around the mirror
panels on both sides of the flanking stairways is a
welcome velvety red. The draperies and furnishings
in a deeper tone of this same color are important
notes of the decorative scheme.
The foyer ceilings and domes in the richest col-
ors of green and rose tints of the French Renaissance
style, liberally elaborated with gold, add brilliancy
and crispness to the general tone of this beautiful
harmony.
The color scheme of the auditorium is as beautiful
as it is appropriate. The colors are quiet and neu-
tral greens on the ceilings and a rich red on walls
and wdth gold in the boxes and draperies.
The colors of the proscenium arch and entabla-
tures of boxes are soft green and silver gray.
30
LADIES" BOUDOIR
All constructional
parts have the color
of French statuary
bronze and verdigris,
elaborated with ivory
tones.
The auditorium
ceiling is a well-
blended sky effect done in soft greens, cerulean
blues, and mauves, with clouds in grays and pearl
tints.
All the coves are finished in Sienna.
It will be observed that the facings of the boxes,
dress circle, and balcony are in keeping with the
colorings in the great sounding board over the pros-
cenium arch.
This color scheme, with the deep rich red of the
walls back of the seats in tone with the warm tones
of the pavonazzo marble, combine to make this inte-
rior a triumph of elegance in decoration.
The designing and decorating of the Iroquois
Theatre throughout is the work of the W. P. Nelson
Company, an old-established Chicago firm, who also
did Powers' Theatre, this city, the New Amsterdam
Theatre of New York City, which has attracted
much attention on account of its striking originality
of design and coloring, and the new Nixoii Theatre
in Pittsburg, Pa., now nearing completion.
Mr. St. John Lewis has provided two exquisitely
painted curtains, unique in their significance. The
asbestos, or fireproof curtain, shows a summer scene
on the Mohawk River, made from a sketch by the
31
artist himself, from which, however, he has eliminated
every semblance of modern civilization, with the
view of illustrating the historic v^alley as it might
have appeared 150 years ago, when its banks were
peopled with the Iroquois Indians only. -The picture
is in the artist's best style, and was suggested by the
following verse by Mrs. Lydia H. Sigourney :
" Ye say their cone-like cabins
That clustered o'er the vale
Have disappeared as withered leaves
Before the autumn gale ;
But their memory liveth on your hills,
Their baptism on your shore ;
Your ever-rolling rivers speak
Their dialect of yore."
The act drop is a study rich and mellow in atitum-
nal tints. It is a landscape also, and treated in Mr.
Lewis' best style, intended to illustrate the following
lines by Greer :
" October, tinting the summer skies,
Had ranged on a scaffold of mist
His gold, and crimson, and purple dyes.
And russet and amethj'st."
The plush curtain, which is of rich velvet of a
beautiful red to harmonize with the color of the
auditorium, is ornamented with a portrait of Sagoya-
wata, or Red Jacket, a chief of the Senecas, and later
the most celebrated chief in all the tribes in that con-
federacy of Indians known as the Six Nations, or
Iroquois, after which the theatre is named. This
curtain was made and ornamented b)^ Marshall
Field & Co., who also furnish the draperies.
The stage of the Iroquois Theatre is spacious,
modern, and perfectl)' appointed, with a depth of
33
fifty-three feet and a width of i lo feet. The rijcging-
loft is seventy-six feet from the stage floor and is
believed to be the best constructed ever placed in a
theatre. The full width of the stage corresponding
with the proscenium opening is entirely clear under-
neath, and of sufficient depth to give working space
for the most elaborate and pretentious of stage
productions of every description. There are two fly
PROSCENIUM AND BOXES
galleries on either side of the stage, all of steel con-
struction, and a steel paint bridge on the rear wall
unites these upper galleries.
There are thirty-six dressing rooms, all large and
comfortably furnished, and most of these above and
on the south side of the stage. They are readilv
reached by broad, easy stairs, and, wonder of wonders,
have an elevator that works at every performance
instead of merely lifting baggage at the beginning
and conclusion of an engagement. The supernum-
cranes have large rooms in a separate part oi Liie
basement. Adequate accommodation for the per-
formers is unusual, but Mr. Davis, who inaugurated
drastic reform in dressing-rooms in the building of
the Ha3'market, has elaborated on his original ideas
for comfort in the Trocpiois.
» L
$ o
< u.
O O
From Sauganash to Iroquois
• ■I)ui ^'J Europe;
English
III -^Tlie J-
McKenii,:y uH'f jduin nan, • ■
TwoMhirds of a Century in the
Theatrical History of Chicago
By Edward Freiber
III
;Uir.t..s \v..
curtain
were few and
eJue liuu muunl;;-;iii :uy,lii, wiicn the ice
■ /,■ <.r Chicu'^'i tunied Miit f . >r a skate and a i
t hundred
persons on the river between Wells Street and the forks.
Just imagine, one hundred persons the " whole of Chicago ! ''
Remember, please, that the village was not inviting to settlers.
As recently as 1S23, twenty years after the lirst house was
built by John Kinzie, Major Long and partj' had visited Chi-
cago on their way to the St. Peter's River, and in the narra-
tive of the expedition, Mr. Keating, the writer, saj-s : "We
were mnch disappointed in Chicago and its vicinitv. The
village presents no cheering prospects, as notwithstanding its
antiquit)-, it consists of but few huts, inhabited by a miserable
race of men, scarcely equal to the Indians from whom thev are
descended. Tlicir Iol;- houses are low, iilthj-, and disgusting,
displaying ii ast comfort. As a place of business ii
offers no inducement to the settler ; for the whole amount of
trade on the lake did not exceed the cargo of five or six
schooners, even when the garrison received its supplies from
ilackinaw."
Still the village progressed, and in the year 1833, during
which there were but four arrivals of lake craft, it' organized
a debating society with Gen. Jean Baptiste Beaubien as presi-
dent, and soon thereafter came the first public entertainment
to which an admission fee was charged. The C/u'cai^o Detno-
crat of Tuesday, February iS, 1834, printed the following
advertisement, the first ever published in Chicago in the inter-
ests of amusements :
Erxhibition
Joy lia/h i/s limits. We hut borrow
Oiit> hour of mirth from months a
The Ladies and Gentlemen of Chicago are most respectfully informed
that Mr. Bowers, Professor de tours Amusant, has arrived in to\vn, and
will give an Exhibition at the hcim 'if >[r. D. Graves, on Monday even-
ing next.
Part First
Mr. Bowers will fully personate Monsieur Chunhert, the celebrated
J^ire King-, who so much astonished the people of Europe, and so thro'
his wonderful Chemical Performance. He will draw a red hot iron
acro.ss his tongue, hands, etc., and will partake of a comfortable warm
supper by eating fire balls, burning .sealing wax, live coals of fire, melted
lead. He will dip his fingers in melted lead, and make use of a red hot
spoon to convey the same to his mouth.
3«
Part Second
..1 .,■..- ^ n will introduce many amusinj^ feats of / enlriloqiiism aiui
Legerdemain^ many of which are original, and too numerous to mention.
Admittance 50 cents, children half price.
Performance to commence at early candle li.sjht. Seats will be
reserved for Ladies, and every attention paid to the comfort and con-
venience of the spectators. Tickets to be had at the bar.
The home of Mr. D. Graves, referred to, was the IMansicjn
House, at No. SS Lake Street, owned by Dexter Graves.
Enter the pioneer of local dramatic critics. The first criti-
cism of a public performance of any kind ever published in a
Chicago newspaper was the following editorial paragraph in
the Democrat of Wednesday, June 11, 1834:
"We were truly delighted last evening with the performance oi
Mr. Kenworthy. He is certainly an accomplished Ventriloquist, and is
entitled to the support of those who feel interested in a display of nature's
gifts. In his 'Brombach family,' he represents seven perfectly distinct
characters, and carries them all through to admiration. He performs
many other very interesting feats. It will be seen by reference to his
notice in another column, that he raa.y be found for the last time at
Brombach Hall' this evening. This opportunity will not be lost by
those who have an interest in exhibitions of the kind."
Remember that this was-onh- a few months after the Potta-
watumies had given up their lands to the white man. Chicago
was beginning to make history. On June 19. 1834. C. Blisse
gave a concert, and then came the usual small, very small,
circus with the still smaller side show. In the spring of 1S35,
when Hour was selling for $28 a barrel, Uncle Sam gave Chi-
cago a postoffice. And then, on June iS, 1835, came "a nov-
elty in Chicago." This was the first fair, held bj- "the ladies
of the Protestant Episcopal Church of this town." The town
was growing, and it required onh- "five days by daj-light
to go by coach to St. Louis." The population had grown
on December g, 1835, to 3,279. The town had forty-four stores,
four druggists, two breweries, one iron foundry, eight taverns,
one lottery office, one bank, five churches, seven schools,
twenty-two lawyers, fourteen dbctors, a lyceum, and a reading
i-oom. But actors, dramatic critics, and press agents were
conspicuous by their absence. Amusements were at a stand-
still until the Chicago Harmonic Society gave its fix'st concert
at the Presb^-terian Church, Friday evening, December 11.
39
George A. Fuller
Company
Guilders
Chicago New York
Boston
Philadelphia
Pittsburg
Baltimore
Washington
Albany St. Louis
i-^35. iit (1. 3u o'clock, iiucl another Friday, Janua:
celebrate the opening of a new line of mail coaches
Chic;'';''" ''"il l).'tv,,it \\-liii-li i\-c>nt tuol,- nlaic Taniiarx i
The: vicinity,
for J- -i., the tV). "'I'-
li<"^. -.I'M-. :ni; "-'cn
1 Lake Mich-
i"a;i •■ere
,.,,■'. '.or
pr.,," -.L ih nut sur-
i:,i> :t''rs" in this
i uestrian
:' ( tcl'jber '.'1 ,i ^3'-', the single
'os. 1-2. ly.j, aiT"! i7''i T.alTL'
ailnr b'-
l-'JllK-lU
■vv thcir
l l:l'.- nu-,7]ii!-
vtv-t;\vn silver
■:uit
"LL-ll llSCll ]]] liiis,
I'l pa\' him ^iiT. in
jicross Three
Mountain TKjxnges
EN ROUTE TO TEXAS
THE
FRISCO
SYSTEM
TRAVERSES
The OzarkSs The Kiamichi
and the 'Boston J\Iountains
MAGNIFICENT SCENERY. WHICH CAN
BE COMPLETELY INSPECTED FROM
THE LIBRARY-OBSERVATION SLEEPERS
OPERATED BETWEEN ST. LOUIS AND
SAN ANTONIO aeaeaaaa^a
Write for Copy of Illustrated Book entitled
"THE TRISCO MAGAZINE"
F. C. REILLY A. HILTON
General Agent General Passenger Agent
332 Marquette Bldg., Chicago St. Louis. Mo.
thf authorities to make the license payable weekly, but the
i-equest was denied, the Council naming i$ioo as the amount.
