Part 508: Henry C. Tryon, Scenic Artist for the Salt Lake Theatre, 1882-1883
In 1883 Henry C. Tryon was in Salt Lake City, producing scenery for the newly renovated Salt Lake Theater. The “Salt Lake Daily” published, “The improvements which have been in progress at the Salt Lake Theatre during the past nine or ten months, under the direction of Henry C. Tryon, the noted scenic artist, have attracted a great deal of attention from theatrical men generally” (July 22, 1883, Vol. XIV, No. 41). Harry Miner’s Dramatic Directory listed Henry C. Tryon at the scenic artist who produced the 25 sets of scenery for the newly renovated Salt Lake Theatre.
The theater had already undergone one renovation in 1873. This project included adding a large parquet with four ascending parquet circles and two boxes flanking the proscenium opening. The dress circle curved in a semicircle that allowed the placement of a movable floor over the parquet seats. The false floor was level with the stage, creating a large hall for a various activities. Once positioned, the flooring permitted everything from grand balls to benefit dances for city firemen. The theater also included several dressing rooms and storage areas.
1884 the renovated stage was described in Harry Miner’s Dramatic Directory. The seating capacity was enlarged once again to accommodate 1,850 people. The renovated stage included a proscenium measuring 28 feet wide by 32 feet high. The venue used hard wings in grooves that measured 18 feet in height. The stage area was 65 feet deep by 70 feet wide. The height from the stage to the fly loft was 52 feet, with a depth under the stage of 11 feet.
The Salt Lake Theatre was enlarged again in the 1890s when the proscenium opening was expanded. Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide for 1896 reported that the proscenium opening now measured 32 feet wide by 40 feet high. There were six pairs of grooves, each measuring 18 feet in height. The grooves could now be taken up flush with the fly gallery. The stage had 5 traps included a vampire trap in front.
The Salt Lake Theatre was built in 1861. Located on the northwest corner of State Street and First South Street, the structure measured 80 feet by 144 feet. The seating capacity for the venue was originally 1,500 individuals. The theater served many functions over its lifespan and was host to a variety of social and political activities. When the theater was conceived, Salt Lake City had a population of 12,000 inhabitants. It was still considered a frontier outpost with a telegraph service, but little else.
The Mormon leader Brigham Young announced the plan to construct a theater and was integral in its overall planning and construction. Since the Mormons’ time in Nauvoo, the community had both enjoyed and promoted theatrical activities, including performances at H. E. Bowring’s makeshift playhouse or other entertainments at their social hall. Young made the decision to build the Salt Lake Theatre there in 1858. Part of his decision was due to the popularity of the amusement hall at nearby Camp Floyd. Camp Floyd’s hall maintained a tenuous existence and was not big enough for elaborate productions. When the Civil War began, Gen. Johnston was called back east, leaving a vacant hall at Camp Floyd. The amusement hall’s theatrical properties and scenery were procured by Nicholas Groesbeck for Springville, Utah. It was in Springville where Henry C. Tryon first worked in the region, painting $1000 worth of scenery for the venue.
The principals participants in the construction of the Salt Lake Theater included William Folsom as the main architect; Hiram B. Clawson as the general supervisor; E. L.T. Harrison as the interior designer; Alexander Gillespie, Henry Grow, Joseph Schofield, and Joseph A. Young as the foremen; and George M. Ottinger, Henry Maiben, and William Morris as the original scenic artists. Alfred Lambourne succeeded Ottinger as the scenic artist for the Salt Lake Theater. It was Lambourne who studied with Tryon when he was in the region.
“Scenic Notes” published in “The Salt Lake Daily Herald” described the scenery painted by Henry C. Tryon for the Salt Lake Theater” in 1882 (25 Nov 1882, page 8).
“Last evening a few of the new scenes painted by Mr. Henry C. Tryon were lighted up for the delectation of a small circle of friends who were present in the Theatre. A snow scene, beyond all comparison ahead of anything yet placed on the stage, was the theme of much favorable comment on account of its artistic naturalness. The effect of light and shade on the newly fallen snow, and the superb delineation of chill winter, was never more effectively shown, no matter what pains taken of the class of surroundings. The sky effect was faultless, and showed most exquisite taste in harmony of color, and in the delicate handling of the transparent vapors of a winter atmosphere. The whole scene is charming, and so true to nature, that an effort of the will seemed necessary to retain normal temperature.
We had a slight glimpse of the woods scene, now in process of development, and it indicated grand results on completion. A street scene was also run out to the front, and we do not hesitate to say that such a perfect representation of buildings has never been seen in this section, and never excelled elsewhere. The bricks, stone and mortar were to the eye as solid and real as the genuine article, and a more perfect counterfeit presentment could not be desired. It astonished as to find that Mr. Tryon, who excels in free-hand work, should display such ability in the hard mechanical effects of architectural painting. A prison, painted as effectively as was the building in this scene, would hold a hardened convict under the impression that it was built with solid rock.
The management are displaying excellent taste and good judgment in securing the artistic talent of Mr. Tryon, who is working wonders in the scenic department of this popular temple of the drama.” (The Springville Herald, 26 March 1936, page 4).
Mormon church president Heber J. Grant announced his intention to close the building during the 1920s. Until its demolition in 1928, this decision was protested by many from the community, including the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. Various suggestions at the time included renovating the space or transforming it into a museum, but neither local nor state authorities were willing to preserve it. At the time the theater was razed, it was nationally recognized as one of the top historic stages in the country.
University of Utah doctoral student Aaron Ward Tracy compiled articles from various publications printed about the Salt Lake Theatre from 1864 to 1913. His research is now in the Special Collections of the J. Willard Marriott Library. The collection contains an extensive list of published materials about the Salt Lake Theatre, including plays, reviews, actors and actresses, venues, celebrations, and exhibits. Tracy researched the material in anticipation of his doctoral dissertation, which was never completed. Here is the link to the collection: http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv55145
There his research sits, waiting for another scholar to continue the work.
To be continued…
