There were two scenic electric theaters on top of the Chicago Masonic Temple in 1894. Both were created and managed by the Sosman & Landis scenic studio. Joseph Sands Sosman was a Scottish Rite Mason and member of the local Oriental Consistory.
The first production was an imitation of “A Day in the Alps,” an attraction that had been popularized at the Columbian Exposition in 1893. The second production depicted a specific scene from the Columbian Exposition – the “Court of Honor.” The view of the setting was from the agricultural building, looking northwest. As with “A Day in the Alps,” it included a transformation scene.
The “Court of Honor” opened with a vision of the world fair in the morning. Sunrise transitioned into brilliant sunlight that illuminated massive white buildings surrounding a lagoon. In front of the administration and electricity buildings, gondolas and electric launches added to the charm to the scene while band music played in the background. As evening approached, electric lights outlined the White City and were reflected in the water’s surface.
The February 24, 1894, issues of “Western Electrician” described, “Searchlight effects flash from one building to another, and administration building, with its handsome decorative lighting scheme, shines resplendent under these streams of light.” The article also noted that some of the illumination was achieved using a Packard mogul lamp (300-candle power), that produced the scenic changes and color shifts.
The Court of Honor lighting also included a luxauleator, or “a curtain of light.” This creation consisted of a border of incandescent lights around the four sides of the stage opening. An invention credited to Steel MacKaye, newspapers reported it as “a peculiar optical illusion” originally created for the Spectatorium in Chicago (The Wichita Eagle, May 26, 1893, pg. 6). Unfortunately, the construction of this massive scenic electric theater was never completed for the Columbian Exposition and the project was abandoned (see past installment #187). MacKaye’s luxauleator used rows of lamps that were placed in conical shaped reflectors. The newspaper article further reported, “The modus operandi was very simple, the mere turning of a switch being all that is necessary; the same movement of the switch that throws the current of electricity into the lamps of the luxauleator, also turns out all the lights upon the stage and the effect produced the same as if one were sitting in a brilliantly lighted room and endeavored to look out into darkness.”
MacKaye’s patent claimed, “In combination with the proscenium opening, a series of lamps bordering the same and provided with backings adapted to throw the space back of the lamps and the opening into complete shade, while flooding the opposite portion of the space with light so as to form in effect a vivid curtain or screen of light that will intercept all sight of persons or things occupying the shaded portion of the space, substantially as described.”
The Sosman & Landis electric scenic theater attractions in the roof top garden only lasted a year. The venue changed hands by May 1895 and reopened with “several new novelties” under the management of George A. Fair. The Chicago Tribune reported, “Everything connected with the roof garden is new, and the visitor last night saw but little to remind him of the same place last year. The electric scenic theater still remains, but the other stage has been moved around to the northeast corner of the roof. The present location affords a good view of the entertainment from every part of the roof. Directly In front of the stage are 3,510 opera chairs, while the rest of the floor space is given up to refreshment tables. A new feature of the garden is the concrete walks built around the dome of the roof, where an excellent view of the city and surrounding country can be obtained. It is the intention of the management to remove part of the glass roof, affording an opportunity of enjoying the view and listening to the entertainment going on below” (May 20, 1895).
I have to question the use of 3510 opera chairs. That was a dramatic increase from the original 150 for the two original theaters.
To be continued…
