Month: May 2018

Part 422: Coney Island – Thomas G. Moses and “The War of Worlds”

Amusement park attractions with massive spectacles provided a unique opportunity; new technology was integrated into established and successful scenic illusions. There were ample opportunities to experiment with visual spectacle. In some cases, already successful endeavors were tweaked, or revamped for even greater appeal. Luna Park showcased the work of many artisans, including the scenic art of Moses & Hamilton.

Nearest the main entrance was Luna’s premiere attraction, “A Trip to the Moon.” The attraction was transported from Steeple Chase Park to Luna Park in 1902, then renovated and placed in a new building at the expense of $52,000. The new airship, Luna III, was also enlarged to accommodate more passengers. The show now ascended over a panorama of Coney Island, flying over Manhattan’s skyscrapers before continuing its journey to the moon, after rising into the clouds. Another change was that visitor’s would enter a moon dragon’s mouth, allowing them to walk into its stomach as the floor rocked to and fro as though alive. Descending to the dragon’s tail, visitor’s returned to earth, exiting safely on the streets of Luna Park.

The building next to “A Trip to the Moon” was “War of the Worlds” and it resembled a monster submarine boat. The interior of the building depicted a small-scale version of Fort Hamilton and the New York Bay. This scenic spectacle depicted a naval attack on New York Harbor by foreign enemy invaders.

Moses and Hamilton also were hired by Fred Thompson to paint the scenery and engineer some of the scenic effects for “The War of Worlds” at Luna Park. For their services, they received $2,900.00. Moses noted that their final profit from Thompson’s project was $2,200.00, as they painted it in less that one half the time they thought it would take. Moses wrote, “It was all painted in oil as the scenes all worked through a tank of water. The attraction included battleships that were large enough to hold the “good-sized boy” who operated them during in battle scenes. Moses recalled this “big hit,” but one having “too much powder and noise.”

The audience was located in one of the batteries guarding New York Harbor, and watched forty ships sail toward Manhattan. The enemy fleet represented the combined navies of Germany, Britain, France and Spain. The ships appeared along a distant horizon, and slowly approached the audience, who were seated in one of Fort Hamilton’s turrets. As the enemy approached, battleships and destroyers fired their guns. An enormous shell blew up one of Fort Hamilton’s bastions. Then an enemy ship was blown into splinters.  As the battle raged, the fort’s mighty guns shook the ground. Fortunately, Admiral Dewey’s American fleet sank the all of the foreign ship, before the enemy was able to lay siege to the city.

Historical accounts of the spectacle record that the show used a combination of electrically controlled models and small actors maneuvering the larger ships. The painted background by Moses & Hamilton was a huge canvas that depicted the harbor and Statue of Liberty.

Admission to every one of Luna’s attractions would cost just under two dollars. “A Trip to the Moon,” “War of the Worlds,” “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” Hagenbeck’s Trained Animals and the Infant Incubators were the most expensive attractions, priced at 25 cents each, today’s equivalent of $6.75. Dime attractions included “Shoot the Chutes,” “Wormwood’s Monkey Theater,” the Gondola Launches and the Japanese and Chinese Theaters. Rides on the miniature railroad called the Midnight Express or the Razzle Dazzle cost only a nickel.

To be continued…

Part 421: Coney Island – Thomas G. Moses and “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”

In 1902, Thomas G. Moses recorded that Fred Thompson was building Luna Park, opposite Dreamland and Steeple Chase Park on Coney Island. Moses & Hamilton would paint several projects for Thompson at Luna Park.

Thompson and Dundy’s “A Trip to the Moon” was extremely successful at Steeplechase Park during 1901; over 850,000 people took a voyage on the airship Luna. Even though much of the summer was cold and rainy, the attraction greatly contributed to the overall success of Steeplechase Park. In fact, Steeplechase was the only park to turn a profit that summer. At the end of the season, however, the amusement park’s owner, George Tilyou, decided to increase his profits for the next season, offering Thompson and Dundy 40% of their profits instead of the customary 60%. Thompson and Dundy decided to take their attraction elsewhere and start their own park. They leased the nearby Sea Lion Park and an adjacent parcel of land on the seaward side, planning to build an new 22-acre park.

