In addition to painting the scenery for the Marquam’s theatre in Portland, Oregon, Thomas G. Moses also painted at the Arion Hall. Moses recorded that the scenery for the hall was “a nice quick job.” Portland’s Arion Hall was located on the corner of Second and Oaks Streets. It was constructed for the primary use of the Arion Society, an American-German Singing organization. The Arion Society was founded in January 1854 to promote “the perpetuation of love for some of the characteristic elements of German civilization.” Music and theatre.
It was founded by former members from another singing group called Liederkranz, the oldest vocal society in New York organized in 1847. Munsey’s Magazine (vol. 10, 1894) examined the histories of many musical societies in America, noting that the Arion Society in New York owned one of the finest clubhouses of any existing musical society at the time. Past conductors for the Arion Society venue included “Meyerhofer, Bergmann, Carl Anshütz, Dr. Ritter, Dr. Damrosch and Frank Van der Stucken.” The article also published that Wagner’s Tannhäuser was performed for the first time in New York by the Arion chorus in 1859.
The actual name “Arion” was taken from Greek Mythology as Arion was a Greek poet and lyre player in the 7th century. The performance of German songs in harmony also occurred throughout the Northwestern region of the United States. Long before Moses decorated Portland’s Arion Hall, a variety of singing groups had formed for the sole purpose of performing tradition songs from their country of origin. Harry Miner’s American Dramatic Directory (1887-1888) even listed the “Arion Bell Ringers” as on of many concert companies that toured the country. In Oregon, there were Arion Halls with choirs in Portland, Spokane, Tacoma, Bellingham and Everett. Like many societies, the groups initially rented halls for their meetings and performance. Over time, as membership increased and funds were collected, permanent halls were planned and constructed.
The Morning Oregonian (Portland, Oregon) on March 30 and April 6, 1890, noted the “handsome new Arion hall” that now had twice the seating capacity. This was the space where Moses painted while in town.
There were Arion halls and theatres all across the United States by the 1890s. Two examples include the 500-seat Arion Hall in New London, Connecticut, and the 1500-seat Arion Theatre in Easton, Pennsylvania. These buildings house a variety of performances and meetings beyond that for the musical society. In 1890, the Marine Band under the direction of Virgil Coomer performed on May 29 in Portland’s Arion Hall. His performance was followed by a quartette that consisted of members from the Arion Singing Society. In 1894, Blind Tom, an African American pianist, performed at Portland’s Arion Hall from October 15 to 17.
The hall later became a hub for many interesting groups that included the Caledonian Club, the Assembly Club, the Oregon State Secular Union, and the Central Labor Council. The Arion Society suffered membership loss and disbanding of entire groups following WWI during a time of extreme Anti-German sentiment. Regardless of decreased membership, some areas kept maintained their singing societies and buildings.
In 1961, the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA, 28 May, page 19) published a brief history of Santa Cruz’ Arion Singers. The article noted that the Arion Singing Society was one of Santa Cruz’ oldest musical organizations. They still met at “Arion Grove on Rother Ranch for song and good German cooking.” 1961 marked the 71st year of regular sessions since its incorporation on April 4, 1890. The article added that the group had been meeting informally since 1872. The society’s official motto “Zu jeder zeit an jedem ort sei frei das lied und frei das wort” (At all times in any place, feel free in song or word) was placed over the new Arion Hall stage, now located at 230 Plymouth Street.
Like other ethnic halls the use of a stage with painted scenery formed the backgrounds for both musical and dramatic performances. Looking at current online images of Arion Music Groups in vintage halls, one can still see traces of historical drops behind costumed performers. In some cases it appears that painted shutters are still being used as the hard line is visible in the center of the composition. This may be one more journey for me to take on my path to document historical scenery collections.
To be continued…