Evidently this was too much for them to pay, for they left the
city without giving a performance. Mr. Edwin Dean was the
father of the famous actress, Miss Julia Dean. ]Mr. McKinney
had been a po^jular actor at the Bowery Theatre, New York,
ill 1S35. He afterward became the first manager of the Eagle
.Street Theatre in Buffalo, New York.
Now listen to the overture to the first performance of a play
in Chicago. The first petition that met with the favor of the
young city was the following :
'• Chicago, October 17, 1837. The subscribers respectfully petition
the Honorable the Mayor and Council ot" the City of Chicago for a
license to perform plays in said city. They respectfullj- represent that
this establishment is intended toaflford in.struction as well as amusement;
that they are encouraged and patronized by the leading portion of the
inhabitants of the city, who are interested in tlieir success; that they
propose to remain here during the winter, and that they make no calcula-
tion to receive more money in the city than what they will expend during
their stay, and, therefore, they trust that in offering a rate for license
these facts may be taken into consideration. Isherwood & AlcKenzie
the petitioners, request this license for six months, if agreeable to the
Hoard."
The Council fixed the license at $125 for the year, and,
while the petitioners protested that it was too much, thev
paid it.*
As the last two theatres to be opened in Chicago proudly
bear Indian names — Illinois and Iroquois — so the first home
of the drama in this citjr likewise bore an Indian name, that of
Sauganash. The first plaj'' presented in Chicago was given in
the dining-room of the deserted Sauganash Hotel, which stood
on a bit of ground that is now doubly historical, for on the same
spot there was erected, in 1S60, the famous" Wigwam," which
was burned in the great fire of October 9, 1S71, and in which
Abraham Lincoln was first nominated for the presidencv, on
May iS, 1S60. One of the most prominent of the earh
* A statement has been published in New York that the first dramatic
performance ever given in Chicago took place on September lo, 1837, Airs.
Hester Jefferson MacKenzie appearing as Helen, in "The Hunchback.''
.\s managers were not allowed to play without licenses, and as none
\\ ;i- ssued until October 17, 1837, the statement is certainly incorrect.
4 3
WP.NELJON COMPAW
DECORATORS £>
-^OHE decora- Ut^lvJlNtrO
^;^°S5'^o';j OF BEAUTIFUL
is an example of TXITP D TOD ^
our Work; also ll>i 1 l-» rVj. V-/ IN^
that of POWERS'
THEATRE in Chicago, the NEW YORK
THEATRE and th- NEW AMSTERDAM
of JVeW Yorii City M The latter, just
recently opened to the public, has attracted
much attention on account of its striking
originality of design and coloring JS JS The
interior of the NEW NIXON THEATRE
of "Pittsburg, noto under construction, Will
shortly be completed by us M Correspond
dence solicited With architects and owners
about decorations of all descriptions JS J&
NEW YORK and CHICAGO
w as Mark Beaubien, a brother of General Beaubieii, who erected
;i log house on the east side of Market Street, about lofj feet
south of Lake Street, converted it into a tavern, and called
it the Sauganash. Beaubien. who was born in iSoo, was one
of the popular heroes of the town, for when there were no other
amusements, he would entertain the people — residents and
\isitors — with his fiddling, and for years and years no reunion
<if old settlers was complete without " Mark Beaubien and his
fiddle," for the two were inseparable. Ikaubien laid aside his
tiddle at Kankakee, Illinois, April i ul is now listening
to better music. The tavern was naniud after a half-breed
Indian chief, Sauganash, meaning •' English." His right name
was Billy Caldwell, and he was born in Canada about the year
17S0. His father is said to have, been an Irish officer in the
British Army, and his mother a^ Pottawatomie squaw. He
came to Chicago about the year 1S20, and soon became one of
the most conspicuous and popular figures in the community.
He died at Council Bluffs, Iowa, September 2S, 1S41.* The
Sauganash was a two-story wooden structure 20 by 40 feet in
dimensions, with a wing of the same height at the rear and
another of one story at the right, the latter being a log cabin
with two windows and a door. It looked very much like an
ordinary log house of the Colonial period, with two windows on
either side of the center door, and five windows marking the
front of the second story, the roof being shaped like an inverted
V. During September, 1S37, John Murphy, then the proprietor
of the Sauganash, vacated it and moved into a new house
on the west side of the Chicago River, that mai'velous stream
whose once clear waters are now tainted by commerce, and its
current reversed so that instead of running into Lake Michigan
the latter now partially cleanses it and helps it reach the Gulf
of Mexico.
Messrs. Isherwood & MacKenzie secured the Sauganash
♦MARRIED.— In this place on the morning of the i8th inst.. Rilly
Caldwell, chief of the United Nations of Ottawa, Pottawatomie, and
Chippewa Indians, to Saugua le Grand, of the l^otL-wvatomie Nation.—
C/iicago Democrat, November 10, 1834.
45
Standard Daily
Through Sleeping Cars
BETWEEN
CHICAGO
Galveston
Tex.
VIA THE
WABASH
IRON MOUNTAIN
TEXAS & PACIFIC, and
INT. & GT. NOR. R'YS
A\D
Los
Angeles
Cal.
WABASH
IRON MOUNTAIN
TEXAS & PACIFIC, and
SOUTHERN PACIFIC
RAILWAYS
FOR. SLEEPING CAR RESERVATIONS. TICKE,TS, AND FULL
INFORMATION APPLY AT
City Ticket Office, 97 Adams St., Chicago
F. A. Palmer
Assistant General Passenjjer AKen
Chicago
C. S. Crane
General Passeugei- ami Ticket Agent
St. Louis
and converted the dining-room into a theatre accommodatin;^
about 200 persons. The floor was level and the seats wtrc
rough boards, although a few common chairs were placed in
front for ladies and their escorts. The building had been
reconstructed internally to represent a complete modern
theatre in miniature. This was a great building for a city
scarcely seven months old, and with just 4.179 inhabitants.
The price of admission was 75 cents. The opening play
on this eventful first night of October 17, 1S37, was the
three-act melodrama by J. T. Haines, entitled "The Idiot
Witness, or A Tale of Blood." The leading man was William
Leicester, an Englishman. Harry Isherw<jod, who did the
-plain acting "as he termed it, was also the scenic artist '■:
the company. He painted the first scenery used in Chicu'.;-'
and as late as 187S was scenic artist at Wallack's Theatre.
New York, his " exteriors " being particularly fine. He was
born in New York, where he made his debut at the Park
Theatre as Richard HI., and lived to be over eighty year< - -'
age. Alexander MacKenzie, the junior partner, was an r.:
of the present 'Joseph JefiFerson, having married Miss Hester
JeiTerson, a sisterof the present Joseph Jefferson's father.
:Mts. MacKenzie, born in iSii, and educated in Philadelphia,
had the distinction of being the first woman to play Mrs.
Malaprop in "The Rivals " in America, and likewise the <!i<-
in Chicago. Both Mr. and Mrs. MacKenzie now lie buri.
the old City Cemetery at Nashville, Tennessee. Willian
cester, who played Robert Arnaud on that eventful night
the honor later of being the first man to play Shylock in
cago. In after days he succumbed to the demon drink.
Chicago was even then an enterprising place is prove:,
the fact that "The Idiot Witness" was first seen in America
at the old Warren Theatre, Boston, in 1S36, so that it took
barely a year for the play to come from the center f>t Tear:
to the village in the wilderness. It is interestii;.
that there is still one dearly beloved actress among
took part in a performance of this melodrama as far
as 1S49. when it was presented at the National Thi
rnin:
i;-
^^The Stratford
MICHIGAN AND JACKSON BOULEVARDS.
Next Door to Illinois Theatre.
V
GRO. n. WEAVER.
200 Rooms /. 125 Batb= Rooms
Located in the heart of Business, Shopping", and Theatre Districts.
Rates, SI. 50 ana lipioards.
Cbe handsomest **Dutcl)** Room in America.
Cuisine f>igl)=Class.
Special attention given to after-theatre diners.
The hotel is equipped with the latest and best sanitary improvements.
Uiuiniii 'ae^i, wlni hiiN-ioiir
'^'■' 1'' ... Miss Jtlaucle Aflji.m^
r the Illinois TIk :
I lirsL theatre did not even boast
alk. Instead there was an uifli
h two short and stumpy hiti
pu.sL^ < i ioorway, which was barely large
enough : .ns at (iiie tinu-. In 1SS4 Hamy
Isherwood, T .Mr. James H.
McVieker from New Yurk lluil he remembered but one play
tjiVen duriiiL'' the lirst season of i>:;-, naniel\-. "The Straiiver."
adding ne wrong
is an interesting fact that at least three of the early Chieago
actors were als') scenic artists., namelv. ITarr\- I>lKr\\i".(l ,
Joseph !., and Mr. Beclcwii
John B. npany in i,*>47 and 1S4;. In those early day>
the aiK liail eonie nearest to beinu;' i)laee> of aiur,-e-
lieartil} .he I'lays were \\\ unci were
aiwavs aree. 'Pile plavl/iV . tlie eiim-
liancll.>;;i<. about i-jxi.- melies in size. '[istributed by
carriers evcrv morning, as there we; ■ " dailA* ]")ai5ers
iie plays presented dtxring tl
no eompiete " -^ to be found. But it is known that
Thomas Sar' 1 the '• old men "; James S. AVright was
iitleman," and Mrs. David IngersoU was the
• leading lady. Others in the c(mipany wei'e Mrs. Alexander
MacKenzic, Madame Analine, actress and danseuse, and the
present Joseph Jefferson's gifted half-brother, Charles Burke,
who acted, and daiiced the Highland lling and the sailor's
hoi-npipe. Mrs. David IngersoU was another aunt of the
present Joseph Jefferson. She had nian-ied David IngersoU,
a tragedian of great promise, who died in St. Louis in 1837,
aged 25 years. She was an actress and a dancer, and lived at
the old Lake House, a three-story brick structure built in 1836
The electrical features of the Iroquois Theatre were
installed by the Chicago Edison Company-
Electricity for both light and power is supplied entirely
from our street mains — ilic Modern Method.
at the coniti wi i<.u^h aiul Kin/.ic .-Mn.(.'ts, where she taughi
(laneing to young Chicagoans. When the eompany left here
she remained a while in Chicago and continued teaching..
After leaving Chicago she married James S. Wright, a member
of the old company at the Sauganash, who afterward became
prompter at Wallack's Theatre, New York. Wright died in
New York on June 27, 1S93, at the age of 79. Mrs. Wright
died in 1S96. Chicago's first company of actors pleased the
people for several weeks, and then left the city, presumably to
appear in other cities in Illinois, and possibly in St. Louis.