Luna Park opened during the spring of 1903, with a staggering price of $700,000 to construct. The grand opening for Luna Park was scheduled for May 16. For the dedication, 250,000 electric lights were switched on at 8PM and a five-lane gate opened to a stream of visitors. In two hours time, attendance had reached over 60,000 visitors, signaling Thomson and Dundy’s success. By mid-summer, all of their loans were repaid while the profits continued to roll in. Those who had helped out that first summer, struggling alongside Thompson and Dundy, were rewarded. For example, the head of publicity who had worked the entire first summer on a percentage basis with no salary, received a huge bonus. At the close of the season, Thompson and Dundy paid him $116,000.

Luna Park was named to honor Thompson & Dundy’s main attraction – “A Trip to the Moon.” In addition to this featured ride, Thompson designed two other massive attractions – “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and “The War of Worlds.” Although they were not ready for the opening, visitors came to the park in droves. Moses & Hamilton were hires to create the scenic illusion for both of these new rides.

In his typed manuscript, Moses wrote, “Our first big job for ‘Luna Park’ was ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.’ It was a very unique show and kept us busy for several months. We had a real submarine boat in front of the show that actually sank with the passengers and was totally submerged. The passengers were then taken out of the boat through a passageway into another boat, a duplicate of the one they first entered. Then, the effect of under the sea was sprung on them and it worked perfectly. The illusion was very convincing.” The total cost to create this illusion was approximately $180,000.

A submarine took passengers on a realistic underwater journey to the North Pole, very much in the same way that the Luna airship took riders to the moon. The ride was in a building that covered 65,000 square feet. The entrance alone was 125 feet wide by 70 feet high, and 150 feet deep.  Between 100 and 200 riders walked down a ramp and boarded a Holland-class submarine replica. They sat sit facing large portholes that presented a view of the ocean around them on the journey. After the hatch was latched shut, the submarine submerged under water in a 24-foot-deep pool.

Moses & Hamilton painted a panorama purportedly measuring 3 ½ miles long, depicting the underwater voyage from the Indian Sea to the North Sea. The canvas that was allegedly held on twenty-four spools with various underwater compositions depicting seaweed, coral reefs, schools of fish, sharks, sea monsters, a mermaid, and even the shipwreck of the Flying Dutchman.

The air inside the Nautilus submarine was cooled as the passengers traveled closer to the North Pole.  It was an exciting journey as the submarine narrowly missed colliding with a ship passing overhead, and later struck then an iceberg when ascending to the surface.

At the North Pole, passengers exited the vessel and were greeted with a blast of cold Arctic air. Eskimos in fur skins emerged from their igloos, eager to meet the new arrivals. Real seals and polar bears also cooled themselves on nearby icebergs. Passengers were encouraged to take and ice chips as a temporary memento on each hot summer day. Before boarding the Nautilus for their return home, visitors were treated to a spectacular view of the Aurora Borealis in the night sky.

To be continued…

Part 420: Coney Island – Thomas G. Moses and “A Trip to the Moon”

In many situations recorded throughout Thomas G. Moses’ memoirs, things never quite go according to plan. When Moses moved his family to New York, his stable employment with Henry W. Savage evaporated at the end of the season; his work for Savage ceased when the Castle Square Opera Company left the American Theatre. Similarly, his work for Henry Greenwall was also short-lived as the Greenwall Company also left the American Theatre. Moses & Hamilton began designing settings for other Broadway venues between 1900 and 1904.

Moses & Hamilton’s Broadway designs include “Under the Southern Skies” (Theatre Republic, Nov. 12, 1901 to Jan. 1902), “In Dahomey” (New York Theatre, Feb. 18, 1903 to April 4, 1903, with a return to the Grand Opera House from August to September, 1904), “The Medal and the Maid” (Broadway Theatre, Jan. 11, 1904 to Feb. 20, 1904, Grand Opera House, March 1904), “The Pit” (Lyric Theatre, Feb. 10, 1904, to April 1904), and “Girls Will Be Girls” (Haverly’s 14th Street Theatre, Aug. 27, 1904 to Sept. 3, 1904)

It was Hamilton who prompted Moses to try his hand at the amusement business on Coney Island. Both scenic artists were immediately caught up in the excitement of amusement park profits. In 1901, Moses wrote, “We started the year on the jump. In addition to the weekly grind of getting out the Stock Company’s work, we had the contract for the “Trip to the Moon,” a big amusement park novelty owned by Thompson and Dundy.”

