Part 415: Moses & Hamilton, established 1900
It was during the fall of 1899 that Thomas G. Moses and William F. Hamilton connected again in New York; their first meeting was in 1892. Hamilton was painting at Proctor’s Twenty-third Street Theatre in New York City. Moses wrote, “Several weeks before Christmas Will Hamilton dropped in to see if I could make some designs for decorations to be used in Siegel and Coopers store for Christmas. I did them and I received $200.00 for my Christmas money.”
Siegel & Cooper was a department store founded by Isaac Keim, Frank H. Cooper and Henry Siegel. It opened in Chicago during 1887 and by 1896, the company expanded to New York, advertising their new store as the largest in the world. In New York City, it was located on 6th Avenue and 18th Street in the heart of Ladies Mile. Siegel had been inspired by the use of monumental architecture, such as that at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, to draw customers into a store. “The New York Times” reported that 150,000 people attended the opening and they were prepared for 190,000 visitors a day. The company employed 8,000 clerks and 1,000 drivers and packers and the store was referred to as “a shopping resort.” In addition to merchandise, there was also a telegraph office, a long-distance telephone office, a foreign-money exchange, stock-trading services, a dentist, and an advertising agency in the massive complex.
Moses recorded that he journeyed to Proctors Theatre every evening to help Hamilton with the painting of Christmas display. Proctor’s Twenty-third Street Theatre was just west of Sixth avenue (Nos. 139-154 W. 23rd Street). Constructed in 1889 by Frederick Francis Proctor, the architectural style was Flemish Revival. The building boasted electric lighting, with gas fixtures as a back up. By 1900, the general manager of the venue was J. Austin Fynes. The theater’s seating capacity was 1,551, and the large proscenium that measured 31’-6” wide by 41’-6” high. The depth of the stage was 39 feet and the height from the stage to the rigging loft was 57 feet. “Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide” (1899-1900) reported that the theater had a “Right counterweight system.” I have no idea what that was at all. The venue became famous for the “Home of Novelty,” as its programs were varied and original. By 1896, the theater was presenting projected moving pictures with Edison’s Vitascope as part of its variety programing. Moving pictures would remain as featured entertainment in vaudeville programs during the theatre’s first few decades.
Hamilton and Moses worked on a few projects in New York during the first few months of 1900. Moses was working for Henry W. Savage, painting opera settings for the Castle Square Opera Company at the American Theatre, while Hamilton was working at Proctor’s. Soon the two were partnering to complete a variety of projects. Of this time, Moses wrote, “I was convinced that I ought to stay in New York as there was plenty of business to be had at good prices.”
Despite the numerous opportunities, Moses missed his family, writing that he loathed living in these temporary accommodations without Ella. Of his lodging in New York, Moses commented, “I was awfully tired of my theatrical boarding house on 38th street. I heard nothing but shop at every meal. I disliked to leave, so I kept on. I should write an account of what happened there. We had fully a dozen steady borders and at least two dozen transients; members of companies playing in New York for a few weeks, and how they all did love “Dear Old Broadway.”
In January of 1900, Moses invited Ella out to visit and the couple decided to move, securing a big house about 13 miles out of New York City in Mt. Vernon. By spring, Moses’ adventures with Hamilton truly began as the two opened the scenic studio of Moses & Hamilton at Proctor’s 125th Street Theater. Moses’ wrote, “I took the Stock Company’s work in September. We had some heavy shows, “Around the World in Eighty Days,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Hazel Kirke,” “Prodigal Daughter,” forty shows in all. I had to make ground plans and models. I found I had my hands full. We depended on Al Roberts to get the stock work done. Otto Armbruster was with us and he was a very valuable man. He and [Ed] Loitz worked at 125th Street most of the time. As we closed the year’s work, we found that we had done very well, and I didn’t regret going East; but we did miss our Oak Park home, and the Harrison Street house was a constant source of worry for us.”
Moses & Hamilton’s studio would last almost four years, until Joseph S. Sosman traveled to New York to plead with Moses for his return; they were short-handed in Chicago at Sosman & Landis. Abraham “Perry” Landis had taken ill and Sosman needed someone to supervise the studio while he was out on the road selling scenery.
Moses’ would always lament leaving New York. The first few years of the Twentieth century were an exciting time to be on Broadway and working at Coney Island; the region offered unique opportunities for a variety of visual spectacles and fine art. The theatrical center of the country was in the process of relocating once again; this time traveling east from Chicago to New York. Although Moses & Hamilton’s studio would cease to exist during 1904, this time would remain a golden period in Moses’ heart, and in some ways the pinnacle of his artistic growth. His home would return to Chicago, but his spirit would yearn for a return to New York, trips to the Catskills and his friends at the Salmagundi Club.
Tomorrow, I’ll start looking at the individual scenic artists hired by Moses and the specific shows mentioned during 1900. What a great time to be alive.
To be continued…