The towns that probably attracted the company were Juliet
(now Joliet). Ottawa. Peoria, Jacksonville, Springfield, and
Vandalia, the last named being then the capital of Illinois. It
has been claimed by certain old settlers of Chicago that these
performances at the Sauganash, in October, 1837, were undoubt-
edh^ the first in the State of Illinois, a statement hardly apt to
be true, as a number of the adjoining towns were much older
and larger in 1S37 than Chicago, and must have drawn to them
some of the roving companies that were seen in St. Louis and
the Southern cities before Chicago was incorporated.
The company returned in 1S38 and included among its
members Mr. and Mrs. Greenbury C. Germon, then recently
married. The latter, Jane Anderson Germon, was then but 16
years of age, and was a cousin of the present Joseph Jefferson.
Her mother was the first Joseph Jefferson's favorite daughter,
iiuphemia Jeft'erson, who was born luiphemia Fortune, in New
York, in 1774, on the identical day that her prospective husband
was born at Plymouth, England. Euphemia's sister, Esther
Fortune, became the second wife of William Warren, the elder,
and in this manner the Jefferson and Warren families first
became related to each other, a relationship emphasized in Chi-
cago, in 1867, when Joseph Jefferson III. married Miss Sarah
.\nne Isabel De Shields Warren, daughter of Henry Warren
II. Jane Anderson Germon, who at last accounts was still
living in Baltimore, retired from the stage during the season
of 18S9-1890; Two years after her first arrival in Chicago, she
.was in Augusta, Ga., where on June 13, 1S40, she became the
51
r^OME admirer, name and address unknown, wrote this sentence on
1^ the back of a menu card after a satisfactory meal in a Burlington
dining car. It means that the Burlington offers passenger service
that suits its patrons in every particular. The schedules of Burlington
trains are fast, but reliable; the equipment comfortable; the employes
courteous; the dining car service unexcelled.
Burlington lines gridiron the West, reaching practically every
important point between Chicago, St. Louis and the Rocky Mountains.
Limited trains (no e.xtra fare) between Chicago and St. Paul, St. Paul
and St. Louis, Chicago and Kansas City, Chicago and Denver, St. Louis,
Kansas City and Denver. Through service to California via Colorado.
Through service to the Pacific M"i-tv,«o<f via St I'ml
Billings and Denver.
Buflin^ton
Route
Tell rae what point you wu
how to get there, and what it will cost.
P. S. EUSTIS, Passenger Traffic Manager, CHICAGO.
motlici (if the talented Effie Gernion, who was for many years
;i I'avMiii. ..iinedicnne at AVallaek's Theatre, Xew Yoi'k. Mr.
< iermon, at the time of his arrival in Chicago, was but 22 years
')f age. He plaved the usual variety of parts while in Chicago.
and afterward became the original Uncle T'
Tom's Cabin." He died in Chicago April 14, 1-^54. a-i ; -
j-ears. William Warren, then only 26 years of age, \\;\- a
member of this company of pioneer actors and 1>
immediate favorite, appearing in several of the roles m wiikii
he afterward won so much fame and popularity in Boston,
favoring Chicago with his Sir Lucius O'Trigger in " 'iln
Rivals" as far back as October 30, 1S39, when the majorlLx
of the patrons of the playhouse were unfamiliar with classit-
comedv, either in the librar\^ or on the boards.
And in this company wn- :- i;^'i. 1 >,vho lived lw ,,w m^
dean of the American sta;< .isite art has never
been e.xcelled in' the playhouse, whose long flaxen hair grew
shorter with the years, then darker, and then whiter as the
blessings of age silvered his brow, the Avhile the player and
the play-goer learned to del genius and profit by tht
art of Joseph Jefferson, wh' ■" ''^" c, ,,,i1in,-,.,.;i ,,„•,,,..
of Spruce and Sixth Street-
His mother was Cornelia Frances Si. Thomas Jefferson, hi>
father being her second hn>~'iniri N'i>iing Jefferson's first
plavhouse was "behind tli ' when on Monday
evening, September 2S, 1903, Chicago was celebrating her Cen-
tennial, Joseph Jefferson had the distinguished privilege ot
appearing at Powers' Theatre in "Rip Van Winkle" and of
saying to his attentive audience afthe close of the play: • I
])laved in Chicago sixty-five years ago."
1 1 \\a> sHJii found that the Sauganash was ; ; :;:-
of the city, so the next building to be converted into a theatre
and opened in May, 1S38, was known as the Rialto. a cheaji
\\i;oden structure at N(<s. S and 10 South Dearborn Street, and
owned by Augustus Garrett, who became Mayor of Chicag<i
in 1S43. The theatre was in the upper portion of the struc-
ture, a rofun 30 x So feet in size. Benjamin F. Taylor described
JACKSON BOULEVARD AND WABASH AVENUK
OPPOSITE THE H.LINOIS THEATER
CUISINE THE FINEST IN AMERICA
SPECIAL CARE TAKEN
OF THEATER PARTIES
WE DESIRE TO CALL PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO OUR THREE
DEPARTMENTS ON THE OFFICE FLOOR. KNOWN AS
The Wellington ' "Lini ited
The Wellington White Room
The Wellington Mahogany Room
IN THE BASEMENT OUR
WHITE, MARBLE, CAFE,
ON THE PARLOR FLOOR
SPECIAL DINING ROOMS
CAPABLE OF SEA TING FROM THREE TO EIGH TV PERSONS
THE JVELLINGTON HOTEL
ALBERT S. GAGE. Prop.
it as "a den of a place, looking more like a dismantled grist
mill than the temple of anj-body. The gloomj' entrance would
have furnished the scenery for a nightmare, and the lights
within were sepulchral enough to show up the coffin scene in
' Lucretia Borgia." But for all that those dingv old walls
used to ring sometimes with renderings fine enough to grace
grander Thespian temples, though there was a farce now and
then somewhat broader than it was long."
Still the Rialto was not opened without opposition, for the
late Grant Goodrich, a prominent citizen in his day, declared
the theatre a " menace to the moral welfare of the city," con-
tending "that the tendencj- of the performance at modern
theatres was grossly demoralizing, destructive of principle, "
and that they "were nurseries of crime." But the Common
Council thought differently and fixed the theatre license at
ifioo a year, which was $25 less than the opponents of the
enterprise had expected it would be. The Rialto, originallv
used as an auction house by L. W. ^lontgomery, was quite in
the center of the city. Side by side wei'e two saloons, "The
Rialto" and "The Eagle," the latter kept by Ike Cooke.
Directly opposite, on the east side of Dearborn Street, close to
the auction rooms, was the "Eating House" known as
" Steele's Refectory." The new playhouse was called the Chi-
cago Theatre, and a number of new people were added to the
company previously seen at the Sauganash. Joseph Jefferson,
who first landed here by boat, in May, 1S3S, remembers that the
Chicago Theatre " was quite the pride of the city, and the idol
of the new managers, for it had one tier of boxes and a gallerv
at the back. I don't think that the seats of the dress circle
were stuft'ed, but I am almost sure that they were planed."
The company consisted of William Leicester, William Warren,
James Wright, Charles Burke, Joseph Jeft'erson, Sr. , Thomas
Sankey, William Childs, Harry Isherwood, artist, Jcseph Jeffer
son, Jr., Mrs. Alexander MacKenzie, Mrs. Joseph Jefferson.
Mrs. David Ingersoll, and Mrs. Jane Germon. Young Jefferson
was, in his own words: "The comic singer of this party,
making mvself useful in small parts and first villagers : now
CHICAGO-ST. LOUIS
DAYLIGHT SPECIAL, GREEN, GOLD AND BROWN TRAIN
DIAMOND SPECIAL, NIGHT TRAIN
and then doing duty as a Roman Senator at the back, wrapped
in a clean hotel sheet, with my head peering over the profile
banquet tables. I was just nine years old. I was found useful
as Albert and the Duke of York. In those days the audience
used to throw money on the stage either for comic songs or
dances. And oh I (with that thoughtful prudence which has
characterized my after life), how I used to lengthen out the
verses." The stars during the season were Mrs. McClure,
Dan Marble, and A. A. A'i-i'"< ^,.ni,^ ,,t" tii,. inlays acted
were "The Lady of Lyon^ loh Roy,"
" Damon and Pythias," " Wivtb as They Were, Maids as They
Are," and "Sam Patch." The first season at the Rialto
continued until October, 1S3S, when a benefit was tendered
Mr. MacKenzie by many of the citizens; fifty-one in all, who
addressed a complimentary let tt-r to him in which they extolled
the artistic excellence and p: ,1" himself and com-
pany. Among those who signed it were : John Calhoun.
Mark Skinner, Julius Wadsworth, T. R. Hubbard, Thomas
Hcv -;e Kerchival, Norman B. Judd, H. O. Stone, and
S. S. Bradley. The benefit took place October iS, 1S38, and
was notable for the first performance in Chicago of " The Ladv
"f kvvins." The cast was as follo\^ -
Claude ^reln^ ■ ..William Leicester
Beaiiseant William Warren
''ilavis --'niry C. Germun
Colonel Damas Thomas Sankev
Deschapelles. James Wrig-h't
Gaspar.. ("harles Burke
Officer Mr. Watts
Pauline . i )avid Inger^^oll
Madame l/t- .ii>. Joseph Jefferson
Widow Melnoi Mrs. Alexander MacKenzie
At the conclusion ot the play ^Master Joseph Jefferson sang
the comic song, " Lord Lovell and Lady Nancy." Mr. Germon
then recited " The Hunters of Kentucky" for the first time in
Chicago. The performance, which began promptly at 7
o'clock, coijcluded with a very pretty drama, "Two Friends."
The season began in May and closed in October, quite revers-
ing the present order of things. No performances were given
'It'.riiv^- what would now be termed the season of 1838-1839.
■lie manager took in $100 a night, he did
California
''Night
reading
made easy
by electric
berth
lights.-
The Old Way — dim lights in ceiling
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eye-strain; also easily disrobe or dress.
Many other new travel luxuries on
The California
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The California Limited runs be-
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and San Francisco. Daily service com-
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Our illustrated booklets, mailed free,
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Address,
J. M. CONNELL, General Agent,
109 Adams Street CHICAGO
Santa 1 e
^ W
ALL, THE "WAX
exceedingl)- well, and those were the good old days when good
old actors and good younger ones, too, were content to play
for a modest salary, when, in spite of appetites and desires,
they still thought a little more of their art than they did of
money, when every player realized that there was still some-
thing left for him to learn. One of the actors of this period
was Isaac ^lerritt, who was destined to win everlasting fame
as an inventor. He usually played Richard III. His right
name was I. M. Singer, a name now world-famous as that of
the inventor of the Singer sewing machine. And at this time.
