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.
I seldom post anything personal, or about my family. Here is one of the rare exceptions. This post has to do with a young composer, Aaron Barrett, who just happens to be my son. For quite some time he has been writing music, musical compositions that range from symphonies to accordion concertos. Last fall, I used one of his works to illustrate a short video about Sosman & Landis.
For Christmas, Aaron gifted each family member a musical composition. In most cases, it was not only a gift, but also an experience. For his maternal grandmother, he wrote an accordion duet that they could play together. For his sister, he wrote a song that she could sing based on her favorite poem by Maya Angelou – And Still I Rise. We were each gifted something very personal, something that reflected who we are and what we love.
For his maternal grandfather, Aaron composed Overture to the West, inspired by western film scores.To make it an “experience” I offered to illustrated the overture with photographs from our last trip west.
I was gifted Sonata No. 1, Blank Canvases. Aaron envisioned me painting while he composed it. In the past few weeks, I illustrated the song with my own artworks to show the painting process. I have shared all three videos to YouTube and I am compelled to share the links now. Here they are:
This post was prompted by an article describing “a special set of rigging” that was designed for the Oakland Scottish Rite by Sosman & Landis representative Fred R. Megan.
The Oakland Scottish Rite. Photograph from Nov. 2025.Fly floor at the Oakland Scottish Rite. Photograph from Nov. 2025.
On Dec. 12, 1927, the Oakland Tribune reported:
“The rigging was designed and planned by Fred R. Megan, also of the Sosman & Landis company. Special concentration was given the arrangement and construction of the rigging as the commodious stage of the Oakland Scottish Rite Temple allows eighty-five drops to be raised out of sight. This allows plenty of space for high sets. This is the first Scottish Rite Temple to have wall slots, in which counterweight arbors travel without interfering with the operators. In the old system the operator’s hands were in constant danger of being injured by the counterweight frames. Steel sheaves, with ball bearings, the best tiller rope cable, Cuban bolt hauling lines, irons arbors with counterweights constitute the rigging equipment. Iron pipe battens are used in place of the old style wooden battens. The materials for this rigging was furnished by Oakland foundries. Patterns were shipped from the east while additional ones were made here. Megan was aided in this work by L. A. Abrott, of the Western Scenic studios.” Abrott and the Western Scenic Studios was the topic of yesterday’s post.
Today, I will illustrate information presented in the article and provide a technical context based on past Sosman & Landis rigging systems. All photographs are from Sosman & Landis scenery and rigging systems that I have documented in the past few decades.
My last several posts explored two Scottish Rite theaters in California that I visited last year – the Oakland Scottish Rite and the Long Beach Scottish Rite. Both collections date from the mid-1920s and house scenery delivered by three distinct studios (Sosman & Landis, J. D. Martin, and Western Scenic Studio). The scenery collections feature the work of four scenic artists (Thomas G. Moses, his assistant Lenn C. Harris, his assistant Earl Sudderth, and Paul Raiguel). Here are direct links to the nine posts written between December 10, 2025 and January 8, 2026:
This final post examines the rigging system at the Oakland Scottish Rite; a system design by Sosman & Landis and installed by Western Scenic Studio in 1927. At the time, Thomas G. Moses was president of the firm with Fred R. Megan acting as the Secretary/Treasurer. They had known each other for decades when they decided to open the second iteration of Sosman & Landis in 1923.
In 1927, Moses’ professional identity had been linked to the studio for almost five decades. He was Sosman & Landis’ first scenic art hire in 1880, becoming president after the passing of Sosman in 1915. However, Moses struggled with the firm’s board of directors and fellow officer, David Hunt, who also operated New York Studios, their Eastern Affiliate.
In 1923, Moses and Megan entered into a partnership known as Megan & Moses. They established the studio while waiting to purchase the Sosman & Landis name. The first iteration of Sosman & Landis, the one that began when Joe Sosman and Perry Landis, ended in 1923. That year, four firms fought for the name, client list, studio space, and supplies as the firm was liquidated. They were New York Studios, Chicago Studios, William Lemle, and Moses & Megan.
Early in 2022, I wrote and extensive biography on Fred R. Megan (1873-1946). At the time, I wrote, “From a practical standpoint, Moses handled production, while Megan handled marketing and sales.” I based this statement on research conducted between 2020 and 2022, following Megan’s career with the Kansas City Scenic as a salesman. My deep dive started in 2020 as Megan contracted the 1902 Tabor Opera House scenery contract in Leadville, Colorado. Portions of the project were subcontracted to Sosman & Landis. Sosman & Landis shipping tags are still tacked to some of the flat frames at the Tabor Opera House.
In 2022, I stumbled across an article describing the new Varsity Theatre in Evanston, Illinois. Sosman & Landis delivered the scenery and stage machinery; Megan had secured the contract. On Dec. 24, 1926, Wilmette Life published an article entitled “Noted Scenic Artist Create Variety Setting.” A paragraph at the end of the article included Megan’s experience: “Fred R. Megan, secretary and treasurer of the Sosman & Landis Co., spent 30 years as director of art with the Kansas City Scenic Co. He severed this connection at the outbreak of the war and had charge of the building and equipment of the Liberty theaters in all cantonments, in this country.” Art director, not salesman. This means that Megan was art director for the Kansas City Scenic Co. during the same time that Moses was art director for Sosman & Landis. Their responsibilities went far beyond aesthetic unification. In 1904, Moses was given complete control over the design, construction, painting and installation at Sosman & Landis. This does not mean that he micromanaged every aspect of production, but he was intimately familiar with mechanical demands when manufacturing scenery, stage machinery, and lighting systems.
I am going to do a brief recap on Megan and his technical theatre background. As a young man, Megan had worked with his father in Leonardville, Kansas. They owned and operated a local newspaper. At 21 yrs. old, F. R. Megan was listed as editor of The Monitor. Two years later, Megan set out on his own, relocating to Kansas City where he began working as a traveling salesman in 1896. During this time, he began working at a Kansas City Theatre. By 1901, he was representing the Kansas City Scenic Co. Salesman for scenic studios intimately understood what they sold and ordered, and it wasn’t just painted scenes. They measured, planned, and recommended various theatre supplies for their clients. In 1902, newspapers credited Megan with superintending the installation of Kansas City stage equipment and scenery. As a salesman that years, Megan also traveled with an electrified working model theater to show clients how scenery was positioned and lit once installed.
When Moses and Megan partnered in 1923, they each brought a substantial amount of industry knowledge and experience to the table. By 1927, Megan had been selling stage machinery, scenery and lighting systems for over three decades. He knew what worked, and what didn’t work. He recognized areas that needed improvement – such as an amateur flyman’s hands being in constant danger of damage from incoming box arbors.
This brings us to the newspaper article that details Megans contribution to the Oakland Scottish Rite Theatre. Here is the 1927 excerpt from the Oakland Tribune again:
“A special set of rigging was installed for the operating of the stage scenery. The rigging was designed and planned by Fred R. Megan, also of the Sosman & Landis company. Special concentration was given the arrangement and construction of the rigging as the commodious stage of the Oakland Scottish Rite Temple allows eighty-five drops to be raised out of sight. This allows plenty of space for high sets. This is the first Scottish Rite Temple to have wall slots, in which counterweight arbors travel without interfering with the operators. In the old system the operator’s hands were in constant danger of being injured by the counterweight frames. Steel sheaves, with ball bearings, the best tiller rope cable, Cuban bolt hauling lines, irons arbors with counterweights constitute the rigging equipment. Iron pipe battens are used in place of the old style wooden battens. The materials for this rigging was furnished by Oakland foundries. Patterns were shipped from the east while additional ones were made here. Megan was aided in this work by L. A. Abrott, of the Western Scenic studios.”
Newspaper articles are seldom 100% accurate. However, this clearly gives credit to Megan. He may, or may not, have engineered the rigging system. He may have encountered the system before and tweaked a few things. Regardless, he understood the value in separating the arbors from the operating lines, acknowledging “In the old system the operator’s hands were in constant danger of being injured by the counterweight frames.” Operating lines in Scottish Rite theaters were only a few inches apart, most being 2” to 4” apart, on center. Looking up at the close proximately of bottom battens delivered by Sosman & Landis to Scottish Rite theaters, one can see how much scenery a studio could sell to amateur thespians with significant funds. Here are a few examples of Sosman & Landis installations.