Thompson erected a 40,000-square-foot building that was 18 feet high to house the attraction at an expense of $84,000, for the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. Every half hour thirty passengers boarded “Thompson’s Aerial Navigation Company” spaceship “Luna.” It took twenty employees to operate the ride, with an addition to 200 actors to animate the journey.

At the sound of a gong and the rattle of an anchor chain, the passengers began their journey into space. The spaceship included enormous red canvas wings that moved with system of pulleys, flapping like a bird.

The vessel rocked from side to side, before rising into the sky. Hidden fans blew on the passengers who sat in steam chairs, creating the sensation of being airborne as a series of moving panoramas provided the scenic illusion of passing clouds; the city of Buffalo (a model with blinking lights) vanished in the distance, and eventually the entire earth disappeared from view. The illusion was enhanced with lighting and sound effects. This ride is reported to be the first electrically powered mechanical “dark ride.” Thompson even patented his creation (US725,509).

As passengers exited the spaceship, they were greeted by Selenites – sixty little people were employed to guide them through a maze featuring “crystallized mineral wonders” on their way to the “City of the Moon.”

At the end of the experience was a souvenir shop, with samples of green cheese and “mooncraft demonstrations.” The passengers were then admitted to the palace of the “Man in the Moon,” as well as a spectacular stage show. Sadly, they returned to earth by way of a simple rope ladder.

This amusement was wildly successful at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Tickets were US$0.50 at the time, twice the price of most other attractions at the exposition. Over 400,000 experienced “A Trip to the Moon” before it closed on November 2, 1901.

The 1901 “Trip to the Moon” amusement ride was preceded by Jules Verne’s 1865 novel “From the Earth to the Moon” and the 1877 four-act opera “A Trip to the Moon,” with music by Jacques Offenbach. In 1893, a play based on Verne’s classic novel appeared at New York’s Booth Theater; it was followed by a music and dance number, “A Trip to Mars” that was performed by a company of “Lilliputians.” A movie also followed the success of the 1901 World’s Fair. During May 1902, filming started for “Le voyage dans la lune” (A Trip to the Moon) by Georges Méliès. By September 1, 1902, the film was released in Paris and then New York City.

When the Pan-American Exposition ended, Fred Thompson and Elmer “Skip” Dundy placed their “Trip to the Moon” amusement in Steeple Chase Park on Coney Island, experiencing a wildly successful season during 1902. At the end of the season, they immediately began planning their own amusement park, leasing Paul Boyton’s Sea Lion Park. Their sixteen-acre park soon expanded to a twenty-two acre park, after acquiring some more adjoining land. Advertising that the new park had cost one million dollars to construct, it opened on May 16, 1903. At eight o’clock on the evening of the first day, 250,000 lights illuminated their venture – Luna Park – outlining the buildings and creating a magical land.

To be continued…

Thomas and Ella Moses moved east to Mt. Vernon, New York, in 1900. After settling into their new home, Moses wrote, “Ella and I had become a bit acclimated. The children became interested in their schoolwork, and we “jollied” ourselves along with the idea that we were perfectly happy in our Eastern home. Pitt [age 19] went directly to Trenton, N.J. with his Uncle Frank, making a start in his future life’s work. Mamie [age 17] was trying to be happy in Chicago. In September she and her husband joined us for a while.”

The couple had four children: Thomas William “Pitt” Moses (b. 1879), Mary “Mamie” Titcomb Moses (1881), Lillian Ella Moses (1886) and “Rupert” Moses (1889).

Pitt worked with Frank Deming Moses in the gas industry. Frank Moses’ contribution to the gas industry was significant; his later passing was reported in the American Gas Association Monthly, listing him as one of the gas industry’s “old guard.” Pitt, followed in the footstep of his uncle and worked with him at the gas plant in New Jersey (see past installment 162).

Moses was forty-four years old with two of his four children already grown; Pitt and Mamie were beginning their own adventure. Moses’ familial responsibilities were diminishing, as there were no longer four children awaiting his arrival at the door after an extended absence, only two, ages twelve and fifteen by 1901. There were no more small children under foot who were desperately seeking his attention or disturbing him in his studio. Moses recognized that he lost many precious moments with his family over the years while he was travelling. He desperately missed his wife, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, always wanting them to know how much he disliked the extended separations. In 1930, Moses sent a Halloween card to his granddaughter Doris. In the card, Moses he wrote, “I am not staying away from home because I like to. I would like to take a train tonight for Chicago. It will be a month more before I can get home.”

