Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 911 – Al Ringling’s Theatre in Baraboo, Wisconsin, 1915

Copyright © 2019 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1915, Moses wrote, “The new theatre we did at Baraboo for Al Ringling was a good contract at $2,600.00.  I went up to open and found a beautiful theatre, very unique in design, fifty years ahead of the town.” Al Ringling hired the architectural firm of Rapp and Rapp to design a theater based on the Orpheum Theatre built in Champaign, Illinois in 1914. The “Janesville Daily Gazette” announced, “Theatrical men, scenic painters, canvas makers and many prominent citizens from Chicago and other towns, all of whom were bound for Baraboo to do honor to a man who had the courage to build in that city one of the finest, if not the finest, playhouse in America, Mr. Al Ringling. (20 Nov. 1915, page 20). There were 844 seats, with seventeen boxes, each containing six seats. The stage was 33’-6” deep, 60’ wide and 46’ high. The massive fire curtain of asbestos measured 24’ high by 40’ wide, weighing 750 pounds.

The Ringling Theatre opened its doors in November 17, 1915.

D. W. Watt wrote a lovely article about the theater’s opening. Published in the “Janesville Daily Gazette” on Nov. 20, 1915, Watts described meeting with Ringing and attending the event (page 6). It is a long, but touching, article that describes the man and his project from the perspective of a friend. Here is the article in its entirety:

“Side Lights on the Circus Business.

On Wednesday of this week, I took the 11:35 train over the Northern road for Baraboo, Wis., where I had been invited to be the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Al Ringling at the opening of their beautiful new theatre. On entering the train at Janesville, I was soon greeted by many old friends, among them Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Ringling and their son, Robert, who make their home at Evanston, Illinois; Alf T. Ringling and son, Richard, of New York City, and many other prominent circus people, who for many years have been with the Ringling and Barnum shows. Theatrical men, scenic painters, canvas makers and many prominent citizens from Chicago and other towns, all of whom were bound for Baraboo to do honor to a man who had the courage to build in that city one of the finest, if not the finest playhouse in America, Mr. Al Ringling.

“At Madison, many prominent people joined the party, among who were the son-in-law and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ringling, and by the time the train reached Baraboo, it was crowded like an excursion train bound for the big Ringling circus. On our arrival in Baraboo, Henry Ringling was there with a big touring car to meet his brother, Charles, and family, and the crowd soon left the depot in differing directions, everybody in a hurry, and seeming to know just where they wanted to go.

“Many of the old employees visited the winter quarters, and others the homes of old friends. As soon as I had brushed off a little of the dust I was on my way to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Al Ringling. As it was information that I was looking after, I made up my mind there was only one place to go, and that was headquarters. In a few minutes I was at the palatial home, which is only a short distance around the corner from the theatre.

“The massive home with its many entrances, it was difficult for me, as they would say in the circus, “to pick out the main entrance,” but I finally pushed the button and a male servant appeared at the door, and asked me for my card, but I politely told him that I only had one deck in my pocket and I did not care to break that, but I was an old friend of Mr. Ringling and was there to make an informal call.

He ushered me into a large room which Mr. Ringling has used much of the time through his sickness, as kind of a business office, and I found him busy dictating telegrams and letters to his secretary, and I was soon seated in a big easy leather chair, and Al said to his secretary, “Young man, there will be nothing more doing for a time, for I have many questions to ask Mr. Watt, and we will make a visit here while you run up town and attend to some other business.

I so told Mr. Ringling the business part of my visit was to find out as much of the particulars as possible about the beautiful new playhouse and how he came to build so fine and beautiful a theater in a city the size of Baraboo.

The ground on which the theater is built and which has been owned by Mr. Ringling for some time is eighty-eight feet frontage on the corner, almost directly opposite the old stone court house, and 132 feet deep, but after Mr. Ringling had his plans for the building all completed, and just the size that he wanted it, he found that he was short four feet of ground in the rear of the building, which he would have to have in order to get just the size auditorium and stage that he had figured on. This land fortunately belonged to the city, and he was not long in getting a deed of the extra four feet. In a few days the work was commenced, which was early in the spring.