April 27, 1S39, Edmund Gill attracted attention to his hotel on
the corner opposite the Lake House, by calling it the Shake-
speare. Dan M^EblAcame along during the last. week of Ma\-,
1839, and "gave his Yankee tricks, stories, and notions in full
style. His wife assisted him on the stage."
Chicago had an actors" colony in those early days, tor the lirst
City Directory, published in 1S39, contained the f< illowing names:
BuKKE, Charles, actor. Chicago Theatre.
Germo.v, Greene C, actor, Chicago 'J heatrc.
GREEXE, C. L . actor. Chicago Theatre.
jEFEERSO.x & M.^cKenzie. managers. Chicago Theatre, Dearborn St.
Jefferson-, Joseph. lefterson & MacKenzie.
JEFFERSON, JOSEPH, (Joe , comedian, Chicago Theatre.
Jefferson, Thomas, actor, Chicago Theatre.
Mackenzie, Ai.e.xander, Theater, Jef¥er.son & MacKen/.ic.
SULLIV.\N, A., actor, Chicago Theatre.
Warren. William, comedian, Chicago Theatre.
INOERSOLL, Mrs., actress and teacher of dancing, bds. Lake House.
On August 31, 1S39, the theatre was reopened by Joseph
Jefferson (father of Rip), with Colman's musical comedy. "The
Review, or The Wag of "Windsor," and "The Illustrious
Stranger, or Buried Alive." The company was practically the
same as during 1S3S, with the addition of A. Sullivan and
C. L. Green. Mr. Jefferson, who like his son was a painter as
well as an actor, had succeeded Mr. Isherwood as Alexander
MacKenzie's partner. The theatre had been newly painted.
The motto over the dro]) curtain was : ' • For Useful Mirth Or
Salutar}- Woe." Chicago audiences of that day were not so
well behaved as might have been desired, for the daily imi^er
felt called upon to say " There is a police in attendance whose
f/u/y it is to preserve strict order and decorum in the theatre.
If the ladies are waiting for fashionable precedents, we will
59
'THE OVERLAND LIMITED."
Electric Lighted.
in 111 is Stale . llic Ih
aUtiulcd ,^c*ncr;illy l>y tiK' licaut ' ' -liioii of the lai; •
and by the ;4entlemen f)f the phu - Miieial ])ositions !"■ ;•
Judge of the Supreme Coiu't down. This has beci.
w L' believe, at St. Louis and in tlie East."
Joseph Jefferson, tlie second, was l)orn in Philadelpliia in
i->o4, and in 1S26 married Mrs. Hui'ke, wh'
senior. He was manager and actor, and aiway^ paimcn m--
own sceneiy. He died suddenly at Mobile, Ala., at midnight,
Thursday, November 24, 1S42, of yellow fever. He was br
l!ie next day in Magnolia Cemetery, Mobile, the theatre Ijcin^
closed two nights, as the company, with tlie exception of six
people, was composed entirely of members
son family, and it was impossible to plii\ xxilmlkl lju. >_i]iv,i
mourners. ]\Ir. John T. Ford, of BaUiniorc, said that Mr. Jef-
ferson "was one of the most lovable men that ever lived."
Up to this time no regular theatrical advertisements liad
appeared in the daily paper, editorial paragraphs taking their
place. But on Monday evening, September n m
vegni'iv ■wU-,.vii^,.n,,.nt In 1 >, .1, ■, 1 1 of a Icgitin^'f'
Idi ;)earance ^
THEATER.
Monday Evening, September 9, 1839.
Will be presented the drama called
The Magpie and tliR Maid, nr Which is the Thief?
Farmer Geralii . ifr. (ireeii
Heiijaniin, a Ji, \ ..Jefferson
Annette ... i/s. Intfer.soll
IJame Oera Mackenzie
After which a CONCERT.— P.\kt I
Ballad by' Mr. Dempster " She wore a wreath
roses ". New vSong, by Mr. Dempster, '■ Can I
forget to love thee? " — composed by himself —
Scottish Ballad by Mr. Dempster " vSaw ye mv wet- iimig.
P.VKT II
The Angel's Whiper, by Mr. Dempster. —
Song bj^ Mr. Dempster, " Some love to roam o'er
the dark sea foam. " Song by Mr Dcmnstir
" Oh promise me to sing love ".
To conclude with the li'ish Tutor, or New Liji-hts.
Gl
J. H. DI.MKKY, PKEsiDENT. T. AV. GII.MOHK. sk< vam.tkka
ESTABLISHED 1830.
C. W. Wilmartb Co
High=Class
Gas and
ELlectric
Fixtures
261 WABASH AVENUE. CHICAGO
Telephone, Harrison 8362.
LIGHTING FIXTURES FOR THIS THEATER
FURNISHED BY US.
WK HAVE CONTRACTS FOR THE LIGHTIXG FIXTURES
FOR THE FOIiLOWIISTG BUIL.DIXGS :
First Kational Bank Building . ..Chicago, 111.
Railway Exchange Building Chicago, 111.
Nixon Theater and Building Pittsburg, Pa.
Butler Hotel Seattle, "Wash.
Joliet Public Library ..Joliel, 111.
Chesbrough Building Toledo, Ohio
Hibernia Bank Building New Orleans, La.
Third National Bank Cincinnati, Ohio
First National Bank Cincinnati, Ohio
Doctor Coffee's Residence.. Des Moines, Iowa
Mr. W. J. Young's Residence Clinton, Iowa
Governor Toole's Residence Helena, Mont.
Please note that there was a change of bill at every per-
formance and that two or three plaj'S were given every evening.
■ ' Oliver Twist " had its first performance in Chicago, September
if), 1839. ^Irs. Germon inlaying Oliver: Mr. Sankey, Fagin; Will-
iam Warren, Bill Sykes ; and Mrs. MacKenzie, Nancy Sykes
Tuesday. September 1 7, 1 S39, was another important first night,
Colman's "The Poor Gentleman" being played with William
Wan-en as Dr. Ollapod. ' ' She Stoops to Conquer " was first
given on Thursdaj-, September 19, 1S39, and "Jane Shore" on
Friday, September 20, 1S39, with Mrs. Germon as Jane Shore.
During the last week of September, 1839, the management
found it necessary to build "a separate entrance for ladies,"
due no doubt to the rather rude behavior of the male theatre-
goers of that period. ' ' Damon and Pythias " was given for the
first time Friday, September 27, 1S39, with Mr. Leicester as
Damon and Mrs. Germon as Calanthe. The house was poor.
The time was now ripe for the advent of so-called " stars."
and they came. Mrs. McClure and Mr. Charles Kemble Mason
had the honor of being the first stars to shine in Chicago. They
appeared on Wednesday, October 2, 1839, in "The Lady of
Lyons." The next evening they gave " The Wonder" for the
first time here. Friday, October 4, 1S39, "Fazio" was given
for the first time, followed by " Katherine and Petruchio."
Still the first presentation of a Shakespearean play in its
entiret}- did not take place until Monday, October 7, 1S39,
Mrs. McClure being the first Juliet and Mr. Mason the first
Romeo Chicago ever saw. " ]\Iacbeth " was first given Thurs-
day, October 10, 1S39, ^vith :Mr. Mason as Macbeth, Mr. Leicester
as Macduft", and Mrs. McClure as Lady Macbeth. And strange
to say, the Shakespearean performances were the best of the
season. And then followed the first performance of " Hamlet."
Tuesday, October 15, 1S39. It was given for Mr. MacKenzie's
benefit, and Charles Kemble Mason had the distinction of being
our first Hamlet, while Mrs. ^^IcClure was our first Ophelia.
Mr. James H. McVicker, in his interesting reminiscences of the
eai-ly Chicago stage, credits Charles Kemble Mason with being
the first Shylock that Chicago ever saw. This is an error, for
63
F. P. SMITH
WIRE AND
IRON WORKS
OR N A MENTAL
IRON AND BRONZE
A R T M E T AL W^O 1^ Is
IrOQUOT<=; and Ilijvm!-; 1>TFATRI•:^
Office and Warehousf, Factory : Chester St.,
loo and I02 Lake St. Clybourn and Fnllerton Ave-
CTTTCV-XOn
■The Merchant of Venice " was not given until Thursday,
October 17, 1S39, and for William Leicester's benefit, that gen-
tleman appearing as Shylock. On October 21, 1S39, " Pizarro.
or the death of Rolla " was given, little Joseph Jefferson appear-
ing as the child. How many in the audience thought of seeing
him in 1S6S as Rip \'an Winkle ? Wednesday, October 30, 1839,
is of historic interest, for on that evening "The Rivals" was
given for the first time in Chicago and for the benefit of William
Warren, although no mention of his name was made in the
simple advertisement of that day, and which read as follows :
THEATER.
Wednesday Evening, October 30, 1839
Will Be Presented
THE RIVALS-Or, A Trip to Bath.
To conclude witli
THE IMILLER'S IVIAID.
Please observe the Jeffersonian flavor of the cast:
Sir Anthony Absolute... Iliomas Sankey
Bob Acres Joseph Jefferson
Captain Absolute William Leicester
Faulkland Greenbury C. Gernion
I^a"<^--- — -...".C. L. Green
Sir Lucius O'Trigger William Warren
Fag - Charles Burke
Mrs. Malaprop ...Mrs. Ale.xander MacKen/.ie
Lydia Languish Mrs. David IngersoU
J"li* - Mrs. Greenbury C. Gernion
I'"<^y :\Irs. Joseph Jefferson
The cast included Mr. Jenerson, his wife, his two sisters,
his niece, his stepson, his cousin, and his niece's husband.
At this time the elder Jefferson was only 35 yeai's of age,
63
r
CALIFORNIA
The Land of
Sunshine, Fruit
and Flowers
California is less than
three days away.
Its balmy breezes, blue
sea, smiling orchards,
and beautiful mountain
ranges, its magnificent
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sports and its health-
laden air, make it the
greatest winter resort
know^n.
The most luxurious
train in the world, the
famous electric -lighted
Overla nd Li mite d
leaving Chicago daily at 8.00 p.m., makes the journey to California
via The North- Western Line in less than three days.
The route of the Limited is over the only double-track railway
between Chicago and the Missouri River, through Omaha, Cheyenne
and Ogden, down the Valley of the Sacramento to the Golden Gate,
and via the San Joaquin Valley or over the beautiful Coast Line (where
for a hundred miles the road lies along the shore of the shining Pacific)
to Los Angeles.
Two fast trains through to California leave Chicago
via the Chicago & North-VVestern Railway daily. Sleep-
ing car reservations and full information on request.
TICKET OFFICES.
212 Clark St. and Wells St. Station, Telephone Central 721
NWI29 CHICAGO, ILL.
^
Mrs. Jefferson was 43 ; Charles Burke only 17 : Mrs. Ingersoll
about 24: Mrs. ^MacKenzie about 28: Mrs. Germon 17, and Mr.
