Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1919 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Met Mrs. Coleman and Mrs. Carpenter regarding a big show in November at the Coliseum. They want to do the Atlantic City board-walk. I have it in mind and will start early on models. … The latter part of October I went to Atlantic City to meet Mrs. Carpenter, where I made sketches for the big show.”
Mrs. Joseph G. Coleman was in charge of the charity event at the Chicago Coliseum for the benefit of the Passavant Memorial hospital building fund. On Dec. 6, 1919, Chicago’s coliseum was converted into Atlantic City’s sea front, with piers and dashing waves on one side and a row of shops on the other. The board walk included push chairs, fortune tellers, cafés, cabarets, and shops. The idea was evolved by Mrs. John Alden Carpenter and was put into execution by Mrs. Joseph G. Coleman (Chicago Tribune, 9 Nov. 1919, page 91).
Of the design, the “Chicago Tribune” reported, “The greatest scenic effect, of course, is to be the shore and the sea, as designed by Mrs. John Alden Carpenter, distinguished colorist. Though a blizzard may whistle without, youngsters at the boardwalk can dig on the bright beach and the 210×50 foot canvas will tempt those fond of a dip.” (30 Nov. 1919, page 11).
In anticipation of the event, the “Chicago Tribune” reported, “Even if it is a week of dismal weather Chicago need not complain. For Saturday at 1 p.m. the Coliseum will be ready to shelter the frozen or soaked amusement seekers to the Atlantic City Board Walk. There, under a summer moon, by a brilliant sea with every melody and summer gayety, winter will be defied by the Passavant hospital, which has been arranged by society women under direction of Mrs. Joseph G. Coleman. The project, which is to be the most pretentious ever attempted is a reproduction of Atlantic City on midsummer night. The famous board walk will welcome strollers, the gay beach parasols will afford tete-a-tete retreats, the ‘prams,’ pushed by society men disguised as darkies, will give a new thrill to those who have tired of taxis. And even the most fagged fancy will find a new delight in the thirty-two shops, where society’s leaders will preside over the most fashionable and wealthy array of shop girl talent ever gathered under one moonlit sky” (30 Nov. 1919, page 11).
On Nov. 28, 1919, the “Chicago Tribune” included an article on the event entitled “Hospital to be Aided” (page 5): “Incense burners, Chinese slipper, beads, mandarin coats, rare ivories, embroidered panels, prints – everything Chinese, is being unpacked and inventories by Mrs. Marshall Field III. And her assistants in preparation for the opening of the Chinese shop on the Atlantic City Boardwalk at the Coliseum, where about thirty little shops will flash into life Saturday, Dec. 6, for the benefit of the Passavant Memorial hospital building fund. Most of Mrs. Field’s Chinese wares were assembled in San Francisco by Mrs. Willard, who is now the guest of Mrs. Joseph G. Coleman, in charge of the bazaar. Mrs. Down spent six weeks shopping every day in San Francisco’s Chinatown, and found some wonderful bargains, it is declared.”
But in the middle of the Coliseum project, Moses encountered an obstacle. He wrote, “We have lost John Hanny and Otto Schroader, our two best men. They do not want to stay with Hunt. He is such an awful fault finder.” The two would be part of a group that later formed Service Studios, another Chicago scenic studio.
In 1919, Moses also wrote, “Larson quit us on October 24th, and Hunt insisted on my doing everything, so I took hold and closed the Atlantic City job for $14,000.00 for a starter….a whole month was taken up with the Atlantic City board-walk work, had to put on quite a force. Everything worked out fine. I used some good common sense in finishing the Coliseum job and putting it up was no trouble of any kind. Instead of it costing is $1,500.00 to install, we did it for $400.00. We made a good profit, as we had $1,500.00 in extras. The show made a profit of $85,000.00 in ten days.” The Coliseum show remained a highlight for Moses during 1919. At the end of the year, he reminisced, “While we have been very busy the whole year, we have not done any very notable productions, excepting the Coliseum shows and Denver.”
For a man whose entire career was tied to the newest, biggest and best productions, Moses was witnessing the decline of his career. He would still complete large projects until his passing in 1934, but they would never carry the same momentum as when he was first at Sosman & Landis.
To be continued…
