Travels of A Scenic Artist and Scholar: John C. Alexander, Frank R. Alexander, and the Broadway Theatre

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

John Charles Alexander (1843-1908) worked as both a stage carpenter and stage manager at the Tabor Grand Opera House in the Denver venue during the 1880s and 1890s. Some credited him as the Tabor Grand’s master mechanic. Alexander’s knowledge about stage machinery and scenic appointments was critical for other Colorado theaters I the region, especially those that became part of the Colorado Circuit (later known as the Silver Circuit). John C. Alexander and his son, Frank R. Alexander, not only worked at the Tabor Grand, but also worked at other Denver theaters, including the Broadway Theatre, Orpheum Theatre, Denver Theatre and Elitch’s Gardens. The Alexanders worked in a variety of capacities and were listed with various titles, including property man, fly man, stage carpenter, and stage manager.

It is impossible to tell John’s story, without including that of his son, and vice versa. Even four years after his father’s passing, Frank’s story could not be told without mention of his father. On November 14, 1912, the “United Labor News” reported, “Frank Alexander, stage carpenter of Elitch’s Garden, has just returned from Larimie, Wyo., where he installed a full equipment for the new theatre in that city. Frank is the son of J. C. Alexander, who built the stage of the Tabor Opera House, and is one of the best carpenters in Local No. 7 of the Stage Employes. More power to you, Frank (“United Labor Bulletin,” Vol. 8, No. 41, May 16, 1914).

Building was in the Alexanders’ blood.

John Charles Alexander was the son of Robert Alexander (1804-1855) and Rebecca Russell (1807-1873). Born on July 4, 1843, John Alexander grew up in Toronto Municipality of Ontario, Canada. He was the seventh of nine children born to the couple, with his siblings being Eliza (1830-1848), Agnes (1833-1921), Samuel (1834-1864), Frances “Frank” W.  (1837-1913), Robert (1838-1900), James (1839-?), Rebecca (1847-?), and Eliza Jane (1853-1909). Robert Alexander was a carpenter and four of his five sons followed him in the profession. John, Robert Jr., Frances, and James all emigrated to the United States and all entered a building profession. In 1884, brother Frank W. and John C. were listed in the Denver city directory. At the time Frank was a pattern maker for a foundry, a handy connection to have if your brother is stage mechanic, designing and building stage systems in the region. Keep in mind that stage mechanics were integral in the planning and construction of performance venues.

When John Alexander was eighteen yrs. old, he moved to neighboring York. In York he married Ann Louisa McClusky (b. 1850-1888) and by 1870 and the two were living in Chicago. Interestingly, US Federal census reports list 1865 as John’s initial year of immigration to the US. By 1872, Alexander was working in Chicago as a carpenter, likely a stage carpenter. John and Ann celebrated the birth of their first two children in Chicago: Francis R. (1870-1924). Anna Mae (1873-1954). The small family briefly returned to Toronto where their third child was born 1877, Ethelia “Etta” Rebecca (1877-1958).  By 1880 the US Federal Census listed John and Anna L. living with their three children in Buffalo, New York. Alexander was again employed as a stage carpenter. Within two years, the family moved west and was living in Denver, Colorado. The 1882 Denver City Directory listed J. C. Alexander as the stage carpenter at the Tabor Grand Opera House, residing at 266 Weston. John C.’s brother, Frank W. Alexander, was also listed in the directory, now working as a “doortender” at the Palace Theatre. John and Ann’s fourth child, John Milton Alexander, was born in Denver in 1883.

For the next five years the Alexanders moved from one Denver residence to another. Despite the series of moves, Alexander continued to work at the Tabor Grand Opera House from 1882-1889, with his title changing from that of stage carpenter to stage manager. The Alexanders’ life changed dramatically, however, in 1888 when Ann died in childbirth. At the time, she was 37 yrs. old. Her newborn daughter, Anna L. McCloskey Alexander, also passed away only a few weeks later. This must have been a devasting blow to the close-knit family.

Her obituary was placed in the Rocky Mountain News on March 22, 1888:
“Anna Louise Alexander died on the nineteenth instant, after a brief illness. She was the wife of Mr. John C. Alexander, the stage manager for the Tabor Grand opera house. In her demise a most estimable lady is lost to a large circle of friends. She was a loving and faithful wife, and her motherly ministrations extended far beyond the portals of her own household. She was always generous and charitable, and her image will ever be held dear to those who were so fortunate as to have known her. She will be sadly missed by the employes of the opera house, who were wont to gather ’round her table and partake of the good cheer and hospitality which none better than she knew how to provide. She was 37 years old at the time of her death, and had been married sixteen years. She was the mother of three promising children, the youngest of which is four years old. She could look back on her sixteen years as a wife and mother as years of joy and happiness.”