It was about four o’clock in the afternoon on Wednesday, when everything was completed and up in shape, ready to be occupied in the evening. The building is as near fireproof as it is possible to build one, the entire front being two shades of granite and white marble, and the entire building re-enforced steel and cement. There are two lobbies at the main entrance of the theatre, a beautiful marble trimmed office being the first lobby and the second entrance there are six swinging doors and on entering the second lobby, there is a beautiful fountain, and opposite on the right was what they called an Italian rest bench. From this you enter the main floor, which contains 844 seats raised from the stage so that every seat gives a good view of the stage, as does the front row. There are seventeen boxes, which contain six seats each.

“Beautiful dark red velvet carpets cover the cement floors on the inside, as they also do down the main aisles. The curtains and draperies in the boxes are in keeping with the carpets and of the same color. The huge marble columns on the inside, with their brass trimming, presented a most beautiful sight. As the tickets were all sold in advance, the lights were kept well turned down until the entire audience was seated, and it was almost time for the curtain to go up when the lighting plant in the second was turned on, and the cheers that went up from the people at their first sight of the playhouse was deafening and lasted for some minutes.

“In the private boxes were many prominent people from different parts of the state, Gov. Phillip and a party of friends being in one box; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ringling and family in another, and Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ringling and friends, and Al Ringling and his wife with some friends in another. As a large party of the audience came in full dress, it was certainly a wonderful sight to behold.

“After Mr. Ringling had given me as many particulars as possible about the building, I asked him what I should say about the cost, or the approximate cost of the entire investment, and he simply smiled and shook his head and said: ‘Nothing doing. That Dave,’ said he, ‘has never entered into the game. My object from the start to finish was to give the people as fine a playhouse for the size of it as there was anywhere, and the architects and finishers and many theatrical men have said that I accomplished my undertaking. And is so, then I am satisfied, for I have had so much pleasure in all the years that I have been in business, and although at times it seemed hard, it was a pleasure for me to make the money, and now is I have done something with a part of it that will bring pleasure to my friends and neighbors, I have accomplished something.’

“And if the warm welcome that Al Ringling and his esteemed wife received in their private box at the close of the show goes for anything, their friends are legion.

“Mr. and Mrs. Harry North and friends occupied a box next to Mr. and Mrs. Al Ringling. Mrs. North is the only sister of the Ringling brothers.

“Sosman & Landis company of Chicago did the scenic painting in the new theatre; Gustave Brand of New York and Chicago were the decorators; The Ornamental Plaster & Carving Company did the plaster work; the Wiley Bros. of Chicago were the general contractors; Charles Kleckner, of Baraboo, the general painting; the Mandel Bros. of Chicago furnished the draperies, carets and seat coverings; Victor S. Pearlman Company installed the lighting fixtures of which there are 2,500.

The stage is 33 ½ x 60 feet wide and 46 feet high, and the beautiful marquetry awning reaches out to the edge of the sidewalk, and all is metal and glass and underneath is a mass of electric lights. A massive fire curtain of asbestos, which is 24 x 40 feet and weights 750 pounds, serves as a protection between the stage and the main floor.

“An organ, which cost $5,000 was furnished by a local music house of Baraboo, and is said to be one of the finest of its kind in the country.

“The dressing rooms, of which there are many, are furnished with the latest of everything; in fact, nothing has been overlooked to make it the most complete theater of its size in all appointments, that there is in the country.

“The ushers were all in uniform and all seemed to work as though they had been at it for years.

“Long before the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Al Ringling, their box was simply a bower of roses and beautiful flowers of all descriptions, among which was apiece over four feet high given them by the Commercial Club of Baraboo.

“And after the fall of the curtain on the first act, Governor Phillip was called upon for a speech, in which he said in part that he was there with other friends and neighbors to do honor to a man who had honored Baraboo and its people for so many years. He paid the Ringling brothers a glowing tribute for the way in which they had always conducted their business and said without any question, they had done more to build up the models of the circus people than any who had ever been in business. He congratulated the people of Baraboo and the surrounding country on their being so fortunate as to have a man in their community who would build such a beautiful playhouse, where they could go for years to come, and always be proud to point it out to their friends as the theatre beautiful, which will always be known as the Al Ringling Theatre.

“And for myself with the many old friends surrounding me, I almost fancied that I backed up thirty years of more and was again in the business, for I thought that I could smell the sawdust and menagerie, but the dream pipe soon went out, and I had to bid my old friends adieu and take the train back home. But Wednesday, November 17^th put another bright day in my life, all through the kindness of an old friend whom I met in the circus business more than thirty years ago – Al Ringling.”

To be continued…