Sosman & Landis scenery and stage machinery, c. 1908. Originally delivered the the Scottish Rite Theatre in McAlester, OK. Now used at the Scottish Rite Theatre in Salinas, KS.Sosman & Landis scenery and stage machinery, c. 1908. Originally delivered the the Scottish Rite Theatre in McAlester, OK. Now used at the Scottish Rite Theatre in Salinas, KS.Sosman & Landis scenery and stage machinery, c. 1908. Originally delivered the the Scottish Rite Theatre in McAlester, OK. Now used at the Scottish Rite Theatre in Salinas, KS.Sosman & Landis stage machinery and scenery, c. 1902. Originally delivered to the Scottish Rite Theatre in Little Rock, Arkansas. Now used by the Pasadena Scottish Rite in California.Sosman & Landis stage machinery and scenery, c. 1902. Originally delivered to the Scottish Rite Theatre in Little Rock, Arkansas. Now used by the Pasadena Scottish Rite in California.
Developing Brown’s Special System
Since the 1880s, Sosman & Landis supplied free plans for stages and lighting systems if the client purchased their scenery. In writing for an estimate, the client needed to provide the length of room, width of room, height of ceiling, and locations of stairs (if any). If the stage were already built, the firm requested the width of curtain opening, height of curtain opening, width of stage from wall to wall, depth of stage back from curtain line, height of ceiling above stage floor and location of dressing rooms.
There was in shift in the manufacture and installation of Sosman & Landis stage machinery by the 1890s when the firm began to market their own theatrical supplies and lighting systems.
In regard to rigging systems, the firm transitioned from a hemp system with counterweight bricks to the use of wood box arbors in theaters with fly lofts. Their custom counterweight system was marketed as “Brown’s Special System.” An early example of Sosman & Landis stage machinery manufactured before Brown’s Special System remains at the Scottish Rite Theatre in Yankton, South Dakota. The stage machinery and scenery were purchased used, originally delivered to the Wichita Scottish Rite Theatre in 1898.
Sosman & Landis stage machinery and scenery, c. 1898. Originally delivered to the Wichita Scottish Rite in Kansas. Now used by the Yankton Scottish Rite in South Dakota.
By 1901, Sosman & Landis were manufacturing wood box frames for counterweights. Early Sosman & Landis box arbors are still in use at many Scottish Rite theaters across the country. The early-version of the Sosman & Landis box arbor uses a single spindle to secure the weights. No rope locks were used, as each was perfectly-balanced and dedicated line set.
Arbor box with single spindle. Grand Forks Scottish Rite, c. 1915.
Again, this type of counterweight rigging system was referred to by the manufacturer as “Brown’s Special System.” In the early twentieth century, it was also marketed by Bestor G. Brown, a western representative for the fraternal supply company, M. C. Lilley Co. Brown’s Special System was designed for amateur stage hands who had never worked in a professional venue; individuals unfamiliar with hemp system or the handling of fly scenery. It also allowed a venue to purchase twice the amount of scenery as the spacing between lines could be reduced to a little as 2 inches.
By the 1920s, Sosman & Landis began to replace the wood frame of box arbors with steel. Double rods also replaced the single spindle. Such is the case at the Oakland Scottish Rite.
Arbors at the Oakland Scottish Rite. Photograph from November 2025.Looking Stage Right at the Oakland Scottish Rite. Photograph from Novembers 2025.The Oakland Scottish Rite. Stage Machinery and Scenery by Sosman & Landis, 1927-1928. Installation by Western Scenic Studio under the direct supervision of Larry Abrott. Photograph from Nov. 2025.The Oakland Scottish Rite. Photograph from Nov. 2025.
The Oakland Scottish Rite and Joplin Scottish RiteFly Rail
The layout of the Oakland Scottish Rite rigging system is very similar to what The Fabric Studios of Chicago installed at the Scottish Rite Theatre in Joplin, Missouri, during 1923.
Fly floor at the Oakland Scottish Rite (1927). Photograph from 2025.Joplin Scottish Rite. Photograph from 2018. Notice the lack of rope locks.Joplin Scottish Rite (1923), Photograph from 2018.Arbors at the Joplin Scottish Rite (1923). Photograph from 2018.Arbors at the Oakland Scottish Rite. Photograph from November 2025.
That being said, the Joplin Scottish Rite is much smaller than the Oakland Scottish Rite. The major difference in the arbor construction is that in Joplin the top is made from wood, whereas the top of the arbor is metal in Oakland.
Arbors at the Joplin Scottish Rite. Photograph from 2018.Scenery by The Fabric Studio of Chicago at the Joplin Scottish Rite.
I have written about The Fabric Studio of Chicago in the past, tracing the history of this firm briefly located at State Street. There were three main individuals running The Fabric Studio, artistic director P T. Blackburn, stage carpenter and master mechanic J. A. Bannon, and salesman W. S. Mayer. The same year that The Fabric Studio of Chicago manufactured stage machinery and scenery for the Joplin Scottish Rite stage, Thomas G. Moses and Fred Megan rented space in the Fabric Studio’s space 117 N. State, 4th floor, Chicago. The Fabric Studio of Chicago was very short-lived, lasting only a few years before the founders all went their separate ways. Blackburn eventually settled in Hollywood, ending up as a head artist at Paramount by 1949.
Studio stamp on the Joplin Scottish Rite scenery. Photograph from 2018.
Interestingly there was another The Fabric Studios at 4030 Whiteside Ave., Los Angeles, established by Henry Clay Hollinger (1882-1963). In 1921, Hollinger was the fifth president of the International Alliance of Stage Employees (The Solano-Napa News Chronicle 14 Mar 1921, p. 2). I could do a whole post on his life and career but today is not the day to go down another rabbit hole.
In 1926, the LA-based Fabric Studio advertised, “We made and installed the H. C. Hollinger Counterweight System as stage equipment in the new house” – Ed Yost’s new Yost Broadway Theatre in Santa Ana (Santa Ana Register 29 May 1926 p 19). Hollinger’s name became synonymous with The Fabric Studio. In 1926 H. C. Hollinger listed 1312 West Thirty-ninth St, Los Angeles, with his firm advertising “Theatre Riggers, Stage Furnishings and Scenery” (Los Angeles Evening Post-Record 20 Jan 1926 p.5). By 1932, H. C. Hollinger The Fabric Studio at 4030 Whiteside Ave., LA. outfitted the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, advertising as suppliers of “Complete Stage and Talking Picture Equipment” (The Long Beach Sun 5 Mar 1932, p 48).
From the Santa Ana Register 29 May 1926.
The Oakland Scottish Rite stage exemplifies a shift in the industry pertaining to the manufacture, installation, and handling of painted scenery. Sosman & Landis delivered scenery to 6000 theaters by 1902, allowing us to able examine standard procedures employed by the leading theatrical manufacturer in America from 1880-1920. To date, I have documented thousands of Sosman & Landis drops examining how they were constructed, painted, installed, and handled. Between 1880 and 1930 there was a definite change in not only drop construction, but the operating systems that raised and lowered scenery in theaters with fly lofts.
THE DISCONTINUATION OF SANDWICH BATTENS
From a drop construction standpoint, the use of sandwich battens declined by the late-1920s. Studios began to adopt the use of pipe, or metal rod, in pockets at the bottom of painted scenes. Similarly, sandwich battens at the top of drops were replaced with webbing, grommets and tie line.
Throughout the nineteenth century and early twentieth century, white-pine sandwich battens were attached to the top and bottom of each drop. A sandwich batten is two pieces of wood that “sandwich” the painted scene at the top and the bottom. The lightweight nature and strength of white pine was ideal; it perfectly stretched the scene without tearing the fabric, keeping the fabric taut. Unless battens warped or operating lines sagged, many extant drops with sandwich battens remain in remarkable condition when appropriately lit. The only variation in sandwich battens was shape.
Sandwich batten. c. 1907.Board for a sandwich batten, c. 1917.Sandwich batten, ca. 1925.
Once perfectly round, the shape transitioned from oval in the 1890s to angled by the 1920s. Initially the shape facilitated rolling and transportation. However, sandwich battens took on more of an angular shape when permanently installed as stock scenery collection. The curved/angles shape facilitated the drops in close proximity to easily bypass one another during a scene change. Bottom battens that were shaped would not catch on a neighboring one.
How the top of a drop was connected to the operating system also changed over time. Initially, wire rope cables or hemp/manilla were fed through ½-inch holes drilled through the top batten.
Sosman and Landis installation, c. 1909.Log staples, like this one, secured the cable to the top batten to form a loop for the dog clip.
Simple knots gave way to log staples that secured the cables to the wood forming pick points (cable loops) for operating lines. Dog clips at the end of cables were quickly clipped to the cable loops on the top batten. Cable loops were eventually replaced with steel brackets that clamped to the top battens, forming a more secure connection.