(iermon 23. William Warren, born in Philadelphia, November
17, 1812, was 27 years of age. From here Mr. Warren went
to Buffalo and then to Boston. He died at 2 Bullfinch Place,
Boston, September 21, 18S8. The season at the Rialto closed
on Saturday evening. November 2, 1839, with "The Devil's
Ducat," a drama, followed by a nautical piece, "Tom Crin-
gle's Log." And what became of the old Sauganash? On
April 9, 1S40, the following adveriisenient appeared in Chi-
cago's daily :
" SAUGANASH HOTEL. This old establishment is now fitted up
in elegant style, and has resumed its original and native name, with a
thorough reformation of old habits and customs. JOHN MURPHY."
But the results of the panic of 1837 were making themselves
felt, and for seven years after 1839 there was no dramatic com-
pany of special repute in the city. Mrs. J. G. Porter reopened
the Chicago Theatre on March 31, 1842, and tried to give per-
formances without a license, hoping to open in a burletta.
KST.visMsii i:i) is:
L. H. PRENTICE
COMPANY
E N G I \ E E R S A \ I>
CONTRACTORS FOR
STEAM AND HOT W^ATER HEATINO
AND VENTILATINO APPARATUS
24-2t> SJIERAIAX ST.. NEAR BOARD OF TRADE
CHICAGO
PROP.ABI.V THE I.AKGKST FIRM OF TJIIS KfiVD IN' THK ^VORI.D.
VIZ.: EXCT.rsiVEI.Y HEATING APPARATUS, STEAM
AND HOT -WATER. THAT HEATS
" The Swiss Cottage." She was Chicago's first woman man-
ager, and on April 4 she petitioned the Council for forgiveness
and a license. She secured both, the price of the latter being
$30, that of the former not being quoted. On Saturdaj', April
(). she announced a benefit for herself. It was to be her last
appearance before leaving for Buffalo. The ijerformance
Ixgan with the burlesque " The Manager in Distress, or All in
a Ouandary." certainly a most appropriate title. Mrs. Porter
was the eldest daughter of >rr>^ Maw T ),iff
- -^
h''
-v^
J^^^^
^ ^^"^^H
'^^^^m
^' J^^^^^K
DANFORD
MARBLE
On August 3<j. 1S42. Chicago had its first real opportunity to
uidge of the dramatic qiialities of Dan ford Marble, who with
-Mrs. Marble appeared at the Rialto in " The Forest Rose, or
The American Farmer." Marble was Jonathan Ploughboy and
Mrs. Sillsbe (late Mrs. Trowbridge) was Harriet. The opening
l)lay of the brief engagement of three nights was supplemented
with " Black-Eyed Susan," ^Irs. Sillsbe playing Susan, and Jlr.
Marble, William. Business was poor at first, but as it improved,
the engagement was several times e.xtended and fourteen
]ierformances were given. For Marble's benefit on Monday,
09
There Is But One Niagara
There Is But One Road • . .
Running directly by and in full view of the entire panorama of the
cataract. It is the
Michigan Central
The Niagara Falls Route between
Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo,
New YorK, and Boston . . .
Send three red stamps for Niagara Booklet, and ask about
the new Niagara picture.
City TicRet Office, 119 Ada.ms Street
O. W. RUGGLES, G. P. AND T. A. CHICAGO.
September 5, 1S42, the prize comedy, "The Yankee in Time,"
was given for tlie first time here, with Marble as Jacob Jew-
sharp, a role in which James H. McVicker distinguished himselt
in after years. Listen to Benjamin F". Taylor :
"It was in that dirty old rat trap, the 'Rialto,' I think, that 1 saw
Dan Marble for the first time. ' Black-Eyed Susan ' and Marble's admii--
able William melted the house, as if it had been something in a crucible.
It was, in its way, the perfection and simplicity of nature. The audience
was a little mixed. There were the fellows that in New York would
have 'killed the Keiser,' the ' wake-me-up-when-Kirby-dies stripe.'
There was a small handful of half-breeds, a sprinkling of lieutenants
from the army, one or two worn-out paymasters.- The pit was full of
sailors, with occasionally a wharf-rat ; but for fresh-water tars there
was a wonderful effusion of salt water. Even the always conscious
dress-circle fluttered with any number of white cambric mops, and
when the play took the right turn at last, the 'gods' applauded and the
spiders hovering in their webs, and the mice in the walls, were whist.
Even the chaps that spent their time in the interludes in bawling ' boots '
and ' supe ' and eating peanuts, mopped out the corner of their eyes
with their dirty knuckles, and had the theatrical manageinent furnished
soap, as well as sorrow, some of them might have put a better face on the
matter. I can see the centi'al figures of that dres.s-circle to-day. Hands
that I think have .shriveled out of the white kids they wore that night.
The blue dress coats and buff vests have been laid aside for other and
stranger wear. Yonder, crowned with iron-gray Jacksonian hair, is the
stately form of Colonel Kerchival. The man near him with large luminous
eyes is the Hon. Giles Spring, owner of one of the finest judicial minds
that ever graced the State. Beyond him is Doctor Maxwell, with a step
as light as that of a wisp of a girl, for all of his two hundred and odd
pounds of solid flesh. Clo.se by are E. W. Tracy, George W. Meeker,
and Doctor Stuart, and — but why keep on calling the dead men's roll?
Some of the beauty as well as the manhood of the young city was there,
and brightened up the dull old place like moonlight ; biit what matters
it? The footlights are out, the players departed, and the air is full of
dust withal. Down with the curtain."
■"Richard III "was first given Saturday, August 20, 1S42.
with Mr. Ljme as Gloster, and "Othello" was introduced to
Cliicago, September 14, 1842, in a unique way. There was. a
tailor here who "had been told by his friends that he could
act," and he applied to the management for an opportunity.
There were not many tailors in Chicago then, and as he was
the only one who could act — or thought he could — there was a
certainty that all his colleagues, and at least a few of their
customers, would be present if he played. Business had not
been sufficiently good to resist the potency of a great noveltv,
so the tailor was jiermittcd to prepare himself. It was arranged
•'•..' <r
II PI I
III M
BALLROOM AND STAGE, KKXWOOD CLUB.
DECORATED BY MARSHALL FTELD & CO.
INTERIOR DECORATING
Some of the finest theaters, residences, churches, clubs, hotels,
and public buildings which are famed for their interior beauty are
examples of the work of our Interior Decorating Section.
THEATRICAL COSTUMING
Some of the most elaborately costumed companies on the Amer-
ican Stage were equipped by our Costuming Section.
MARSHALL FIELD 6 CO.
CHICAGO
tf) give Mrs. Powell a benefit and to allow the tailor to ajipear
in the third act of " Othello." it being such an easy act to play,
especially for a tailor. The tailor, who was billed as " a gentle-
man of this city," did so well that in 1S4S at Rice's Chicago
Theatre, he was allowed to play the character in its entirety.
On another occasion, he played lago, and later he became an
actor of good repute and was known as George Ryer.
On Tuesday, September 27, 1S42, the Chapman Building,
at the southeast corner of Randolph and Wells Streets, was
opened as a theatre by William P. Hastings, with "The
Golden Farmer." Tickets, 25 cents I The season was brief
and unsuccessful. Then came "The Learned Pig" in 1S44.
On November 21, 1844, ^ Museum began its legal existence
in the Commercial Building, at 73 Lake Street. Its manager,
Henry Fuller, boasted of an extensive variety of geology,
mineralogy, conchology, ornithology, and promised that noth-
ing should be introduced within its walls not "in strict accord-
ance with propriety, morality, and religion." To give variety
to the development of the drama in 1844, at the Old Chicago
Theatre, Stephen A. Douglas had a fight one evening between
the acts, with a lot of sailors, heelers, and canal laborers. The
drama languished and the Rialto was again converted to its
original purpose. The population had grown from 3,265, in
1835, to 3,820, in 1836 ; to 4,179 in 1S37, and had fallen to 4,000
in 183S. In 1839 it was increased by 200. In 1S44, when the
population had reached S,(X)o, it was suggested by the Council
that it was advisable to plank Lake Street between Dearborn
and State Streets. Considering the city's drawbacks, youth,
and isolation it was a matter of wonder that the place could
boast of such a good theatrical beginning. They were brave
men and women who first trod the boards of the Chicago stage,
and the members of the Jefferson family especially deserve a
statue for their honest and chaste efforts in behalf of the
drama, when the city boasted of its 4,iX)o, but had no "400."
Chicago had grown from 12,088, in 1845,. to 14,169, in 1846, and
Thursday. June 30, 1846, Christy's Minstrels appeared for the
first time at the City Saloon and two months later the North
Hansell-Elcock
Company
I STRUCTURAL t
t STEEL AND t
t IRON WORK t
Archer Ave. and 23d Place
CHICAGO
ALL STRUCTURAL STEEL AND IRON
FOR THE IROQUOIS THEATRE
FURNISHED BY THIS COMPANY
and South Sides were connected by a new ferryboat plying
between River and Rush Streets, and provided free by the
proprietors of the Lake House. Howe & Mabie's Arena and
United States Circus appeared August 21, 1846, for four
evening and one afternoon performances. Among the riders
was Matthew Buckley, who grew to be the oldest showman in
the United States, dying at Delavan, Wisconsin, February 28.
1S97, aged 97 years. In October, 1846, the old Rialto Building
was again converted into a playhouse and called the National
Theatre, opening with "The Golden Farmer" and "The
Harlequinade." On November 9, 1846, it was formally re-
opened with "Wenlock of Wenlock," with Reuben Marshael
as Wenlock. The season concluded November 14th with F. D.
Wilson as Othello. On Wednesday, December 23, 1846, the
National Theatre became the People's Theatre. The opening
bill was "The Hunchback," with Madame LaBurriss as Julia;
F. D. Wilson as Master Walter ; Reuben Marshael as Clifford,
and Samuel Edwin Brown as Fathom. The prices during this
engagement were: Boxes, 50 cents; parquette, 31}4 cents;
gallery, 25 cents. The performances began at 7. 15 o'clock. The
theatre changed its name again to the National on Thursday,
January 21, 1S47. The next evening " The Bandit Chief " was
given, followed by "The Apostate" and " The Lottery Ticket,"
and at 2 o'clock on the morning of February i, 1847, fire broke
out and the theatre and adjoining buildings went up in smoke.
While the house was in a blaze a wag remarked that this was
positively its last appearance "for the beneHt of the city," and
another replied that he was rejoiced to see it " so well heated
for the occasion. " But it should not have been an occasion for
levity. The friend of the drama should have had a reverence
for the old structure whose boards had been trodden by two
Joseph Jeffersons, Charles Kemble Mason, Charles Burke, Dan
Marble, and William Warren.