I wonder if Moses’ move to New York signified hope; hope that there would be enough work to stay in one city and not travel. Hope that the pattern established over the past twenty years would change. It was time to start a new chapter in their lives and leave all past regrets behind in Chicago. Of this transitional period, Moses wrote, “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 [in Chicago] was a constant source of worry for us.”

There were so many possibilities in New York, but even more financial risks as Moses & Hamilton began setting their sights on Coney Island and the profits that could be made by manufacturing amusements.

To be continued…

Part 416: Moses & Hamilton’s Paint Crew – Loitz, Armbruster and Roberts

In 1900, Moses & Hamilton assembled a paint crew at the Proctor’s 125^th Street Theatre. The scenic studio was spread out over three theatres: The American Theatre, Proctor’s Twenty-third Street Theatre, and Proctor’s 125^th Street Theater. Thomas G. Moses was the lead scenic artist at the American Theater, William F. Hamilton was the lead scenic artist for Proctor’s Twenty-third Street Theatre, and Al Roberts was the lead scenic artist at Proctor’s 125^th Street Theatre, with Otto Armbruster and Ed Loitz working there most of the time. Of this period, Moses wrote, “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 125^th Street most of the time.”

Lets look at the three scenic artists who were employed by Moses & Hamilton in 1900.

Ed Loitz had worked with Moses since the 1883. He was a loyal assistant and friend who had followed Moses across the country, working alongside him at Sosman & Landis, or departing when Moses left the studio to form another partnership. Loitz assisted Moses over the years; he was always one step ahead, preparing the next jobsite before Moses’ arrival. Little is known of Loitz’s personal life beyond a few newspaper articles and announcements. In 1895, Loitz was married to Mary Weinrich. Their marriage was published in the Chicago Tribune, listing their ages at the time – 30 and 18 (1 Jan., 1895, page 6). This information provides a birth year for Loitz – 1865, making him nine years younger than Moses.

In October 1923, Moses and Loitz were still working together. The “Press and Sun-Bulletin” (Binghamton, New York) reported, “Mr. Moses is assisted by Edward Loitz, who has traveled from coast to coast with Mr. Moses working on many contracts” (17 October 1923, page 3). The pair was working on another Masonic job – the Binghamton Scottish Rite Theatre. During this time, they were working for New York Studios, the eastern affiliate of Sosman & Landis managed by David H. Hunt.

In 1923, they had been working together for forty years together, and there respective ages were 67 and 58. A few years earlier Mrs. Edward Loitz became a lifetime member at the Art Institute of Chicago (Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago, Vol. 19, No. 3, 1920, page 38). I have not been able to locate when Loitz passed away.

Otto Armbruster, Loitz’ painting companion in 1900, came from a well-known scene painting family in Columbus, Ohio. He was one of three sons born to Mathis Armbruster (1839-1920), founder of Armbruster Scenic Studios (est. 1875). Mathias was a native of Wurttemburg, Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1859, settling in Cincinnati as an art-glass painter. It is recorded that he was first engaged to design stage scenery in Cincinnati. He married Katherine Wahlenmaier and had three sons: Albert, Emil and Otto. Albert was the eldest, and first to join their father’s studio. All of the boys were trained in at a young age. By ten, Albert started in the studio cleaning brushes in 1878, gradually becoming a scenic artist in his own right. Albert was known for his exteriors, landscapes, and drapery work for front curtains, while Emil specialized in interiors. Otto left the family business at the age of twenty, to strike out on his own in New York. He established himself at the Broadway theatre and worked on a variety of projects, such as those for Moses in 1900. Armbruster and Loitz were working under the direction of Al Roberts at the 125^th Street Theatre while employed by Moses & Hamilton. So who was Al Roberts?

“Al” was actually Albert Roberts. The first listing of Roberts working at a theater is in 1866. “The New York Clipper” notes that Albert Roberts was the doorman for the Walnut Theatre in Philadelphia. Interestingly, J. B. Roberts is listed as the stage manager for the same venue (18 August 1866, page 150). By the way, this is not the same English scenic artist, James W. Roberts, nor have I found any relation of him to Albert. In 1867, Albert Roberts is again listed as a doorman at the Chestnut Theatre in Philadelphia (The Daily Evening Telegraph, 5 July 1867, page 3).