Batten clamp use on some scenes at the Pasadena Scottish Rite.
As pipe pockets began to replace bottom battens, the longevity of drops diminished. In many cases the pipe, often ¾” – 1” in diameter, weighed much more than the sandwich batten. This caused seams to fail and the fabric at the bottom of a pipe pocket to deteriorate.
Failing pipe pocket at the Long Beach Scottish Rite. Excessive weight from pipe is causing the fabric to fail. Photograph from 2025.Failing fabric on pipe pocket at the Long Beach Scottish Rite. Photograph from 2025.
Similarly, the top sandwich batten was replaced with top webbing (jute), grommets and ties lines that secured the top of each drop to pipes. Grommets were not new to scenic studios but used for purposes other than painted scenes. Nineteenth century scenic studios has been using and selling brass grommets and pins for stage carpets and floor cloths, not fly scenery. The Oakland Scottish Rite exemplifies the shift from sandwich battens to pipe pockets, as well as webbing, grommets and tie lines.
Example of grommets and simple hand tool for modern drop construction. This is just an example for those who are unfamiliar with this method.
The benefit of the new system was when drops needed to quickly ship or shift position. However, in Scottish Rite theaters the scenery seldom moved; there were dedicated line sets. It was specifically designed to be used in a certain order for plays that remain the same. I will also remind readers that stage scenery produced by Sosman & Landis was guaranteed for only twelve years throughout the duration of the firm.
The Oakland Scottish Rite scenery is almost a century old. The fabric supporting pipe pockets does not age well, and it has to do with how the lines are handled. When a wooden batten hits the deck, the fabric is not compromised as the wood takes the brunt of the blow. When the bottom of a fabric pipe pocket lands, the fabric begins to deteriorate. If there are pipe connections, they start wearing on the fabric, creating a weak spot. Similarly, if the pipe shifts, the off stage edges of the pipe pocket can also become compromised. Pipe pockets always fail. It may take decades, but the fabric will wear out from constant contact with the floor.
Now this problem could be solved by slowly lowering the drops, but that is often not the case with inexperienced stagehands – such as those running Masonic performances. Time, and a lack of communication, will unravel much information backstage. In the beginning, Masonic stage hands were instructed in the proper handling of scenery by a studio representative. Buildings were new and stage machinery unfamiliar. However, over the decades the information was passed from one stage crew to another and distorted, like the child’s game of Telephone.
Larry Abrott (1888-1961) is credited with supervising the installation of stage machinery and scenery at the Oakland Scottish Rite. As owner of Western Scenic Studio, he partnered with Sosman & Landis in 1927 to install a new rigging system for 85 backdrops, each measuring 30′ x 50′.
Looking stage right at the Oakland Scottish Rite Theatre, Nov. 2025.Looking stage right at the Oakland Scottish Rite, No. 2025.
Abrott was well-known throughout the region, having established the Western Scenic Studios at 1527-1531 Jackson St., Oakland by 1923. He was also a member of the Oakland Scottish Rite. Despite his reputation, Abrott’s surname was frequently misspelled in historic records and newspapers as Abbott.
Lawrence “Larry” Arthur Abrott was born on July 22, 1888, in Sunol, California. In fact, all of the Abrott children were born in Sunol between 1888 and 1896. For geographical context, Sunol is an unincorporated town, located approximately 30 miles southeast of Oakland, about halfway between Pleasanton and Fremont. Interestingly. Abrott’s 1961 obituary listed him as a native of Irvington; this is a Fremont neighborhood. Regardless of the exact spot, Abrott was in the right place at the right time when the Essanay Film Company opened their Western Studio in Niles. Niles is now also considered part of Fremont as an historic district. Family members lived in the area for years, with Abrott’s father passing away there in 1944. His sister also lived in Niles at the time.
“Larry” was the son of a blacksmith Henry Arthur Abrott (1864-1944) and Angeline Frick (1867-1947). Little is known of Abrott’s early youth, education, or entry into the carpentry trade. However, the 1900 US Federal Census report lists 11-yrs. old Larry living with his family in Murray Township, also located in Alameda County. Except for 3-yrs. old Florence, all the Abrott children were attending school that year. Their neighbors were a mixture of farmers and tradesmen.
When Larry turned 21 yrs. old he married Alice Perdita Elliott (1889-1950). The couple was wed in Alameda County on June 20, 1909. Between 1910 and 1926 they celebrated the birth of four children: Lawrence ”Lorin” Elliott Abrott (1910-1976), Arthur H. Abrott (1918-1987), Jack Odell Abrott (1920-2004), and Barbara Jean Abrott (1926-2008).
In 1910, the Abrotts moved from Murray moved to Pleasanton. At the time, he was employed as a carpenter, listing “housing” as his primary industry. Abrott was in the right place at the right time when Gilbert M. Anderson selected Niles as the new Essanay filming location.
In July 1912, Abrott joined Essanay’s Western Studio in Niles as a set carpenter. This was only a few months after Essanay selected Niles as their western filming location. In Niles, the firm offered housing for both cast and crew. Abrott relocated to Niles that summer. For the next three years, he fraternized with local citizens, seasoned performers, and actual cowboys. When Essanay arrived in town on April 1, 1912, the business district was less than three blocks long. Orchards surrounded a smattering of structures that dotted the canyon. The location offered an abundance of locations to film westerns. In less than four years, Essanay produced approximately 350 films in Niles. The number is staggering, even when the length of a “film” averaged less than 15 minutes.
Larry Abrott is pictured (white shirt) several times in David Keihn’s “Bronco Billy and the Essanay Film Company” (2003).
Abrott is pictured throughout David Keihn’s book Bronco Billy and the Essanay Film Co. (2003). He is shown both assembling sets and posing with the crew in Niles. Keihn has written a remarkable book that examines early filming practices and provides insight into the Essanay production process between 1911 and 1916. One of the aspects that I found fascinating is the use of standard stock scenery paired with a muslin ceiling (to diffuse light) and cut openings with natural scenery used as a backing. The turnaround time for the early movies (as well as the injuries incurred by cast and crew), is staggering. It really points to the speed at which Abrott and his crew, including scenic artist Earl Sudderth, loaded scenic flats onto wagons, delivered them to the desired location and set them up with lash lines and stage jacks. Keihn wrote, “Six days a week the cast and crew gathered in the morning at the barn on Second Street. Cowboys saddled their horses and rigged the stagecoach for action. Jess Robbins piled his camera equipment onto [Gilbert M.] Anderson’s Thomas Flyer and sat beside the chauffeur. Anderson sat in the back seat next to leading lady Vedah Bertram. If needed, Ben Lee and Arthur White loaded scene flats onto the bed of the dray wagon. The Flyer led this procession, everybody in costume, along Front Street past houses and businesses. The townspeople soon got used to this sight and paid little attention to it. Only visitors would stop and stare” (p. 89).
When Essanay shuttered its studio in Niles on Feb. 16, 1916, Abrott went south with Thomas H. Ince (1880-1924) to Hollywood, but didn’t stay for long. He returned to Oakland and became associated with the Orpheum Circuit. In 1917 the Oakland Directory listed Abrott as a flyman at Orpheum Theatre, living at 600 7th. He also continued to work as a stage carpenter. Between 1918 and 1920, he was listed as a carpenter in the directory, working on a variety of projects.
His work as a freelance stage hand and carpenter signals the start of his own scenic concern. In later years he would claim 1916 and 1918 as the establishment of his Western Scenic Studios. The 1920 census listed that the Abrott household included 31-yrs. old Lawrence, 29-yrs. old Alice and their two sons, aged 9 yrs.-old Lorin and 1-yr. old Arthur. Between 1921 and 1922, Abrott established the Western Scenic Studio. The firm began making an appearance in newspapers by 1923. An article entitled “Dons Ships Recount Years” was published in The Oakland Post Enquirer on Sept. 25, 1923. Western Scenic Studio was credited with ships built for the Fiesta de la Laguna on Lake Merritt that recalled 400 years of California’s history. Ten major ships showed significant periods in maritime history. The whole spectacle was arranged by the Dons of Peralta. The article reported, “Two boats, replicas of Fulton’s first steam ship and the Golden Hind, in which Sir Francis Drake sailed through the Straits of Magellan, were built by the Western Scenic studios in Oakland.” Later advertisements during described the firm as “Practical Builders of Artistic Floats, Scenery, Canopies, Draperies, and Interior Decorations” (Oakland Tribune 27 Feb 1927 p 49).
