Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 1117 – Thomas G. Moses and White City Work, 1921

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

White City Amusement Park, Chicago
White City Amusement Park, Chicago

In 1921 Thomas Gibbs Moses wrote: “White City work starts early in May and we had plenty of it.” Chicago’s White City Amusement Park was located at 63rd Street and South Parkway. In many ways it was Chicago’s answer to New York’s Coney Island. Named after the white lights that lined many of its buildings, there were other White Cities built across the country during the first two decades of the twentieth century.

White City Amusement Park at night.

Each amusement park offered ample opportunities for scenic artists and studios. Imitations of popular attractions, were repeated over, and over again, mainstays at each venue.  For example, Luna Park’s “A Trip to the Moon” became White City’s “A Trip to Mars.” Most attractions and rides relied heavily upon scenic illusion and scene painting. Every year, Sosman & Landis completed projects for White City attractions across the country. Like grand circus spectacles, it was work that the studio depended upon.

Note the scenic art on the exterior for the Maid of the Mist attraction

Popular features at Chicago’s White City included “A Trip to Mars,” “Fire and Flames (the Chicago Fire),” “The Johnstown Flood,” “the Canals of Venice,” “Temple of Palmistry,” “Catacombs,” “The Third Degree,” “Infant Incubators,” “Midget City,” “Jewell’s Manikins,” and a whole host of other attractions and activities.

Devil’s Gorge attraction at White City
War of the Worlds attraction
Fire and Flames attraction at White City
Infant Incubators at White City
Midget City attraction at White City

There was also a vaudeville theater on the grounds, stocked with scenery for vaudeville acts and concerts. Since the park’s opening in 1905, Sosman & Landis produced scenic elements for dozens of projects at the venue, most under the direction of Moses.  During the park’s second season in 1906, an open-air amphitheater was erected with a seating capacity of 12,000. That year Soman & Landis delivered scenery for the outdoor spectacle, “The Last Days of Pompeii.” In 1909 Moses again recorded delivering scenery for another massive White City spectacle, “The Fall of Messiah.” From simple signs to outdoor displays, painted elements were in constant demand at White City.

Scenic studios accepted all kinds of projects to keep the shop doors open. They relied heavily upon a diverse clientele and a range of projects. In short, this diversification meant they could weather many storms, and survive economic downturns. War, pandemics, and other disasters may postpone theatre projects, but it did not necessary leave scenic artists without work. Legitimate theater was just one of many clients for a scenic artist. Amusement park attractions, charity balls, and other non-theatrical projects also required painted panoramas, platforms, props and scenic elements. Scenic studios were uniquely positioned to deliver themed environments for a variety of uses. In some ways, scenic studios followed the itinerant artist approach; accept any painting work that you can gets your hands on. Whether carriage painting, sign painting, ornamental painting, house painting, or drop curtains, all painting was good work.

In regard to White City projects in 1921, it is difficult to determine the exact work that Moses mentions in his memoirs. That year, there were many events held at the amusement park, including a series of professional ball games. However, White City advertisements during the spring of 1921 included a big entertainment at the Terrace Garden.  On May 25, 1921, the “Chicago Tribune” published a notice in the Amusements section for “The Garden Follies.” This “Edition De Luxe” was called the “Spring Frolics, a riot of color and flash, beauty, fashion, song and dance” (Chicago Tribune, 25 May 1921, page 19). Advertised as a “a big outdoor feature” it was free to the public. There were both afternoon and evening performances on Saturday, Sunday and Decoration Day. Even Frederick Do Bell was part of the event with advertisements stating, “He’ll Make You Gasp!”  Do Bell was a high wire artist, marketed as the “electronic wizard of the high wire.”

Variety acts in an outdoor setting suggest that vaudeville was adapting to the times too, taking their acts to a new level.

To be continued…

Author: waszut_barrett@me.com

Wendy Rae Waszut-Barrett, PhD, is an author, artist, and historian, specializing in painted settings for opera houses, vaudeville theaters, social halls, cinemas, and other entertainment venues. For over thirty years, her passion has remained the preservation of theatrical heritage, restoration of historic backdrops, and the training of scenic artists in lost painting techniques. In addition to evaluating, restoring, and replicating historic scenes, Waszut-Barrett also writes about forgotten scenic art techniques and theatre manufacturers. Recent publications include the The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple: Freemasonry, Architecture and Theatre (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2018), as well as articles for Theatre Historical Society of America’s Marquee, InitiativeTheatre Museum Berlin’s Die Vierte Wand, and various Masonic publications such as Scottish Rite Journal, Heredom and Plumbline. Dr. Waszut-Barrett is the founder and president of Historic Stage Services, LLC, a company specializing in historic stages and how to make them work for today’s needs. Although her primary focus remains on the past, she continues to work as a contemporary scene designer for theatre and opera.

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