Then came glad tidings! John B. Rice, destined to become
one of Chicago's brightest ornaments, who was to be Mayor of
Chicago in after days and the city's representative in Congress,
came here from Buffalo and recognized the fact that the great
"Speed, Safety
and Comfort"
Is the motto which has earned for TttE PENNSYLVflNlfl SfiORT LINES
the leputation of being- The Standard Railway of America
THE LIMITED Both start from Chicago— The Limited
AND at 6.00 p. m., and luxury enjoyed by
LUXURY passengers on this train at the same hour
THE
FAMOUS PENNSYLVANIA LIMITED
23 HOURS
CHICAGO TO NEW YORK
Leaves Chicago, daily, 6.00 p. m.
Arrives New York . . 6.00 p. m.
This train is
composed of
Pullman equif
ment and con-
sists of Library
Smoking Ca
DiningCar,Dra
ing Room Sleeping
Car, and Compart
ment Observ
Car — a solid vesti
bule train Ch
New York.
EVERY COMFORT
SPECIAL
FEATURES
originated on
the Pknnsvl-
r.A.\iA Limukd:
-ibrary Smok-
ig Car, Barber
Shop, Bath Rooms,
Stenographer,
Stock reports and
latest market bul-
letins, a Trained
Waiting Maid, ever
;ady to assist ladies
aveling alone, large
rlor in Observation
Car (the rear having a
recessed and protected
platform) for sight
seeing.
SEVEN TRAINS DAILY ^o the EAST
Harbor and River Convention of 1S47 would bring thousands of
people to the growing young eity of the plains, and that they
would ask for entertainment. On May 5, 1S47, he entered into
a contract for the construction of a building, to be used as a
theatre on the south side of Randolph Street, and about kxj feet
east of Dearborn, within the same square that afterward held
Crosby's Opera House and on the very spot where the Unity
Building now stands. And strange fact, this, the first actual
theatre to be built in Chicago, stood directly opposite the spot
where the Iroquois now stands. After fifty-six years of growth
and pride and change, the new theati-e erected solely for theat-
rical purposes stands across the street from the lot that har-
bored the first structure erected in Chicago for strictly theatrical
]nn-poses. John B. Rice, who was the father of Mrs. James B.
Kimball, Mrs. James W. Odell, Mrs. William Smith, Mrs. (Jeorge
L. Dunlap, and Mrs. Orson Smith, spent $4,000 on the theatre!
Think of it, $4,000! But it was a large sum to expend on a
theatre at a time when the telegraph reached no farther west
than Ypsilanti, Michigan: just seven months before a telegraph
line was opened between Chicago and Milwaukee, namely, on
January 20. 1S4S; five years before the first railway ran into
Chicago from the East over the Michigan Southern and North-
ern Indiana tracks, and eleven years before the first screet ear
ran on State Street! It is also something of a coincidence that
this first train from the East was brought into the city by
Thomas G. Davis, the father of Will J. Davis, of the Illinois
and Iroquois Theatres. The theatre, built in less than fifty-
four days, was an ordinary wooden structure of the period, two
stories high, and excessively plain. Its interior was more
ornate, and every part nf the house afforded a good view of
the stage. The entire lower floor was devoted to the pit. The
boxes were elegantly furnished — for those days — and were
fitted up with carpets and settees. The little town was enthu-
siastic over its new playhouse, which was opened Monday
evening. June 2S. 1S47. Behold the opening bill:
En-
gravings
by
F.G.Jungblut&Co.
Chicago
NEYT CHICAGO THEATER
The Manager respectfully announces to the
public that the above new and spacious establish-
ment will be open for their reception THIS (Mon-
day) evening, with a full company of experienced
Artists, and an efficient Orchestra.
KIRSr MC;HT OK THE E.\(JAGF.MENT Ol"
MRS. HUNT, IN KIVE DIKFEKENT
CHARACTERS.
MR. MARBLE wii.i. ai.su aiteak
Tins EVE.NIXG.
Previous to the performance, an opening Ad-
dress, written by a gentleman of this city, will be
delivered by Mr. Harris.
Monday evening, June 28th, will be performed the
Comedietta, entitled
FOUR SISTERS;
Or, Woman's Worth and Woman's Ways.
Caroline Merton Mrs. Hunt
Diana do
Ugenia do
Ellen do
Beauchamp Mr. Mossop
Mr. Merton Phillimore
Tom Snaffle Meeker
Susan _ Mrs. Price
Landlady Mrs. Stevens
GRAND SPANISH DANCE, by Miss Homer
Emigrant's Lament... Mr. Mossop
To be followed by the Yankee Comedy of the
WOOL DEALER
DEUTERONOMY DUTIFUL MR. MARBLE
Capt. Oakley Canoll
Col. Gormsley, with song of Rorv O'More Mossop
Mr. Waddle .' Phillimore
Slap „ ...Meeker
Amanda .Mrs. Price
Highland Fling, Miss Homer
The whole to conclude with the Farce of the
YOUNG SCAMP
Joseph, the Younj? Scamp MRS. HUNT
Arthur Mr. Canoll
Mildew Philliir.ore
Gen'l Beauvoir Rice
Mrs. Manly Mrs. Price
Mrs. Swansdown Mrs. Stevens
Eliza • Miss Homer
Admission. Dress Circle, 50 cents ; Parquette,
25 cts.; 2nd Tier of Boxes, for colored persons,
25 cts. No female admitted unless accompanied
by a gentleman. Doors open at ij past 7. Per-
formance to commence at S o'clock precisely.
70
TKI.KIMii .\i. 1! \KKl30N '64.,
Wm. Zankkr - - - - President
o^'AR A. Reim, Secretary and Treasurer
Zander- Reum
Company
CONTRACTING
PLASTERERS
512 LAKESIDE BUILDING
CLARK AND ADAMS STREETS
CHICAGO
IROQUOIS THEATRE PLASTERING
DONE BY THIS COMPANY
The audience was large, representative, and t'a>.hionable.
All the pioneers who had built the little city were there. Their
wives and daughters, mothers, and sweethearts were there
with them. They were all as happy as the genial manager,
who was always cheerful, even in adversity. It was a new
dawn for the little city, its sunrise of art, for it was then just
ten years, three months, and twenty-four days old, with a
population of but 15,000. The front of the house was not
crowded with automobiles, or even with carriages, for pleasure
vehicles were rare in those days and could not have been used
had they been plentiful. The roads were not conducive to fast
driving, and had wide gutters separating them from the side-
walks, when the latter existed. None of the streets were paved,
and the uneven, broken sidewalks with many steps were
almost as bad as the middle of the roadway. Nor were the
men in evening attire. They wore their swallow-tailed coats
of blue cloth with brass buttons, and buff waistcoats. The
audience was an inspiration to the players. Aviditors and
actors were equally anxious to please each other. Those before
the footlights seemed to say in their applause: " Followers of
Shakesjieare's calling you are welcome! You are among friends'
Give us from the bounty of your art and we will give you our
applause. x\.nd when the play is done, we will smile upon you
with our friendship in your new home. Remember alwaj>
that we desire to see ' the players well bestowed.' " And the
players, gladdened and inspired, spoke and acted with new
spirit, as if they meant to say : " We appreciate j-our welcome
and we are grateful. "We hope to be worthy of yo'ur approba-
tion. Let us be friends." If the audience was an inspiration
can less be said of the players? "Were not Mrs. Louisa Hunt,
Dan Marble, and John B. Rice on the bill that glorious history-
making evening in June ? And has Chicago not been faithful
to the memories of inimital)le Mrs. Hunt, laughter-provoking
Dan ^larble, and honest, noble John B. Rice? And you know,
do you not, that Mrs. Louisa Hunt had been born Louisa Lane,
that she was the brilliant comedienne who afterward mamed
the comedian of the company, George Mossop. and win > after his
81
Frank Parwtelee
Gomjianil
Established 1853
Haihcad i^iUJ>en6er (and
wo V '
^agf^age Transfer
Office 132 East Adams Street
Telephone Harrison 1914
BAGGAGE TRANSFERRED
TO AND FROM RAILROAD DEPOTS,
HOTELS. AND RESIDENCES
PROMPT SERVICE
Theatrical Transfers a Specialty
death, in 1S4S, became Mrs. John Drew, the greatest Mrs. Mala-
prop Chicago ever knew? The opening address, written by
G. W. Philliniore, a member of the company, and delivered by
Edwin Harris, was in three parts — " To The Audience," " To
The Boxes," and " To The Pit." No one accused Mr. PhilHmore
of writing good poetry, but every one admitted that his heart
was in the right ])lace. A popular member of this company
was ilrs. Rice, who was born ^lary Ann Warren, a sister of
William Warren and IMrs. Dan Marble. She made her debut as
Helen in " The Hunchback," July 26, 1S47. She retired from the
stage in 1S54. ^md died at Colorado Beach, California, March 23,
1S93. Mr. Rice was a man whose word was as good as a bond.
On one occasion the audience was offended at Bai'ney Williams,
who did something on the stage offensive to the Irish people
2:)resent. They refused to allow Williams to proceed \\:ith his
lines, and then Mr. Rice appeared upon the scene, informed
his patrons that if they allowed Mr. Williams to finish his per-
formance and complete his engagement, he would give them
his word of honor that Mr. Williams would never again be
permitted to play at his theatre. The riot was quelled and
Mr. Williams was never re-engaged. Among the men who
came here to attend the Harbor and River Convention, and
who patronized the playhouse, were Horace Greeley, who
represented the .Wtc Vor/c Tribune ; Thurlow Weed, who
wrote for the Xeiu York Evening Journal, and Abraham
Lincoln, the last named being then thirty-eight years of age
and in Chicago for the first time. One of the great attractions
in those days was T. D. Rice, of '-Jim Crow" fame, who had
dropped little Joseph Jefferson out of a bag when the latter, at
the age of four, made his first appearance on the stage. Rice
made his first appearance here on July 12, 1S47, as Ginger Blue,
the Mummy, in " Mummy." The next night Jerry Merrifield,
who became a popular comedian here, made his first appear-
ance as Peter Spyke in " The Loan of. a Lover." At this time
Mrs. Hunt was featured as a stock star, and having a fondness
for male roles won much favor in them. On July 28, 1S47, she
appeared as Claude Melnotte to the Pauline of Mrs. Rice. The
83
most popular aclor seen here in those days was James E.
Murdoek, wlio trod the boards of a Chicago stage for the first
time on August 2. 1S47. The play was " Hamlet." Mrs. Hunt
was the Ophelia ; Mrs. Rice, the Queen ; Mr. Harris, the Ghiist ;
and Mr. Mossop, the Laertes. The next night Mr. Murdoek
played Romeo to Mrs. Hunt's Juliet. Actors were versatile in
those days. On September 11, 1S47. Mr. Ryer, the tailor, still
an amateur, appeared as Hamlet, "by the advice of his
friends." The enthusiasm was so great that one admirer threw
him a purse of $25. The stage in Chicago has undergone many
changes. The lamented Julia Dean, gifted, beautiful, and
probably the most popular actress of her day, made her debut
at Rice's on October 5, 1S47, as Julia in ••The Hunchback."