In 1923, Western Scenic Studio projects included scenery for Santa Rosa’s High School and Reavis’ G. & S. On Dec. 2, 1923, The Press Democrat published an article entitled, “Good Scenes Essential to Theatre Acts.” The article reported, “The success of theatrical performance depends to a great extent upon the stage settings. The realism of the setting rests with the scene painter; an otherwise attractive set may be completely ruined by poorly designed or badly painted scenery, according to L. A. Abrott, manager of the Western Scenic Studio of Oakland. Few persons realize the painstaking effort that goes into the production of effective scenery. As the architect first draws the plan of the house, the designer of the setting first makes the model which shows his client the way the stage will appear when the scenery is in place. These models are complete even to the smallest detail – the wings, the drop, all the effects are there, and the scenes are done in the colors in which they will appear in the competed set. These models are often really works of art and are prepared at a considerable cost. The scenery for the Reavis G. & S. theatre is from the Western Scenic Studios as was also the scenery for the San Francisco Grand Opera. The oriental setting of the Oakland Auto Show, which received much favorable comment, was designed by this studio.” Western Scenic Studio also delivered scenery to Oakland’s new Fox Theatre and Sacramento’s Senator Theatre at this time. Abrott was making a
On Feb 22, 1927, The Sacramento Union credited Western Scenic Studio with scenery and stage machinery at Sacramento’s Civic Auditorium, providing special sets for C. F. Weber & Co. The firm also became quite active as interior decorators at this time. They decorated the interior of the Garden of Allah Café along the Niles-San Jose Highway. Similarly, they created a Spanish Interior for the Automatic Appliance Company’s Happy Homes Shop No. 20 at 2080 Broadway in Oakland. The firm was also credited with “Jungle Town,” a new themed resort that offered “a little bit of Africa” (San Francisco Chronicle 14 Sept 1927 p 11).
The firm also became quite active in large-scale décor for horse shows. Over the years, Abrott took both a professional and personal interest in these popular events, even offering stakes for some of the divisions. In 1927, Oakland’s Horse was held at the Auditorium. On Feb 7, 1927. The San Francisco Chronicle announced, “Elaborate decorations for the auditorium are to be installed by the Western Scenic Studio.” The following year, Abrott even convinced Thomas G. Moses to attend the annual event. In his 1928 diary, Moses wrote, “The first horse show we ever attended was on the 18th of February. We certainly enjoyed it!”
Advertisement for the Oakland Scottish Rite Theatre, listing Sosman & Landis and Western Scenic Studio, 1928.
Moses and Abrott spent a significant a significant amount of time together that year. Moses wrote, “February 5th, Larry Abrott and wife called for us to take a trip through Los Gatos to their camp. On the way we struck a fierce storm. We were to take dinner at McEwings but arrived late on account of the storm. We enjoyed the ride and dinner just the same.” John McEwing was the Oakland Scottish Rite representative who had contracted Moses for the project. The McEwings and Abrotts frequently socialized with Moses and his wife (Ella) during their stay.
This was also the same year that Abrott began constructing new studio at 1184-1196 Thirty-second street. While excavating, Abrott discovered an old artifact that he shared with his colleague. Of the discovery, Moses wrote, “In tearing down an old house where Abbott is building a studio, an old invoice book was found. It was used as a clipping scrap book by the advertising man of the California Theatre. In looking it over I found it had to do with the shows of 1888 and 1889. I found a long article about my work in the theatre, describing how I went about it. Rather interesting and quite an accident I should get in possession of it. The California Theatre was opened May 13, 1889.” Moses had arrived in San Francisco on Feb. 3, 1889, to paint scenery for the venue. He began painting on Feb. 21. Despite of the “knocking” he received from local artists at the time, his work was well received by the public. Moses wrote, “my scenery was even praised by the previous knockers, so I must have done my best.” Of his scenic contribution, the Oakland Daily Evening Tribune reported, “As far as possible, drops only will be used on the stage, which has facilities for hanging sixty-two drops, thirty by forty-five feet in size. In case grooves are needed, an ingenious invention on the plan of the parallel ruler will be employed, which permits lifting the grooves out of the way when not in use. The largest and most varied stock of scenery ever is being furnished a new house is now being painted by Thomas Moses, the artist for Messrs. Sosman & Landis of Chicago, whose light embraces thirty-two full sets, requiring 7000 yards of linen. The feature of horizon settings is a semi-circle rod on which is hung by rings, dispensing entirely with wings and giving the effect of great distance.” This was a wraparound cyclorama, a device installed at the Oakland Scottish Rite in 1927. Sosman & Landis installed many of these over the decades. Here is an example from the 1920s.
Wraparound cyclorama manufactured by Sosman & Landis for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Fort Scott, Kansas.
The article continued: “Five different street scenes, complete in every detail; five Gothic interiors of entirely different character, French, modern, plain, and fancy chambers, palaces, prison, kitchen, and garret – each scene requiring fifteen to twenty pieces – are already finished or under way, besides a number of exteriors of great beauty and variety” (April 19, 1889). This project was the topic of an early post from 2017; click HERE to read it.
While in Oakland, Moses and Abrott worked on a variety of other projects. In 1928 Moses wrote, “Called on the National Theatre Supply Company of San Francisco in order to assist Abrott in contracting for some of their building as we did in Chicago. I believe they will give up their Studio in Seattle, as I understand it is a losing proposition.” That year, Western Scenic Studio also subcontracted Moses to paint scenery for a Shrine event in Phoenix, Arizona. Of the project. He wrote, “Did a lot of Shrine scenery for Abrott. To go to Phoenix, Arizona for only one night.” Moses’ relationship with Western Scenic Studio continued for the next few years. Abrott is often mentioned in Moses’ memoirs.
In 1930, they were still working with a variety of Masonic representatives, including Scottish Rite Mason Louis Edward Lounsbery, former resident of McAlester, Oklahoma, who lived in Beverly Hills. Early in the year, Moses wrote, “January 11th, Mr. Lounsbery showed up today. Larry Abrott and I dined at the Oakland Hotel with him. After which we drove out to the studio and the Public Library, in quest of a proper picture for the drop curtain at McAlester. He wants a Nile picture. We couldn’t find just what he wanted, so I will have to dig up some at home. Have had a lot of trouble with color drying – more so than any other year. Had to use three smudge pots, which did the work very quickly.”
Western Scenic Studio was also heavily involved with equestrian events, including those held at the San Joaquin County Fair. Abrott and Lincoln Elsworth Allington (1866-1949) were credited for the firm’s scenic contribution. On Aug 13, 1930, The Record reported, “A little Spanish town, painted on canvas and extending 600 feet in front of the grandstand, arrived this morning as an appropriate setting for the horse show which will be held each night during the fair. L. A. Abrott and L. E. Allington of the Western Scenic Studio, which built and painted the scenery, arrived today to erect it. Each night the set will be erected and torn down for the show.” Offering prize money contributions too (Oakland Tribune 1 Jan 1931 p 7). Decorations for 1931 “Under the decoration of Lawrence Abrott, the Western Scenic Studio has converted the auditorium arena into a horse show ring. A new canopy made of 18,000 tard of cloth, designed and decorated in soft and harmonious colors has been installed above the show ring. Twenty-four large panels, depicting hunt scenes and horses of all types in action, done in striking colors, will cover the walls of the arena back of the balconies. The orchestra stand at the north end of the ring will be draped with black velour curtains, embellished with great silver horse shoes and horse heads” (The Oakland Post Enquirer 30 Jan 1931 p 2).
Abrott’s eldest son, Lorin, was also working as a stage carpenter for the firm in 1930. The Abrotts were still living at 4429 Park Blvd in Oakland, with Larry listed as a theatre contractor. In 1930, Lorin represented the firm when an arctic scene was installed for the Stockton Sciots New Years Party (The Record 15 Dec 1930 p 18). The also manufactured decorations for a California and Hawaiian Sugar Corporation event at the Community Auditorium (Martinez News-Gazette 19 Dec 1930 p 2). With the country spiraling into a Depression, Western Scenic Studio began to diversify their offerings, accepting even more contracts for community events and public displays. On April 8, 1932, the Emeryville Golden Gate Herald described the firm’s contribution to the Seventh Annual Alameda Food Show at Oakland Municipal Auditorium, reporting, “At great expense, an attractive new canopy has been made for the huge auditorium arena, and new booths and decorations have been installed by the Western Scenic Studios.” Other projects that year included an “Opportunity Revue” at the RKO Oakland Orpheum Theatre (San Francisco Chronicle 8 July 1932 p 6) and decorations at Oakland’s Persian Garden’s Ballroom on the corner of Grand Ave. and Webster (The Oakland Post Enquirer 28 Oct 1932 p 12).
