Part 610: Theatre Architects Col. J. W. Wood and Sidney Lovell
For the past five days, I have focused on the “Detroit Free Press” article about the Temple Theatre roof collapse and the that testimony of theater architect Col. J. M. Wood (1841-c. 1907).
Wood was a theatre architect, born in New York City during 1841. Early in his career, he moved to Chicago and soon started working as an architect. Some records indicate that Wood started his own firm in 1870, but I question that particular date. In 1892, Wood was noted as “an enthusiast in this branch of his profession, and has devoted a great deal of time and study to the comfort, convenience, acoustic qualities and effect in the design and arrangements of opera houses, theaters and concert halls” (“The Bay of San Francisco,” Volume 1, 1892). By 1905, the “Indianapolis News” reported that Col. J. M. Wood, had “built ninety-eight theaters, some of them the finest in the country” (24 Oct., 1905, page 2).
I have briefly mentioned Wood in past installments, including # 214 (Wood’s Theatre in Bay City, Michigan) and #532 (Jefferson Theatre in Goshen, Indiana). When Wood was the architect for the Opera House in Goshen, Indiana during 1905, Thomas G. Moses provided the drop curtain and scenery. While researching Wood, I discovered an interesting post about his work with Sidney Lovell. It was posted at Under Every Stone blog spot. This blog primarily focuses on gravestones and cemeteries. Wood’s one-time assistant and later business partner, Sidney Lovell designed several mausoleums for Chicago’s Rosehill Cemetery.
Sidney Lovell was raised in Racine, Wisconsin, one of nine children born to English immigrants, Phillip Lovell and Louisa Maria Knill Lovell. At the age of fifteen, Sidney met James M. Wood. The year was 1882 and Wood was in town to attend the grand opening of the Blake Opera House, for which he had worked as the architect. The “Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950”mentioned that Sidney Lovell became Wood’s architectural assistant in 1883, confirming what was posted in the blog. The publication also notes, “During the period from 1883 until 1892 Wood was described as ‘..having designed and erected more large theatres, opera houses and hotels in the leading cities west of the Ohio River than any other architect’ (biog. of Sidney Lovell in The Bay of San Francisco: The Metropolis of the Pacific Coast and its Suburban Cities, 1892, Vol. ii, 462-3).
When Wood headed to his next theater project in Wausau, Wisconsin, Lovell went with him. After the Wausau project was completed, Wood returned to Chicago with Lovell in tow. The two found worked with a Chicago scenic studio. In Chicago, Lovell transitioned from architectural assistant to architect. An article in the “Racine Daily Journal” announced that Lovell became a “full-fledged architect in Chicago” by 1885 (10 April 1885). That same year, Wood returned to Racine and designed the new opera house. He submitted an article to the “Journal Times” describing the plans for a Moorish style building based on the Alhambra. The stage was to be ten feet deeper than the Blake Opera House, and separated from the auditorium by a brick fire wall and iron drop curtain, “thus effectively shutting off the extra hazardous department from that portion where the major portion of money is invested” (11 Nov. 1885, page 3).
From 1885 to 1888, Wood and Lovell traversed the country, both designing new and remodeling existing opera houses. The well-known architect John Galen Howard also worked as a draftsman for Wood in Chicago during this period, in 1887. Some sources note that Wood worked in close connection with a Chicago scenic studio; the studio was never named. In looking at the theaters and comparing them to Thomas G. Moses’ records, I suspect that the studio could have been Sosman & Landis. Thomas G. Moses worked with Wood during 1885-1886 on Wood’s Theatre in Bay City, Michigan, and in 1889-1890 on the Riverside Opera House. In regard to the Riverside Opera House, “The Daily Courier” mentioned the contributions of “J. M. Wood, the architect of Chicago, considered the finest theatrical architect in the country” as well as “the scenery has been painted by Thomas G. Moses of Chicago, one of the best scenic artists in the United States” (San Bernardino, California, 27 Dec 1889, page 3).
In 1891, Lovell was later added a partner by Wood, forming the architectural firm of Wood & Lovell. Their partnership’s first office was established in San Francisco, turning out a remarkable amount of work between 1888 and 1893. In 1890, the “Journal Times” reported Lovell “has a reputation of being one of the finest draughtsman in the western country” (Racine, Wisconsin, 25 Feb 1890, Page 3). It was in San Francisco that Lovell met and married Jane Winters Bruner, the daughter of noted surgeon William Happersett Bruner. By 1893, Wood and Lovell transferred their business offices to Chicago. The firm was now located in the new Ellsworth Building, located at 537 S. Dearborn Street.
Wood is credited as the principal architect for theaters, opera houses and concert halls throughout the United States. His projects include the New California Theater (Los Angeles), the Grand Opera House (Portland), the Tacoma Theater (Tacoma, Washington), New Broadway Theater (Minneapolis), Blake Opera House (Racine, WI), the Grand Opera House (Warsaw, WI), Rockford Opera House and Grand Opera House (Danville, IL), Academy of Music (East Saginaw), Academy of Music (Kalamazoo, MI), Redmond’s Opera House (Grand Rapids, MI), Academy of Music (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Academies of Music in Franklin, Oil City and Altoona (Pennsylvania), and the Academy of Music (Cedar Rapids, IA), just to name a fewWood was noted as “an enthusiast in this branch of his profession, and has devoted a great deal of time and study to the comfort, convenience, acoustic qualities and effect in the design and arrangements of opera houses, theaters and concert halls” (“The Bay of San Francisco,” Volume 1, 1892). In 1905, the “Indianapolis News” reported that Col. J. M. Wood, had built ninety-eight theaters, some of them the finest in the country” (24 Oct., 1905, page 2).
Little is known of Wood beyond 1907. The theaters designed and erected by Wood include the New California Theater [San Francisco, CA]; Grand Opera House, Los Angeles [CA]; Grand Opera House, Portland [OR]; the Tacoma theater [Tacoma, WA]; New Broadway, Denver [CO]; Hennepin Avenue Theater, Minneapolis [MN]; Blake Opera House, Racine [WI]; and Grand Opera House, Warsaw, Wisconsin; Rockford Opera House [Rockford, IL], and Grand Opera House, Danville, Illinois; Academy of Music, East Saginaw [MI]; Wood’s Opera House, Bay City [MI]; Academy of Music, Kalamazoo; Redmond’s Opera House, Grand Rapids [MI]; Academy of Music, Toronto, Canada; Academy of Music at Franklin, Oil City and Altoona, Pennsylvania; Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Lovell eventually established the firm of Lovell & Lovell, advertising as “architectural and consulting engineers.” Lovell was also widely known for his mausoleum designs. The first mausoleum he designed was the Community Mausoleum in Chicago’s Rosehill Cemetery. It is noted as being the prototype for the mausoleum at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California. Lovell also designed units 1 and 2 of the Old Mission Mausoleum in Wichita, Kansas.
Lovell worked as an architect for fifty years, passing away in 1938 at the age of 71 years old, decades after Wood.
To be continued…