"Her smile was a language of itself; joy and anguish, hope
and fear ; love and scorn flitted across her young face with the
grace of sunbeams and shadows."
James Hubert McVicker made his first appearance in
Chicago. Tuesday, May 2, 1S4S. Mr. McVicker, whose name
was then spelt McVicar, made his debut as Mr. Smith in " My
Neighbor's Wife." The relations between Mc^'icker and Rice
were always of the most cordial character. During the first
week in Jvine of i84S,an luiusual state of affairs exi-sted in
Chicago. Five places of amusement were x)pen at one time;
Ravmond & Waring's Menagerie was the place to see the
elephant ; Winter's Diorama, the place to see "Jerusalem and
the Court of Baljylon " ; Rice's Theatre, the place to see acting :
Winchell's entertainment, the place to hear good singing ; and
Tom Thumb was at the Court House, "the place to be
kissed ", for a girl that had not been kissed by Tom Thumb
felt like a spinster who had never had an offer of marriage.
And all the notice that Edwin Fon'est received from the
Ell e7iing Journal, after he had made his debut at Rice's on
June S, 1S4S, was the following: "A crowded audience were
delighted with Mr. Forrest's Othello at the theatre last
evening. Mr. P'enno, as lago, was most superior, and Mrs.
Hunt's Desdemona, charming. To-night Mr. Forrest appears
again in the character of Hamlet." And an enterprising
citizen who had I'clt called upon ta ask Mr. Forrest " how lie
liked Chieago", received this answer from the actor who had
climbed up and down our sidewalks, " How do I like Chicago?
Why the whole place is set for ' Mazeppa.'" And so
far as we know, the first actor to step out of the character and
make a speech during or after a performance in Chicago was
l^dwin Forrest, who spoke at the conclusion of his first engage-
ment on Friday evening, June 23, 1S4S, after playing King
Lear for the first time here. Then came " the noblest Roman
of them all." Junius Brutus Booth made his first appearance
on Friday, September 22, 1S4S, in " Richard III." On Sep-
tember I, 1S48, Chicago had .^rown to 19,724 souls, and on
November 25, 1S4S, the second season at Rice's elo.sed, Mrs.
Mossop. formerly ^Irs. Hunt, distinguishing'herself by playing
Alfred Evelyn in " Money," and I^ucretia Borgia. And still
the city was without good sidewalks, roadways, or gas. July
2S, 1S50, Mr. Rice began an experiment with grand opera,
opening with " La Somnambula," the cast including Eliza
Brienti, Miss Matthews, Mr. Manvers, and Mr. Dubreill. The
theatre was destroj-ed by fire July 30, 1S50. Loss $4,000. On
February 3, 1851, Mr. Rice opened his second theatre on the
same spot, but the entrance had been transferred to IJearborn
Street. The new building was of brick and cost Si i. 000. Mr.
Rice made a notable improvement by abolishing the pit,
because of its noisy occupants, and building a gallery at
the top of the house, almost over the stage. The former pit
was called the parquet and respectable people were then no
longer afraid to see the play. The opening attractif)n at the
new house was a triple bill: "Love in Humble Life," "The
Captain of the Watch," and -'The Dumb Belle." Mr. and
Mrs. G. H. Gilbert were members of the company, the now
revered " Dear old Mrs. (Gilbert," being then a popular dancer.
It was here that John Dillon, " recently graduated from a New
York concert saloon," made his first local appearance. In 1S61,
Rice's Chicago Theatre was converted into a business house.
Meanwhile another theatre was opened. This was North's
Amphitheatre, which stood on the south side of ^Fonroe Street,
east of Wells Street. Its manager, Levi J. North, offered a
unique entertainment, inasmuch as the drama was preceded
by a cii'cus, the stage being built on wheels and run over the
circus ring. It was afterward known as the National Theatre
and existed until 1S64.
Thursday evening, November 5, 1S57. McVicker's Theatre
was opened. The stock company was large and representative
and appeared in "The Honeymoon" and "'The Rough Dia-
mond." H. A. Perry, who appeared as the Duke Aranza, was
an admired actor of his day. Edwin Booth's first appearance
was made here May 31, 1S5S, appearing in "A New Way to
Pay Old Debts," followed by "Richelieu," John Howard
Payne's "Brutus" and "Richard III." All the great actors
of that period played at McVicker's, Edward A. Sothern mak-
ing his debut in 1861, James H. Hackett, the great Falstaff of
that day, in 1S65, and Mrs. Mary F. Scott-Siddons in 1869.
The theatre was remodeled in 1864, and in 1S68 Joseph Jeffer-
son produced " Rip Van Winkle" for the first time here. The
theatre was rebuilt in 1S71, at a cost of $90,000, and re-opened
with " Extremes" six weeks before the great fire of October 9,
1871, when it was burned with the rest of Chicago. Again
the theatre was rebuilt, and re-opened August 15, 1872, with
Douglas Jerrold's "Time Works Wonders." In 18S5 the theatre
was again remodeled. On August 26, 1890, during a run of
" Shenandoah." it was again destroyed by fire. It rose from
its ashes on March 31, 1892, Joseph Jeflferson, William J.
Florence, Mrs. John Drew, Miss Viola Allen, and Frederick
Paulding appearing in "The Rivals." After Mr. McVicker
died on March 7, 1896, the theatre was conducted by Mrs.
IMcVicker, who, on May i, 1898, leased it for a term of years
to Jacob Litt, who, in 1902. purchased the entire property from
Mrs. McVicker. It was something of a coincidence that Mrs.
McVicker leased the theatre to Mr. Litt just fifty years minus
a day after the date of her husband's professional debut in
Chicago. The story of McVicker's Theatre would fill many a
volume. All the great actors of the day appeared here for
a period of fortv vears, most of the great names of the dramatic
86
and musical professions having brightened the history of this
house. Not only the famous stars, but many of the best known
stock actors won favor here, for during the greater portion of
Mr. McVicker's career the great stars were supported by the
stock company of the house. And on many occasions the in-
imitable Mr. McVicker would himself appear either at the head
of his own company or in the support of eminent stars like
Charlotte Cushman or Edwin Booth. His most memorable per-
formances were those of Mr. Simpson to the Mrs. Simpson of
Charlotte Cushman in "Simpson & Co.'," and of the First
Grave Digger in " Hamlet," Dogberry in " Much Ado About
Nothing," Bottom in •' Midsummer's Night," and Launcelot
Gobbo in "The Merchant of Venice," when Edwin Booth was
the star. These iive roles were distinctively his own. Mr.
McVicker was a comedian and a manager in the true sense
of the word, and as a citizen of Chicago he was so popular
and so public-spirited that his memory will never be dimmed
by time.
Still another famous playhouse was Colonel Wood's Museum
at iii-ii- Randolph Street, which was opened with a number of
curiosities August 17, 1863, and in November, 1S63, converted
into a playhouse, when "The Bohemian Girl" was given by
the Holman Opera Companj-. " The Lady of Lyons " was
the first play given, and for some time eminent players of
this day, such as Frank E. Aiken, McKee Rankin, William
J. LeMoyne, and Owen Fawcett, were admired members of
the stock company, which was so popular that before the fire,
when long runs were unknown, "The Ticket of Leave Man"
was played consecutively for six weeks.
And all Chicago remembers Crosbj^'s Opera House, which
stood on the north side of Washington Street, between Dear-
born and State Streets, and opened with " II Trovatore,"
April 26, 1S65, at a cost of $500,000, by J. Grau's Italian
Opera Company. Miss Clara Louise Kellogg, now Mrs. Carl
Strakosch, was a member of the company. Here the great
spectacular plaj-s of the day, "The Black Crook," "The White
Fawn," and " The Field of the Cloth of Gold" were given, as
well as all the great operas ami German ilramas, for here
Fanny Janauschek and Marie Seebach played the tragedies of
Schiller and Goethe. And on this stage the citizens of Chicago
presented a silver wreath to Madame Janauschek, Dr. Ernst
Schmidt being the spokesman of the occasion. And now the
great tragedian is practically dying in want. Like the other
playhouses, Crosby's Opera House, which was to be re-dedi-
cated by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra, Marie Krcbs,
pianist, and Bernhard Listemann, violinist, on Monday, Octo-
ber 9, 1S71, was burned to the ground that morning, the
orchestra reaching Twenty-second Sti'eet on its way from the
East. At the time it was said that Theodore Thomas differed
from Nero inasmuch as he roamed away while his fiddles were
burning.
No less than three theatres wxTf named after Frank E.
Aiken, Chicago's popular leading man of that day. For a
time Wood's Museum was known as Aiken's Theatre, after
Col. J. H. Wood retired. Another Aiken's Theatre was built
on the east side of Deai'born Street, one block south of the
spot where Rice's Chicago Theatre had stood.- It was opened
January, 1S69, by a stock company playing ■• Cyril's Success."
In August, 1S69, it was transformed into the Dearborn Theatre
and occupied b}' Emerson. Allen & Manning's Minstrels and
other attractions, such as Charles Wyndham in the Robertson
comedies. Still another Aiken's Theatre was ei-ected at the
northwest corner of Wabash Avenue and Congress Street, and
opened October 7, 1S72, by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra.
Here Anton Rubinstein and Wienawski gave their meriiorable
concerts. Here Lawrence Barrett produced "Julius Caesar,"
and while playing Cassius stepped out of the role to speak Marc
Antony's oration. Frank Lawler being the Marc Antony, 'fhe
theatre was burned in the second Chicago fire of July i^, 1S74.
Meanwhile other places of amusement were opened. They
included Bryan Hall, at 87 and 89 Clark Street, built in i860
for concerts; the first Academy bt" Music, at 124 Washington
Street, opened December i. 1S63, and devoted to Arling-
ton, Kellv, Leon & Donnikers Minstrels, and later to' English
THE
A. H. Andrews Co
174-176 Wabash Avenue
CHICAGO, ILL.
Seated tHis "IROQUOIS" THeatre
Xarcicet /IRanutacturcrs of:
(0prra au^ abratrr ^ratinri. (0fitrr a^^ iUauk 5FiiniUurr
(Cburrlj an^ ^rluml iFunittiirr. ^trrl fflirr (Cljairs
aablra an^ ^tiuUs
A FEW OF THE LEADING THEATRES FURNISHED BY US:
Iroquois, Chicago. MCVICKERS', Chicago, AUDITORIUM, Chicac
Powers', Chicago; GaRRICK, Chicago. METROPOLITAN. New Yor»
Chicago Opera House. Chicago. St. Charles, new ohlean^
DALVS, New Yohk; ACADEMY, New York. LYCEUM, Memphi!