1933 projects included pageant settings, lobby displays, and charity benefits. On May 22, 1933, The Oakland Post Enquirer featured Western Scenic Studio in an article entitled “Decorations at Show by Local Company” concerning their decorations at the Taft and Pennoyer building . The article reported, “The studio is located at 1184-1196 Thirty-second street, where Abrott maintains a large establishment. He is equipped to furnish canopies, commercial interior decorations, draperies for the home and theater, and is noted as a designer and builder of theatrical scenery.” That fall, the firm was credited with scenic effects for Policeman McDonald’s Benefit at the Dreamland Auditorium (San Francisco Chronicle 20 Sept 1933 p 11). Another project was the fashion and vaudeville show at a theatre in Antioch. On Nov. 3, 1933, the Martinez News Gazette reported, “Special scenery will be a feature of this splendid show, and elaborate stage setting having been made especially for El Campanil Theatre by the Western Scenic Studios.” They also delivered new scenery and draperies for the Central Theatre (The Oakland Post Enquirer 3 Nov 1933 p 14) and the new Roseville Theatre (The Press-Tribune 25 April 1934 p 1).
The firm remained was involved with Masonic projects, including special settings, lighting systems, and decorations for a pageant at Aahmes Temple Shrine (The San Francisco Bulletin 30 May 1934 p 9). In the summer of 1934,they were manufacturing scenery and displays for the 39th Triennial Conclave of the Knight Templar in San Francisco.
Business appeared to be on an uptick, and just as it seemed that the studio would pull through the depression, disaster struck. Fire razed the studio building in 1934. On July 1, 1934, The Oakland Tribune announced, “Studio Plant Burned, Seven Houses Seared.” The article continued, “Fire razed the three-story plant of the Western Scenic Studio, 1196 Thirty-second street yesterday, partially destroying the roofs of seven neighboring homes, and sent a cinder-laden pall of smoke throughout downtown Oakland…The flames, fueled by oil paints, varnish, glue, and other inflammable materials stored in the studio shot up so quickly that passersby at first believed an explosion had occurred…The studio plant, where scenery was manufactured for theaters and auditoriums throughout the Pacific Coast was declared to be a total loss by L. A. Abrott, 4429 Park Boulevard, the owner. He estimated the loss at $85,000…Abrott said he had just purchased $60,000 worth of materials, much of which were to be used for setting up in ceremonies connected with the thirty-ninth triennial conclave of the Knight Templar to start next week in San Francisco…Authorities declared they were of the opinion that the fire started from a broken gas line in a washroom, the gas being ignited from flames beneath glue pots which had been left heating nearby…The fire, sweeping like a flash through the ground story, mushroomed to the second story and then to the roof, on which was a “stage” on which scene painters set up backdrops and worked out their designs. In a few minutes the fire had gained such headway that the “stage” had collapsed and the roof and floor of the building had fallen in. Huge pieces of corrugated iron, which the building in sheathed, flew into the air.” In the end, there was $125,000 worth of damage with flying embers igniting 25 homes (The San Bernardino County Sun 1 July 1934, p 1).
Before the end of the year, Abrott took out a permit for a new scenic factory at the same location. On Dec. 24, The Oakland Tribune announced a $7000 factory was to be built at 1196 Thirty-second street. The business office address was listed as 1184 Thirty-second street.
Western Scenic Studio pictured in 1936.
They were soon up and running. Less than a year later, Western Scenic Studio were credited with holiday decoration throughout downtown Oakland. On Nov. 22, 1935, The Oakland Post Enquirer published an article entitled, “Yule Decorations for City’s Streets,” reporting, “On a special order from the Downtown Merchant’s Association, the jolly old gentlemen set carpenters and painters to work at the Western Scenic Studio, Thirty-second and Magnolia Streets, on a project designed to make downtown Oakland a festive scene when he and his reindeer soar into town Christmas Eve. The “branch workshop” will turn out grinning gnomes, cats, dancing pigs, rabbits, ducks, bright-colored stars and Santa Claus portraits for novel decorations for downtown street corners.” They also delivered scenery and stage machinery to the San Mateo Theatre that year (The Times 24 Dec 1935 p 5).
Western Scenic Studio artist, Robert Earl Sudderth, pictured in 1936.
The next year, projects included a large backdrop depicting the High Sierras for a sports show. On May 14, 1936, The Oakland Post Enquirer announced that it took ten men to handle the massive painting. A few days later, The California reported that Western Scenic Studio was Studios in charge of “New house draperies, stage draperies and a beautiful new title curtain at the Fox California Theatre” in Salinas (18 May 1936 p 15). The Salinas Morning Post reported that “L. A. Abrott, owner and manager of the Western Scenic Studios has operated his plant in Oakland for more than 20 years and has furnished draperies for California’s finest theaters” (May 1936 p 15). In 1936, Twenty years coincides with Abrott’s departure from Essanay film in 1916; when the Niles studio location was closed and Abrott was out of work.
On Dec. 1, 1936, the Oakland Tribune published an article about Abrott and Western Scenic Studio entitled, “Local Scenic Supply House Big Industry.” The article reported, “The genius behind this institution is L. A. ‘Larry’ Abrott. He started out in life with the intention of becoming a blacksmith. That would have meant that if he had continued his chosen profession he probably would have been an auto mechanic today. Fortunately, about that time Bronco Billy Anderson opened up his Essanay motion pictures studio at Niles. This institution was one of the pioneers of its kind in the industry that has grown far beyond the greatest hopes of its originators. The studio needed scenery and settings, and Larry got the job of working this angle of the game. He possessed original ideas and soon was an important personality at the studio….From Niles, Abrott went south to Hollywood with Thomas Ince. All the while the former blacksmith was learning the technical features of the new business and was fast becoming an expert. He swung from the motion pictures to vaudeville theater and was connected with the Orpheum circuit when vaudeville was at its best. That brought him back to the bay region. Then in 1919 he decided to go into business for himself. He opened up his first studio in Jackson Street in Oakland…orders have come to the Oakland plant from as far away as Burmah, and from Bagdad, India. Fort Smith, Arkansas; McAlester, Oklahoma; and sophisticated New York also send their business to the Western Scenic Studio.”
The article continued, “Many of the theaters in the Metropolitan Oakland area have been decorated by the studio. Numerous hotel lobbies show the handiwork of Larry’s workmen. Nearly all the Masonic temples in the bay area know his handiwork. And every year at Christmas time the youngsters of the Metropolitan Oakland area are gladdened by the sight of genial old Santa Claus who comes out of his hiding place in the Western Scenic Studio to perch on the lamp posts scattering good cheer until the holiday season is over.”
Of Western Scenic Studio’s building, the article reported that it had “the largest curtain frame for painting back-drops in the entire United States. It is 180 feet long by 45 feet high and is electrically driven. There are only a half dozen of these electrical drive frames in the country and none as large as the one here.” A scenic artist who painted on this frame commented on one of my previous posts that mentioned the Western Scenic Studio. Here is his comment:
“I worked for Western Scenic Studios in late 1970’s. Jack Abrott [Larry’s son] was just selling Western Scenic to a man named Joe Rhodes, and then moved to Reno, NV. At that time, Western Scenic set up Tradeshows in Northern California. Set up the draped booths, carpeting, electrical, table and chair rentals, signage, drayage, everything needed for an Exhibitor to display the wares and services they had to offer, to Attendees. The most profitable thing we did were decorations for “Special Parties.” Some of the same original hand painted scenery and old props, from the glory days of Oakland’s Movie Industry, (as well as, new canvas’s) was hung floor to ceiling, for example, at the Fairmont Hotel’s Grand Ballroom (and many other Hotels and locations). A Western themed painting hung on one of the walls and the Fairmont catered western style foods in front of it. A San Francisco Chinatown painted canvas on another wall and Chinese food catered in front of it. MANY different “Themes” could be ordered. We also placed things like white Greek style column that were 12 feet tall. Concrete statues, floral arrangements, A Gazebo on the middle of the room. The Fairmont still had many photos hanging on the Sales Office walls, last time I was there. It was the glory days of Corporate America. Coca Cola spent a whopping $249,000 on a one night party. They rented every restaurant in Tiberon for their employees! They just had to present a ticket and that paid for their dinner and drinks! They painted the Civic Auditorium walls white with the red wavy stripe of their logo throughout the facility! AND THEN… Had to paint the entire Auditorium back to the dull slate gray that is was. What a waste! We did special decorations and plant for the Davis Cup Playoffs. I met and had breakfast with McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors and was star-struck! I was a big tennis fan! We also did Staging and decorations for a Fredricks of Hollywood Fashion Show. Details of that event I will take to the grave! LOL! Joe built a special turntable for the car maker FIAT. And we travelled to several cities setting up their auto display at big Car Shows up and down the West Coast. Joe Rhodes was a VERY creative man that I liked, and respected. I was seriously injured on the job at Western Scenic, and through some serious misunderstandings, and a couple lying fellow employees, I was fired. My two years there was some of the most memorable of my life. That, thanks to Mr. Joe Rhodes. Just some quick input on Western Scenic. I’d like folks to remember the fun and wonderment that we created. God Bless.” And this brings us to the period of transition as the studio passed from the Abrott family, to Joe Rhodes and then John Murray.