In 1880, Albert Roberts is employed at the Madison Square Theatre Company as a stock company actor (“The Cincinnati Enquirer, 20 August 1880, page 4). A few years after that, I found mention of Albert Roberts as a scene painter, providing settings for a Hanley Co. production of “Squatter’s Sovereignty” (“A Bibliographical Dictionary of Scenographers, 500 BC to 1900 AD). A scenic rendering remains from Edward Harrigan’s 1882 production of “Squatter’s Sovereignty,” a production written Charles Witham. (Theatre and Music Collection of the Museum of the City of New York).

This 1882 show was performed at the Howard Athenæum in Boston, MA. This venue was also known as the Old Howard Theatre; it was originally the site of a Millerite temple, rebuilt as a playhouse in 1845. The original structure burned down only a few months later and was rebuilt by Isaiah Rogers in a Gothic style. The entertainment venue became very famous for opera productions, plays and ballet, eventually showing vaudeville and other variety acts. By the twentieth century the theater transitioned to burlesque and then became home to strippers and prostitutes.

From 1888 to1889, Roberts was reported as working in Kansas City as part of Tschudi, Loffing & Roberts at 400 E. 12^th Street (from Susan Craig, “Biographical Dictionary of Kansas Artists Active before 1945”). The studio was founded by John U. Tschudi, Antoine Loffing and Albert Roberts. After working for Moses & Hamilton in 1900, I have found no more concerning the scenic art projects of Roberts. What a interesting group of individuals.

To be continued…

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 6^th Avenue and 18^th 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 38^th 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 125^th 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 125^th 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…

Part 414: William F. Hamilton and the Sterling Opera House in Derby, Connecticut

In 1899 William F. Hamilton was listed as the scenic artist at the Columbia Theatre in Boston. He was working along the East Coast when he reconnected with Thomas G. Moses in New York City. Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide of 1899-1900 listed “W. F. Hamilton” as the scenic artist at the Sterling Opera House in Derby, Connecticut.

On a whim, I decided to see if I could locate any images or postcards of the Sterling Opera House. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across a whole series of current pictures by Darren Ketchum in an online article – “Sterling Opera House – Under Renovation.”

I was especially thrilled to find two images that depicted the backstage area with some of the original stage machinery – and a CLEAT rail! When I noticed the cleat rail, instead of a pin rail, I immediately contacted Rick Boychuk to share this discovery.

Here is a little information about this old opera house, now a mere shadow of its former glory. The building was constructed in 1889 on 104 Elizabeth St, across from the town green. The venue was designed by H. Edwards Fickens, co-designer of the famous Carnegie. The doors opened to the public on April 2, 1889, and remained open until 1945, when the curtain closed for the last time. The building was added to the National Register of Historic places on November 8, 1968, and there has been continued discussions about various renovations since 2011; anticipated restoration costs remaining a primary deterrent. U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro received a grant for $150,000 thousand dollars to go towards cleaning up the interior. Possible future plans include public tours and relocating City Hall back to the building.

The Sterling Opera House was also the setting for a 2011 episode of “Ghost Hunters.” This was the moment that really brought the old theater back into the public’s focus. “Ghost Hunters” was an American television series about paranormal activities that ran from 2004 to 2016. The Sterling Opera House hauntings reported on the show were like many covered in a variety of old theaters across the country. The examination of paranormal activities in old opera houses has also been a way to advertise these historic venues. During my recent visit to appraise a painted drop in Toledo, Iowa, I learned that the Wieting Opera House was included as a chapter in Adrian Lee’s publication “Mysterious Midwest: Unwrapping Urban Legends and Ghostly Tales from the Dead.” The opera house in Toledo was reported as being home to forty ghosts.

In Derby, local citizens reported witnessing un-explainable things in the opera house, such as shadowy figures and orbs of light. All though there were no deaths or tragedies recorded during the operation of the theatre, some believe that the haunting is the spirit of Charles Sterling, namesake of the opera house. Other sightings involved a little boy named “Andy” who played with a soccer ball in the balcony area. Throughout the building, people have reported a variety of children’s toys that periodically move or disappear. Why there were still toys scattered throughout an abandoned theater is anyone’s guess.

