Four months after Harley Merry’s death his old studio was destroyed by fire. I find this fascinating as the story reads like a mystery. The January 9 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported a substantial loss for the current occupants.
It published, “The Harley Merry scenic studio in Franklin avenue, near Malbone street, in which the scenery for many of the greatest dramatic productions was painted, was destroyed by fire today. The entire contents of the building, including the completed scenery for one production and the partly finished scenery for another play, was lost. The building loss is estimated at $3,000, while the loss of the contents will amount to $10,000. The building and contents were uninsured. The fire was discovered at 10:30 o’clock by Michael Stabile of 27 Coffey street, who, with Frederick Snell of 8905 Fifth avenue, was in the building at the time.
Stabile was in the cellar under the studio when he heard a noise which sounded like the drop of a heavy weight. He ran up to the second floor, and as he opened the door leading to the stairway a cloud of smoke burst into his face. He called for help and a policeman sent in an alarm. Batailion Chief O’Hare, who was in charge of the fire engine companies to arrive, feared that the fire would spread to the adjoining building, which are all of frame construction, and to the Consumers Brewery across the street, and he sent in a second alarm. Six engines and two truck companies were soon on the scene, but the fire was beyond control and their efforts were devoted to saving surrounding property.
The roof fell an hour after the fire was discovered. Ten foremen were in the building when the roof tottered and were warned by the call of Deputy Chief O’Hara. All escaped before the roof collapsed. The flammable nature of the contents and the high wind are given as causes for the building’s rapid destruction.
The building was originally used as a scenic studio by E. J. Britton, retired actor and scenic artist, who painted under the name of Harley Merry. After his death last September the building passed into the hands of his daughter Mrs. George Kennington. It has recently been rented as a studio to E. Van Ackerman and J. Katser.”
I wondered about the history of these recent renters, Ackerman and Katser.
Ackerman sounded familiar to me, so I checked my scenic artist database. I only found a very brief notation about P. Dodd Ackerman, so I started searching newspapers from the period. In 1897 E. Van Ackerman painted a new drop curtain for B. F. Keith’s Union Square Theatre, depicting a “handsome interior with a view of a drawing room and distant conservatory” (New York Times, Dec. 8, 1897, page 4). He also painted the scenery for “The Privateer” at the Star Theatre with P. Dodd Ackerman. In 1913, he designed “Mlle. Modiste” at the Globe Theatre.
I then found an advertisement in 1913 of “E. Van Ackerman, Scenic Studio, successor to P. Dodd Ackerman.” This suggested a split in the partnership, or possible death. The advertisement also noted that the studio was established in 1890. He advertised services for the painting and building of productions at 1576-1578-1580 Bushwick Avenue, Borough of Brooklyn, New York City. It also noted that Ackerman’s studio was only “Thirty Minutes from Broadway.” The “Ackerman Bros. Scenic Studio” had been at the same location, yet the advertisement in Gus Hill’s theatrical directory was from 1914, a year later. This was curious. Ackerman Bros. Scenic Studio, however, mentioned their production of Motion Picture Theatre Settings.
As I examined the production history for both E. Van and P. Dodd, they primarily functioned as a scenic artist and scenic designer, respectively. I was more familiar with P. Dodd as he had numerous entries of designs in the Broadway Database (https://www.ibdb.com/), being listed as a designer for ninety-one productions from 1897-1939. His career really took off in 1908 and I had to wonder if his success as a scenic designer caused the two partners, possibly brothers, to briefly part ways. Obviously, their time apart was short-lived as E. Van Ackerman’s rental of Merry’s studio could have only been for a few months. Maybe the disaster and lack of insurance has caused E. Van and P. Dodd to partner again?
Comparatively to P. Dodd Ackerman, E. Van Ackerman had only two productions listed in the Broadway database – 1897 and 1927. That was a thirty- year separation and he had almost a non-existent paper trail for theatrical productions. Very little was published about E. Van Ackerman’s scenic art or designs, but in 1927 he designed the setting for “Tia Juana,” a melodrama at the Schubert Playhouse. The November 5 Morning News (Wilmington, Delaware) reported, “The Company is capable, the scenery elaborate, and there are no dull moments” (page 13). Ackerman’s design for the show was built by the Vail Scenic Construction Company.
In the Old Harley Merry Studio fire during 1911, the newspaper article noted, “The contents included the completed scenery for the production of “The Real Girl,” a musical comedy which is to be produced on Broadway within a few weeks, and also the partly finished canvas for the farcical comedy, “Class,” which also has a Broadway booking.” I have been unsuccessful in finding that either of these productions was finalized. The article also noted “The loss of these two sets is estimated between $6,000 and $7,000.” That would have been a heavy loss at the time.
I then read the last line of the article and experienced butterflies in my stomach. It read, “The studio contained the original models of the “Johnston Flood,” “The Eruption of Mount Pelee,” “The Deluge,” and twenty-two other similar productions.” I knew those productions! But they weren’t Broadway shows – they were disaster spectacles for Coney Island! Maybe E. Van Ackerman’s focus had been producing attractions for amusement parks. They could also have been Merry’s work left over from previous years; items that had not been cleared out of the studio before the renters arrived on site.
To be continued…