There are many, many Western Scenic Studio projects that I have researched and documented, but will not be included in this post due to length. That being said, I am going to start with Larry’s obituary, published in the Oakland Tribune on Aug. 11, 1961:
“L. A. Abrott, Theatre Man, Rancher, Dies. Lawrence A. Abrott, veteran Oakland theater construction company executive who raised cattle at this family’s Livermore ranch for a hobby, has died at 73. Mr. Abrott lived at 4429 Park Blvd. He is survived by his wife, May; four children, Lorin and Jack Abrott of Oakland; Mrs. Barbara Laird of Hayward and Arthur Abrott of San Bruno, and 10 grandchildren. Mr. Abrott operated the Western Scenic Studio here for many years and supplied much of the theatrical, carnival and festival decorations for the Pacific Coast. He also took over the family ranch on Welch Creek Road near Livermore. This is still operated by his son, Arthur. Funeral Services will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. in the chapel of Albert Brown Mortuary under the auspices of Park Boulevard Lodge No. 568, F. and A. M. Mr. Abrott also belonged to the Scottish Rite Bodies of Freemasonry, Aahmes Temple Mystic Shrine, Oakland Court No. 6 Royal Order of Jesters and Grandfathers Club of America.” Larry’s sons ran the firm until 1978 when they sold the studio to Joe Rhodes. In 1984 photographs were taken of murals on the paint frame and shared as a YouTube video in 2016. The murals were for a ski convention in Colorado, crediting Terry Brackenbury as the Artist Team leader. Click HERE for the video posted by Horace Washington.
Photograph of Western Scenic Studio’s paint frame in 1984.
That same year, the studio was mentioned in an article published by The Sacramento Union on April 29. The article was entitled “For Art Lovers with a Taste of Oddities” and reported, “Western Scenic Studio Inc. in Oakland has collected a bizarre assortment of trompe l’oeil since opening in 1919. Backdrops depicting dramatic Sierra vistas or adobe missions stuff its monumental warehouses. Fiberglass life-sized horses, medieval castle tapestries, miniature Victorian houses with measure 16 feet high and scores of Greek columns are all there for a fee. Among the more extravagant of the firm’s offerings, which are primarily used these days for conventions and trade shows, are a 60-foot-long Golden Gate Bridge (it rents for about $1,000), a 21-foot high Eiffel Tower, and a 17-foot tall Arc de Triomphe.”
By the mid 1980’s Western Scenic Studio was thriving. They landed three Super Bowl party contracts that included the 1986 Super Bowl XX part in New Orleans. On Jan. 8 of that year, the San Francisco Chronicle mentioned that decorations for the event were being hauled in three 45-foot trailer “chock full of props and decorations.” The article also recounted the firm’s history: “Dating back to 1909 when its founder, Larry Abrott, was building sets for Charlie Chaplin’s film-making in Niles (the would-be movie capital of the West), Western Scenic has over the years provided the background for corporate, trade and entertainment events ranging from Sally Rand’s Nude Ranch at the 1939 Treasure Island World’s Fair to the 1984 Democratic Convention at the Moscone Center. The only home-owned, full service company of its kind in the state – its major competitors are nationally operated United Exposition Services and Greyhound Exposition Service – Western Scenic was acquired by Rhodes in 1978 from the founder’s son, Jack, who continues as a consultant. At the time, there were two full-time employees and the annual revenues of $100,000. Today, there’s a permanent staff if 20 designers, carpenters, electricians, etc., that grows to 200 or more on occasion. Revenues according to Rhodes, will top $2 million for 1985.”
Then everything fell apart when Rhodes was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease. In 1992, Rhodes passed away at the age of 53. His obituary was published in the Oakland Tribune on Feb. 27. It mentioned his purchase of the Western Scenic Studio: “In 1978, Mr. Rhodes purchased Western Scenic Studio, an Oakland-based design studio well-known for its set designs for theatre, presidential conventions, and private parties across the country…Some of Mr. Rhodes clients have included ABC-TV, Harrah’s Tahoe and most notably the National Football League [annual Super Bowl parties in 1985, 1986 and 1987 for San Francisco, New Orleans and Los Angeles]; Fairmont Hotel and Caesar’s Tahoe – Best Party Award in 1986 (San Francisco Chronicle 29 Feb 1992 p 40).John Murray purchased the Western Scenic Studio building when it went up for auction in 1997. On Oct. 5, The Los Angeles Times announced the Oct. 14 auction: “Theatrical & Convention Set Designers. (325) Backdrops (covering themes such as Hollywood, Halloween, X-Mas, Space & many more!)/Hundreds of Assorted Color Drapes/Hundred of Props & Flats/Electrical System/Forklifts/Trucks/Trailers/Mfg. Eq./Computer Eq/Ofc Furn & Eq!!” The auction was on Oct 14, 1997, at 11 in the morning. The building was purchased by John Murray.
On April 13, 1999, the Oakland Tribune published an article entitled, “Murray: ‘Business Theater’ Takes Off.” Of the new acquisition for John Murray Productions, the article reported, “The 10,000-square-foot space is double the production of the company’s previous San Francisco quarters. The Oakland property features giant moving painter frames that allow scenic artists to paint 27-foot-high by 90-foot-wide backdrops – about five times larger than what DrapeLine had been producing in San Francisco. ‘There is no other building like that for painting scenery in Northern California,’ said Murray. ‘It was a one-of-a-kind opportunity. The building was a gift for us.’ John Murray Productions, which offers design, planning and production services to the booming corporate special event market or’ business theater niche, started in Oakland in 1989. Soon the fledgling business moved to San Francisco. ‘That’s where the action was,’ said Murray…. The day brokers listed the Western Scenic Studios properties, Murray immediately went after it. Murray paid $363,000 for the building that came complete with a carpentry shop, sewing room and infrastructure for large-scale backdrop work…‘Years ago, the quality of productions for corporate presentations was simple and somewhat crude,’ he said. ‘We are talking advantage of the facility and basically keeping the art of scene painting alive…and incorporating that kind of talent in business theater.’ Western Scenic Studios celebrated 75 years in business in 1996. The business’ home on 32nd Street was constructed in two phases, with the original work occurring in 1928. Decades later, financial circumstances forced its owners into bankruptcy and the property was eventually liquidated.” Well, not quite the whole story, but the reason why Murray was able to purchase the building.
Former Western Scenic Studio Building constructed by L. A. Abrott in Oakland, California.
John Murray Productions, Inc. is still located in the Western Scenic Studio building at 1196 32nd St in Oakland. The iconic structure is easy to spot. The firm’s website advertises “Creating Entertainment Environments.” This is not far from what Abrott envisioned when he built the studio.
In 1927, Thomas G. Moses hired Earl Sudderth to be his second scenic assistant on site at the Oakland Scottish Rite Theatre. Moses had already secured the services of Lenn Harris (1889-1930), the topic of my previous post. However, the size of the project necessitated a second pair of hands when Moses stepped away to complete an earlier project in Utah. Of the addition, Moses wrote, “I had to get Earl Sudderth to help Harris while I was back in Salt Lake on the 10th of November to get ready for the Dedication where I found plenty to do in order to get ready.”
Earl Sudderth was actually Robert Earl Sudderth (1891-1957). In 1927, Robert E. Sudderth was listed in the Oakland Directory as an artist at the Western Scenic Studio. He had been with the firm since 1925 and had known studio owner Larry Abrott for well over a decade. At the Oakland Scottish Rite, the installation of the scenery and stage machinery was under the personal direction of Abrott. In Oakland, Moses both worked and socialized with Abrott and Sudderth. Many of their after-work outings were recorded in his memoirs. Unlike most scenic artists at this time, Sudderth was repeatedly featured in the news. There are even photographs of his painting for Western Scenic Studios.