The Sterling Opera House is a second-floor theater with a seating capacity of 1,470; a combination of fixed and temporary seats. Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide reported that the proscenium measured 30 feet by 30 feet with a stage depth of 34 feet. The height to the rigging loft was 40 feet with a groove height of 18 feet. There were five grooves on each side of the stage; all could be taken up flush with the gallery. There was also one movable bridge above the stage. The depth under the stage was 8 feet, with four traps. Interestingly, there was also a jail beneath the stage. This might have come in handy during some productions. The two lower levels of the building, along with the basement, functioned as the town’s City Hall and police station. Almost as convenient as having a theatre building connected to a fire station!

To be continued…

Part 413: William F. Hamilton

Thomas G. Moses partnered with William F. Hamilton in 1900; they set up their new studio at Proctor’s 125^th Street Theatre, a variety theatre in New York City that included a scene room.

Little is known about “Will” Hamilton beyond that recorded by Moses in his memoirs. For years, I have tried to piece together Hamilton’s background and story. With the advent of online research capabilities, I have been able to discover a little more about this primarily unknown scenic artist.

Hamilton was born in Oil City, Pennsylvania – the exact date is unknown – but newspaper articles refer to him as scenic artist who started out as an “Oil City Boy.” Oil City, Pennsylvania was located in Verango County, at the confluence of the Allegheny River and Oil Creek in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. It became a central site to the petroleum industry, the first oil wells being drilled in 1861. The city later became the hosting headquarters for the Penzoil, Quaker State, and Wolf’s Head Motor Oil Companies.

The first mention of Hamilton’s connection to the theatre is mentioned during 1884; this is eight years before meeting Moses. An 1884 issue of the “Oil City Derrick” reported that three members of the Oil City Exchange had bought the interest of C. S. Mark in the South Side Rink and that, along with the other owner, W. F. Hamilton, were planning to convert the space into an opera house (September 25, 1884). The article announced that October 8, 1884, was the last night the building would operate as a rink. Meanwhile the scenic artist Frank H. Johnson had arrived and planned to complete his work in a short time, and the carpenters were expected to finish their work within twelve days. So, Hamilton was getting involved in theater, but not necessarily painting yet. Another “Derrick” article from November 13, 1884, described the extensive remodeling of the skating rink. The new auditorium was 53 feet by 73 feet with a ceiling that arched from 12 feet high on the sides, to 23 feet high at the apex. The floor of the auditorium was raked, with the back 3 feet higher than the front. The ceiling was covered with canvas and painted to appear as “substantial and elegant plaster.” Other murals included a “beautiful landscape showing the Kinzua bridge in the foreground” (page 228). Nothing is reported of the scenery, or Frank H. Johnson’s work.

Eight years later, Hamilton met Moses in 1892 when they were both hired to design a model and paint the scenery for the “Ben Hur,” the pantomime tableaux (see past installment 256). After this project, Hamilton’s whereabouts remain unknown for the next three years. It is likely that he was working throughout the country on various theatre projects.

By 1896, The “Wilmington Morning Star” reports, “Mr. F. C. Peckham, of New York, assistant to Mr. W. F. Hamilton, scenic artist and stage manager of the Standard Theatre, arrived in the city yesterday and will commence work on the scenery and a new drop curtain at the Opera House (Wilmington, NC, 26 August, 1896, page 1). By 1897, Wilmington, North Carolina’s, Opera House was advertise to include a variety show featuring “Edison’s Projectoscope, Producing Life Size Animated Pictures, The Worlds Latest Invention” the following year (Wilmington Star, 14 March 1897).

By 1899, Hamilton appears in print again and is listed as the scenic artist for the Columbia Theatre in Boston. The “North Adams Transcript” reported, “The trustees of the F.M.T.A. society met last evening, and decided on several matters of importance in connection with the rebuilding of the theater. Two representatives of scene painting firms were present and the contract was awarded to W. F. Hamilton, scenic artist of the Columbia Theatre in Boston, to do the work. He has an excellent reputation, and will provide a complete set of scenery, with drop and fire proof curtains. It is expected that some of the scenes will be more elaborate than anything the house has had. It was also decided in the rebuilding to put in an exit on one side of the theatre provided for a fire escape. Work on the building is progressing in good shape. The alteration in the height of the stage will enable it to accommodate almost any piece of scenery” (North Adams, Mass.,10 March 1899).

At this time, Hamilton also returned to his hometown, verifying his work as a scenic artist in Boston. The “Oil City Derrick” reported, “Another Oil City boy to visit us was Will Hamilton, brother-in-law to Lieutenant Scribner, who is now a scenic artist of some prominence with head quarters in Boston. (8 March 1899, page 8).

To be continued…