Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar. LHAT Historic Theater Tours – The Merriam Theatre, July 16, 2019

The second historic theater visited by League of Historic American Theatres members during the National conference was the Merriam Theatre. The LHAT program noted, “The Merriam Theatre, formerly the Sam S. Schubert Theatre, is Philadelphia’s most continuous location for touring Broadway show theatre. It is located at 250 South Broad Street within the Avenue of the Arts cultural district of Center City, Philadelphia. The Schubert Organization built the theater in 1918. In 1972 the theater came under the ownership of the Academy of Music, and was owned by the University of the Arts. In November 2016, it was purchased by the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.”

On March 30, 1918, the “Evening Public Ledger” reported,

“Plans for New Schubert Theatre.

“Theatrical patronage has recovered bravely from the melancholy slump which afflicted it last December. It weathered the fuel administration’s ruling and it has even experienced a rather lively ante-Easter period. And now, despite the war, there are definite prospects for additional footlight activity in this city.

“The handsome Schubert Theatre, under construction on the former site of the Horticultural Hall, is scheduled from completion on May 10. There are rumors that the daring venture of giving summer musical plays in Philadelphia may be made. The plans have not yet fully matured, but it is asserted on reputable authority that the new house will be opened as soon as it is finished. The initial attraction may be “Maytime” or the new Winter Garden potpourri, “The Passing Show of 1918.”

“Less frivolous offerings will, of course, be presented there when the regular season is on, and by next autumn eight so-called “first-class” theatres will be in operation here for the first time in the city’s history. This figure can be swelled to eleven if the Little Theatre, whose policy has lately been variable, and the Academy and the Metropolitan, devoted to music, are included” (Philadelphia, page 10).

To be continued…