Robert Earl Sudderth painting in 1935. From the Oakland Tribune 25 Nov 1935 p. 17
Robert Earl Sudderth was born on Sept. 14, 1891, in Lenoir, North Carolina. For geographical context, Lenoir is approximately 28 miles south of Boone. It is in the same area as Grandfather Mountain and Blowing Rock. Robert Earl was the eldest of six children born to Charles T. Sudderth (1864-1923) and Mary Lou Hartley (1870-1937).
When he was 10 years old, his father headed west in search of a new home. On Feb. 8, 1901, The Weekly News reported, “Mr. Charles T. Sudderth has decided to sell out and go west. He hopes to get off in March. He will go first to Stockton.” That summer, the corner stone for the new Masonic Hall was laid in Lenoir by the lodge that Charles attended – Hibriten Lodge No. 262. Two years later, the Sudderths journeyed west, settling in Everett, Washington, where they welcomed another child in 1903. The family left Lenoir just as the Cotton Mill and Caldwell County Courthouse were being completed.
Once settled on the West Coast, the Sudderths moved again. In 1907 the ventured south to California, where Maguerite was born. In San Jose, Earl became a machinist at the Victory Motor Car company, while his father continued as a carpenter. At 19 years old, Earl was now the eldest of six kids in the Sudderth home, located at 276 Clay. By 1910, Earl listed his occupation as an artist in the studio industry when the US Federal Census was taken that year. He soon became associated with the Essanay Film Company, working at their Western Studio in nearby Niles, California. [https://essanaystudios.org/about-us/employees/ ] at their Western Studio in Niles, California. Niles is now known as an historic district in Fremont. There is a remarkable book that traces the early years of Essanay in Chicago and their Western Studio. Written by David Kiehn, Broncho Billy and the Essanay Film Company was published in 2003. He included a short biographical entry for Earl Sudderth in his book:
“(Robert Earl Sudderth) 14 September 1891 Lenoir, North Carolina – 10 June 1957 Oakland, CA. A student of the artist A. D. M. Cooper, he was a scenic painter with Essanay beginning in November 1913. He went to the Liberty Film Company in September 1914 but returned to Niles by March 1915. He later worked at Lawrence Abrott’s Western Scenic Studios in Oakland.”
Keihn is the historian for Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum and has compiled a list of Essanay staff.In addition to scene painting, Earl Sudderth was also known to play small parts in the films that he worked on. He was on staff during a brief shakeup of the studio in 1914, briefly leaving that spring to work for Jess Robbins newly-formed Robbins Photo Plays Co. in Los Angeles. Sudderth left Essanay at the same time as Robbins, Larry Medieros, Al Griffin, Harris Ensign and Emory Johnson. They later returned to Essanay in the spring of 1915, only to have the Niles location closed the following year. It was at Essanay that Sudderth likely met Larry Abrott, the firm’s head carpenter. This connection may have also been through his father, who was also a carpenter in the area. Sudderth and Abrott were part of the Western Essanay staff until Feb. 16, 1916 , when the studio in Niles was shuttered.
Between 1915 and 1916 Sudderth listed his address as 276 S 19th St in San Jose. He also painted for the Liberty Film Co., a short-lived film production company launched by Mrs, E. O. Lindblom. This firm was followed by the Banner Film Company of Oakland, another Lindblom business that Sudderth worked for during this time. Lindblom was not only the president of both companies but also performed leading roles in her productions.
In 1915, Earl was still living with his family, listing 276 S 19th as his residence in the Oakland Directory. Interestingly, Sudderth’s WWI draft registration (dated June 5, 1917) card lists him as a machinist for the Bean Spray Pump Company as a machinist, noting that he was producing agricultural machinery in his request for exemption section.
Top of a spray pump manufactured by the Bean Spray Pump Co.
At the time, he was still listed as a painter in the 1917 Oakland Directory. His draft registration described Sudderth as medium height, slender, blue eyes and brown hair.
Image of Robert Earl Sudderth posted to family tree at ancestry.com
Over the years, members of the Sudderth family bounced back and forth between Oakland and San Jose. In 1917, Sudderth and his family were living at 321 S 3rd St. By 1918 the family had moved to 220 S 9th St. where they remained until 1920. During this period, Sudderth was also listed in the 1919 Motion Pictures Studio Directory as a scenic and cartoon artist. His biographical listing noted that he had painted at a variety of film studios, including Essanay, Pathe, Liberty and Banner. The following year, the US Federal Census listed Sudderth as an artist in the general design industry.
Listing for Earl Sudderth in the 1919 Motion Picture Directory.
For quite some time his father had suffered from kidney problems, forcing him to abandon carpentry and work as a salesman at a dry goods store. In 1920, Charles T. Sudderth returned to Lenoir, North Carolina, where he was later admitted to the Charlotte Sanitorium in Mecklenburg, passing away in 1923. His immediate family, however, remained in California. The year before his passing, Earl was employed as an artist, living at 250 S. 19th; only a few doors down from his previous address at 276 S 19th, c. 1915-1916. In 1923 Earl was living with his brother and mother at 641 S 3rd. In 1924, only his mother was listed in the San Jose Directory, listing her address as 445 S. 7th. In 1925, Earl was working as a scenic artist for Western Scenic Studio, a position that he would retain for the next decade.
He married the year before working with Moses at the Oakland Scottish Rite. On July 21, 1926, The San Francisco Bulletin included Sudderth in a list of couples who applied for San Francisco Marriage licenses: “Robert E. Sudderth, 34, Oakland, and Gertrude E. Sagardia, 20, Whitcomb Hotel.” Her full name was Gertrude Esadora Sagardia (1905-1986)
Portrait of Gertrude Sudderth posted at ancestry.com
While working at the Oakland Scottish Rite in 1927 and 1928, Earl drove Moses to various activities and events. Early in 1928 Moses wrote: “Earl Sudderth took us out to Mills College to see an exhibit of pictures. The radicals were out in full force. There were only a dozen out of two hundred which were worth spending any time on.” On Feb 13, 1928, the San Francisco Chronicle announced, “Mills College Scene of Art Exhibition.” The article reported, “Artists with new ideas as to what makes a picture or expresses the soul of an artist as the case may be given their due share in the sixth annual Oakland Art Exposition at Mills College, which opened yesterday afternoon. About 170 paintings were on display, mostly oil paintings, and mostly the work of artists of the bay region. The jury of selection, however, rejected 50 per cent of the works offered, so the standard is high. According to Roi Partridge and Forrest Brissey, who had charge of hanging the pictures, the tendency of the exhibit is toward modernism, that is toward novelty, there being comparatively few conservative works. A radical group of paintings has been hung on the west wall of the gallery.”
Images in article about the Mills College art exhibition. Oakland Tribune 19 Feb 1928 p 63.
That year, Sudderth was living at 439 40th St. in Oakland. After the Oakland Scottish Rite project was completed, Moses continued to associate with Sudderth. In 1929, Moses wrote, “Visited the Art Exhibit at the Bohemian Club, San Francisco, with Earl Sudderth and John McEwing. We also dined there. A wonderfully fine club!” The Bohemian Club also held an annual art exposition. Of the event, The San Francisco Examiner reported, “Modernism is conspicuous by its absence. There is not an ugly canvas on the walls, and not one that puzzles the visitor as to its meaning. All is calm, conservative and even conventional…and marvel of all marvels for an art exhibition, there is not a nude in the whole show. Everything would have passed muster ion the most prim of mid-Victorian circles. A restful exhibition” (16 Feb 1929).
Article with image from the Bohemian Art Club Exposition. The San Francisco Examiner 16 Feb 1929 p. 9
In 1930 the US Federal census listed Sudderth as a theatrical artist living in Oakland with his wife at 439 40th St. He was again mentioned in Moses’ diary: “April 10th, Received our warranty deed for our Elmhurst property from Sherlock. A drive with Earl Sudderth over to Mt. Diablo, resulted in two good sketches.” Mount Diablo is part of the Diablo Range in Contra Costa County of the eastern San Francisco Bay area.
Painting gifted to the Oakland Scottish Rite by Thomas G. Moses.
Like Moses, Sudderth was also an easel artist and a member of the Society of Western Artist’s, San Francisco, now known as the Society of West-Coast Artists . I have located only a few of Sudderth’s artworks in recent online searches. In 1931, he painted a small eastern-themed composition, now listed at 1stdibs.com. It provides some insight into his figure work.