John’s son,  Frank R. Alexander, entered the theatre profession around this time and was officially listed as a property man at the Tabor Opera House in the 1889 Denver City Directory. For the next ten years, father and son often worked together at the same venue. However, between 1890 and 1891 there was a brief pause, a momentary parting the Tabor Grand. I believe that they left to work for William H. Bush during the planning and construction of his new hotel and theatre complex. Bush’s Metropole Hotel and the Broadway Theater opened in August 1890.  On January 10, 1890 the “Solid Muldoon” reported, “Col. W. H. Bush’s Broadway Theatre and Apartment House, now being erected in Denver, will not be excelled or equaled in the Western country for a decade or two to come. The building will be ready for occupancy by August 1890, and then Denver can ‘point with pride’ to the grandest and most thoroughly appointed  temple of amusement between the two oceans. The opening night should be made an ovation and benefit to Mr. Bush, whose energy and enterprise the ‘Queen City’ owes much more than so ordinary a demonstration calls for.” When it opened, Colorado newspapers proclaimed, “Good judges declare it one of the handsomest theatres in the world” (Delta Independent, 26 August, 1890, page 1). The “Delta Independent” described, “The interior finish and the furnishings are beautiful and the appointments are the most modern” (12 August 1890). The Broadway Theatre was in direct competition with the Tabor Grand. Bush and Tabor had a history.

The planning of the Tabor Opera House in Leadville began with William Bush, then owner of the Clarendon Hotel. Tabor was simply an investor. When Bush ran out of money, he asked Tabor for an additional investment. The final result was Tabor buying Bush and naming the new theatre the Tabor Opera House. Tensions increased between the two when Tabor built the Vendome Hotel in Leadville. The Vendome was a direct competition with Bush’s Clarendon Hotel.

Turn-about is fair play, and Bush funded a competing performance venue in Denver. The Metropole Hotel and Broadway Theatre complex directly competed with the Tabor Grand Opera House.  

Sparing no expense on his hotel and theatre complex, Bush brought in a band of Chicago professionals that specialized in performance venues and stage technology. Designed by Col. J. M. Wood (1841-1907), the Broadway Theatre was advertised as the first fireproof theatre in the west. Similarly, the Vendome Hotel was advertised as the first fireproof hotel in the west. I have explored the career of Wood in past posts, as well as his establishment of the architectural firm Wood & Lovell in 1891. For more information, visit: https://drypigment.net2019/01/09/tales-from-a-scenic-artist-and-scholar-part-610-theatre-architects-col-j-w-wood-and-sidney-lovell/.  By 1892, Wood was credited with having “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). Wood had repeatedly hired and worked with Sosman & Landis, specifically selecting Thomas G. Moses from the firm. The team took Denver by storm, and another link connected the Queen City with the Windy City. Although Alexander lived in Denver, he also had roots with the Chicago theatre community. It would have made sense for all involved to bring Alexander and his son onboard for the Broadway Theatre project.

Interestingly, John C. Alexander was not listed in the Denver Directory during 1890, and by 1891 he was simply listed as a bartender. This may have been a calculated listing at the time.  The John C. Alexander listed as a bartender in the 1891 Denver Directory is the same as the stage carpenter, simply based on his home address.  In the same 1891 directory, however, Frank R. Alexander was listed as the stage carpenter for the new Broadway Theatre. Whatever the reason for both Alexanders to not being associated with the Tabor Grand in 1891, both were back by 1892.

The 1892 Denver Directory listed John C. Alexander as the Tabor Grand’s a stage manager with his son as a stage carpenter, Their work for the venue was short-lived and  by 1897 both Alexanders were back at the Broadway Theatre, each working as stage carpenters. John C. Alexander became the stage manager for the Broadway Theatre in 1898. Keep in mind that the Sherman Silver Purchase Act was repealed in 1893, financially crippling Tabor and forcing him to eventually his theaters.

I have explored the history of Denver’s Broadway Theatre in past posts, as Thomas G. Moses painted the original scenery. For more information, visit https://drypigment.net2017/10/07/tales-from-a-scenic-artist-and-scholar-acquiring-the-fort-scott-scenery-collection-for-the-minnesota-masonic-heritage-center-part-231-thomas-g-moses-and-the-broadway-theatre-in-denver-color/

More about the Alexanders tomorrow.

To be continued…