Toronto, toromto Prospect, ci-evei-and Academy, buffalo
opera by the late Sher Campbell and the present William
Castle ; the tirst Olympic Theatre, at the northwest corner of
Clark and Jlonroe Streets, opened Jiih- 15, 1S6S, by Arlington's
Minstrels, and the Globe Theatre on Dcsplaines Street, between
.Madison and Washington Streets, opened November 21, 1S70.
by a stock company playing " The Rivals." The last named
was the only theatre that escaped the fire.
After the great fire the walls of the old Postofifice at Dear-
born and Monroe Streets were utilized as the framework of a
theatre that was opened January 11, 1S75. with a burlesque
under Leonard Grover's management. J. H. Haverly recon-
structed it in 1S7S. and called it Haverly's Theatre, opening it
with the Colville Folly Company in " The Babes in the Woods."
It was used as a theatre until iSSo, when it was demolished.
It was here, on Aj^ril i, 1S75, that Will J. Davis, who had been
associated with W. W. Cole of Grover & Cole, first came into
view professionally, as J. H. Haverl\'"s trusted lieutenant, yiv.
Davis growing to be the dean among local managers. During
1S77 and 1S78, Mr. Davis was not associated with this house,
l)ut he returned in 1S79, '^»f^ every faithful Chicagoan is grate-
ful to him for his share of the prosperity of this house that
first introduced us to such distinct and lasting successes as the
Chicago Church Choir Company, Her Majesty's Italian Opera
Company, the Carlcton Opera Companv. and the Chicagcj
Ideals.
A great and good man to whom Chicago is indebted for
much was the late Richard M. Hooley. familiarly and rever-
ently called "Uncle Dick Mooley. " Mr. Hooley came here
from Brooklyn in 1S70, and transff)rmed Bryan Hall into a
handsome theatre called Hooley's Opera House. It was opened
Jaraiary 2, 1871, by Hooley's Minstrels, and when it was
destroyed in the great fire Mrs. F. W. Lander ( Jean Daven-
port ) was to appear in an English version of Giacometti's
■' Elizabeth." For a while Mr. Hooley had a stock company
in conjunction with Frank E. Aiken, with Mr. Aiken as lead-
ing man, the first play being " The Two Thorns." After the
fire the theatre was rebuilt, and after being called the Coliseum
and Hamlin's Theatre, was remodeled in iSSo, and called the
Grand Opera House, and leased to John A. Hamlin. It
was opened September, iS8o, bj' Hoey & Hardy in "A
Child of the State." Mr. Will J. Davis was acting manager
of the Grand Opera House at this time and remained thei-e
two years, giving the house its legitimate start. After the
great fire Mr. Hooley built Hooley's Theatre on Randolph
Street, east of La Salle, and opened it October 17, 1872,
with the Abbott- Kiralfy Company. In 1876 and 1877 it was
known as Haverh-'s, and then restored to Mr. Hooley and
his partner, Simon Quinlan. Later Mr. Hooley became its
exclusive manager and remained so until his death in Sep-
tember, 1893. Here for some years Mr. Hooley had an excep-
tional stock company that included at different times such well-
known players as James O'Neill, William H. Crane, Harry
Murdock, John Webster, John Dillon, George Rj-er, George
Giddens, Nate Salsbury, Louise Hawthorne, Minnie Doyle,
Nellie McHenry, Sidney Cowell, Susan Denin, and last, but not
least, the famous Mrs. Clara Fisher Maeder. May i, 1898, the
theatre passed from the control of the Hooley estate into the
hands of Harry J. Powers, who had been associated with the
house since October 15, 1877, when the attraction was Jarrett &
Palmer's " Sardanapalus," and who gave it the name of Powers'
Theatre, although the favorite name of " The Parlor Home of
Comedy " still clings to it. A£ter a complete reconstruction
based on designs by Benjamin H. Marshal, who afterward
became the architect of the Illinois and Iroquois theatres, it was
opened as Powers' Theatre, August 2^, 1S9S, with Eflie Shannon
and Herbert Kelcey in Ch^de Fitch's, " The Moth and the
Flame." For thirty-one years this plaj'house has made theatri-
cal history. Most of the eminent players and singers of the
generation have appeared upon its boards, and here many of
our younger actors have made their local debuts as stars. Here ,
since Mr. Powers first became connected with the house, we
have seen Lawrence Barrett, Clara Morris, Robson and Crane,
Fanny Janauschek, Fanny Davenport, Helena Modjeska.
K. A . Sothern , John T. Raymond, John McCullough , Nat C. Good-
win, Emma Abbott, Clara Louise Kellogg, George S. Knight,
Lotta, E. H. Sothern, Mrs. Scott-Siddons, Maggie Mitchell,
Genevieve Ward, Roland Reed, Minnie Maddern, Annie Pixley,
Henry E. Dixey, Rosina Yokes, Mr. and Mrs. Kendall, Mar-
garet Mather, E. S. Willard, Eleonora Duse. Ada Rehan, Olga
Nethersole, William Gillette, John Hare, John Drew, Sol Smith
Russell, Julia Arthur, Julia Marlowe, Maude Adams, Sir Henry
Irving, Ellen Terry, and a host of others, many of whom
have passed into the Great Hereafter. No wonder then that
to old and young this playhouse, which has ever maintained
the highest standard, is indeed a " Home."
John B. Carson built a theatre on Monroe Street, between
Dearborn and Clark, and called it Haverly's. It was opened
Monday, September 12, 1881, by Robson and Crane with
"Twelfth Night." It was managed bj^ J. H. Haverlj' and
afterward by C. H. McConnell, during whose i-egime Mr.
Will J. Davis was his acting manager. On the last night of the
second engagement of Henry Irving and Ellen Terry, Satur-
day, January 31, 1885, Ellen Terry christened the house the
Columbia Theatre. In 1889 Mr. Carson offered his house out
of hand to Mr. Will J. Davis, who associated himself with Mr.
Al Hayman, then of San Francisco in a ten year lease of the
theatre, and on Friday afternoon, March 30, 1900, during an en-
gagement of the Rogers Brothers, it was destroyed by fire.
Other theatres built from time to time were :
Myers' Opera House, on Monroe Street, between State and
Dearborn Streets ; Samuel Myers, manager ; opened Septem-
ber 23, 1872.
The Standard, afterward the Bijou, at the corner of Jackson
and Halsted Streets ; built by a Mr. Townsend of this city,
opened by Fay Templeton in "Girofle-Girofla" December 31,1883.
Chicago Opera House, at the corner of Washington and
Clark Streets ; opened by John W. Norton & Co. , with David
Henderson as manager, August 18, 1885, with Thomas W.
Keene in "Richard III."
The new Chicago Theatre, now the Olympic Theatre,
on Clark Street, between Lake and Randolph : opened by
James H. McVicker in August, 1S75, with "Apple Blossoms.*
Called the Olympic, in May, 1SS5.
Hopkins' Theatre, on State Street near Harrison, was opened
!)y Robert (iraham in "Wanted a Partner," October i, 1SS4.
The Windsor Theatre, later the Lincoln, on North Clark-
Street, near Division, was opened September 16, 1SS6.
The Haymarket Theatre on West Madison Street, near
Halsted, was dedicated by Thomas Keene in "Richard HI"
December 24, 1SS7, under the management of Mr. Will J.
Davis. Thomas W. Keene had the distinction of opening two
Chicago playhouses with the same play.
Baker's Theatre, afterward Havlin's. and now the Colum-
bus, was opened with "The Pearl of Pekin " November 6,
iSSS, and leased to J. H. Havlin May 27. 1SS9. ^
The Clark Street Theatre, on North Clark and ^Michigan
Sti-eets ; opened by H. R. Jacobs, with " Said Pasha," October
27, 1SS9.
The Alhambra, on State and Nineteenth Streets, was opened
by the Emma Juch Grand English Opera Company in " Faust."
.September i, 1S90.
The Schiller' Theatre, later the Dearborn and now the
Garrick, was opened in September, 1S92, with four weeks of
German comedy, and dedicated to the English drama with
" Ciloriana," October 17, 1S92.
The Great Northern Theatre, A. M. Palmer, manager, was
opened bj^ Henry Miller in "Heartsease," November 9, 1S96.
The Auditorium was dedicated by President Harrison and
Adelina Patti, ^londay, December 9. 1SS9. Gounod's " Romeo
and Juliet " was given the next night with Mrne. Patti as Juliet.
The vStudebaker, on Michigan Boulevard, between Van Buren
and Congress Streets, was opened with a concert September 29.
1S9S, and was first used as an opera house .by the Castle Square
Company in •' Faust," Monday, Api'il 3, 1S99.
The opening of the Illinois Theatre, on Jackson Boulevai-d.
Monday evening, October 15, 1900, with Julia Marlowe in Clyde
Fitch's "Barbara Frietchie " marked a new era< inasmuch as
it was the first time in the history of Chicago that a playhouse
93
was cfjnstructed and employed solely for theatrical purposes.
There are several older houses in New York, Philadeli)hia, and
Savannah. Ga. , that are similarly built and used, but they art-
the important exceptions to an almost unanimous rule. It
was built by the Haymau c^- Davis Co.. with .Mr. Will J. Davis
as manager. While it was being built all sorts of names were
suggested, ]Mr. Davis making a plea for a name that would be
symbolical of the city's history. Finally Charles Frohnian
said : " Whv not call it the Illinois.^" And Illinois it became,
and worthilv so, as something of a rebuke to the naming of
theatres either after individuals or in imitation of some English
name to which its birth and career are wholly foreign. And so.
to-day, the Illinois Theatre, after a career of a little over three
years, typifies all that is most beautiful and good in the modern
theatre. Like the first playhouse Chicago ever had, its name
is Indian. It is also noteworthy that the architect of the Illinois
is ])rob£iblv the ycnmgest man who ever designed a theatre, for
Benjamin H. Marshall was barely twenty-six .years of age when
the Illinois became a reality.
When the new playhouse that is now being dedicated was
first planned, Mr. Will J. Davis was ready with a name for it,
a name that would be a tribute to the first inhabitants of this
continent. Mr. Davis' devotion to the history of the Indians
has been constant, and he was deeply impressed by the fact
that in early days they were led by the Iroquois, composed of
the Five Nations, afterward the Six Nations, for the Senecas,
iMohawks, Onondagas, Oneidas. and Cayugas were, in 17 ty.
joined by the Tuscaroras. So this theatre, designed to be a
leader, was named the Iroquois. And it is interesting to note
that it was on the anniversary of the nation's birth that Mr.
Marshall prepared the first designs for the new house, namely,
on July 4, 1902. Our first inhabitants can not be forgotten,
when, in our search for wholesome amusement and instruc-
tion, we remember that our first and latest playhouses were
called respectively Sauganash and Irf)quois.
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