One of his paintings from 1933, entitled “Mountain Landscape with Heavy Cloud” was sold at auction in 2010. An image of the painting is available to askart.com
Sudderth was also a Freemason, joining Park Boulevard Lodge No. 668, F. and A. M. and the Oakland Scottish Rite. His father had also been a Mason in Lenoir, North Carolina, joining in Hibriten Lodge No. 262, before moving west. In an early portrait, Charles Sudderth wears a Masonic pin.
FB post with photograph of the cornerstone laying ceremony in Lenoir, NC, 1901.
Earl joined the Oakland Scottish Rite after he assisted in painting their scenery. On Nov. 14, 1932, the Oakland Tribune listed Sudderth as one of the Eastbay residents in the Oakland Scottish Rit’s Fall Reunion class. Newspapers announced that became a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason on Nov. 15, 1932. However, his name was again included in 1933 and 1934 announcements, each time listed as part of a candidate class slated to receive the 32nd degree. The last announcement was published in the Oakland Tribune on May 18, 1934. This was the same year that Moses passed away. Gertrude Sudderth was a member of the Eastern Star, the Women’s Athletic Club of Alameda, and the East Bay Opera League.
In 1934, Sudderth was listed as a scenic artist in the Oakland Directory, living at 662 Jean. In 1935, the Oakland Directory again listed Sudderth’s association with the Western Scenic Studio. That year, Sudderth was listed as part of the firm’s staff helping with the Santa Claus project in Oakland. On Nov. 22, 1935, The Oakland Post Enquirer reported, “On a special order from the Downtown Merchants’ association, the jolly old gentlemen set carpenters and painters to work at the Western Scenic Studio, Thirty-second and Magnolia Streets, on a project designed to make downtown Oakland a festive scene when he and his reindeer soar into town on Christmas Eve…The decorations are scheduled to be up by Nov. 28, according to Lawrence Abrott, manager of the studio. Workman helping with the Santa Claus project are Fred Schneider, Robert Sudderth, Charles Schlosser, Terry Lawlor and Morman MacLeod.” He was pictured under the caption “Right Out of a Story Book,” putting finishing touches on two gnomes in the Oakland Tribune on Nov. 25, 1935.
He was again pictured painting for the firm the next year, working on scenery for Christmas decorations again in Oakland.
Suddderth painting at the Western Scenic Studio in 1936. From The Oakland Post Enquirer 26 Nov 1936.
Sudderth was still listed as a Western Scenic Studio employee in 1938. When he registered for the draft in 1942, Sudderth listed his home address as #2 Home Place East Oakland, California. He now listed his occupation as a self-employed scenic artist. During this time, Sudderth and his wife listed apartment management as their primary occupation in the 1940 and 1950 UD Federal Census reports. They managed the multiunit building known as “Home Place,” located at 428 E. 19th Street. Getrude also worked for the department store, I Magnin & Co.
Robert Earl Sudderth passed at the age of 65 in 1957. His obituary erroneously credited him with the design of scenery for the Oakland Scottish Rite, instead of his assisting Moses. As time passes, stories change. Sudderth was also credited with the design of scenery for the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, which also makes me contemplate his actual contribution. Built in 1932, the 3,146-seat venue was designed by Arthur Brown Jr. Now known as the Herbst Theatre, the two original buildings of the San Francisco War Memorial is considered the birthplace for the United Nations. The War Memorial Opera House was inaugurated with a performance of Tosca.
Tosca Production at the War Memorial Opera House in 1932.
On June 13, 1957, the Oakland Tribune announced, “Funeral Tomorrow for Robert Earl Sudderth.” The obituary stated:
“Funeral services will be held tomorrow for Robert Earl Sudderth, 65, Bay Area artist and designer who died Monday in an Oakland hospital after a short illness.
A student of A.D.M. Cooper, noted California artist, Mr. Sudderth designed the stage drops at the Scottish Rite Temple [incorrect, assisted Thomas G. Moses] in Oakland and the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco.
A native of California, he was an Oakland resident for 35 years. He was a member of the Society of Western Artists of San Francisco, Scottish Rite Bodies, the Park Boulevard Lodge No. 568, F and AM, and the Airplane Owners and Pilots Association.
Surviving are his wife Gertrude of 315 Park View Terrace; a brother, Carl Sudderth of Los Angeles; three sisters, Mrs. Marguerite Fletcher of San Francisco, Mrs. Caroline Cameron and Mrs. Kathleen Coen, both of Los Angeles.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. at the Great Miller Mortuary 2850 Telegraph Ave.”
Gertrude outlived her husband by almost three decades. She passed away on April 27, 1986. They are buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland.
Grave of Robert E. Sudderth (1891-1957) and Gertrude E. Sudderth (1906-1986) at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland (MM Section 8, 26, T3).
In 1927, Thomas G. Moses hired Lenn Harris as his on-site assistant for the Oakland Scottish Rite scenery project. Very little is left of Harris’ contribution to American theatre. Over the years, there are a few artists whose story I just can’t let alone. Harris is one of them. I have spent far too much time tracking down the life and career of Lenn Charles Harris (1889-1930). In many ways, I have far more questions now than when I began in November 2025.
Harris really exemplifies the many generations of scenic artists who started as performers. They were restless and moved around a lot, always waiting for their big break that never came. They had opportunities, but everything seemed to end far too soon. In many ways, Harris’ work for Moses may have been the biggest project of his career. He passed away only two years later, with precious little to mark his passing. This may be one of the reasons that I have been compelled to keep scanning records for more information. Here is best that I could do to honor Harris’ theatrical legacy and contribution to our shared history.
Lenn Harris was listed as Thomas Moses’ Assistant in an article published in “The Oakland Tribune” on Dec. 12, 1927.
When 71-yrs. old Tom Moses hired 38-yrs. old Harris in 1927, he needed someone who was fast and accurate. He had previously worked with Fitch B. Fulton in California; the two working on numerous Scottish Rite projects that included Pasadena and San Jose. Unfortunately for Moses, Fulton was not available to assist Moses at either the Salt Lake Scottish Rite or Oakland Scottish Rite in 1927.
Although it is possible that Moses first met Lenn Harris in Oakland, California, each had deep ties to the Chicago theatre community. Lenn Charles Harris was born on Feb. 7, 1889, in Erie, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Frank P. Harris and Katherine A. Teeney. Like many scenic artists, his entry into the theatre profession began as a performer. By the time Harris was twenty years old, he was living in Chicago and touring as a performer. Between 1910 and 1913 he was with the Bush Temple Dramatic players of Chicago. In the spring of 1913, Harris became associated with the Glass Players. On April 16, 1913, the El Paso Times announced, “Lenn Harris, identified for three years with the Bush Temple Dramatic Players, Chicago, is registered at the Sheldon. Mr. Harris is to do important roles with the Glass combination. In a separate article in the same newspaper, the Glass Company at the El Paso Theater was featured. The Glass Players has arrived in El Paso after a successful fourteen week run at the Crawford Theatre. They delayed their opening in El Paso while waiting for new cast members, which included Harris. As a side note, the Glass Company was organized at the Spreckles Theatre in San Diego.
After a brief association with the Glass Company, Harris became the new leading man for Agnes DeVere’s The Circus Girl. On Jan. 23, 1914, the Marshall County News in Marysville, Kansas, noted, “Miss DeVere’s new leading man, Mr. Lenn Harris, is a young actor of ability and personality that alone can add perfection as the young clergyman in The Circus Girl. Mr. Harris has been connected with moving picture firms in the East, for years, he has always met with success as a moving picture actor, before accepting positions with road companies.” His first performance with the new company was at the Turner Hall in Marysville, Kansas, on Jan. 26, 1914. Agnes DeVere was the stage name for Agnes Duncan. Of her local connections, on Jan. 30, 1914, the Marshall County News reported “Mrs. Agnes Duncan, is a daughter of our townsman August Pintus, and was raised in Marysville, and as a child exhibited talent which was so marked that her friends induced her to take up the profession of an actress.”
On Jan. 28, 1914, Harris left Marysville for a northwestern tour, with stops throughout Kansas before heading to Nebraska and the Black Hills country. In Nebraska, The Gresham Gazette described the company as “small but each one an artist in their line” that spring. It remains uncertain as to how long Harris remained with DeVere. In March 1914, another young male actor joined the troop, possibly replacing Harris. In addition to The Circus Girl, the DeVere company performed Tempest and Sunshine, both advertised as clean and moral productions.
Agnes DeVere advertisement in “The Irving Leader” on Jun 5, 1914.
By the summer, Agnes DeVere’s company briefly joined forces with the Niblack picture show in Litchfield, Nebraska. Instead of performing in small halls, the Harris was now part of a tent show. In addition to film, other specialty acts began to accompany their standard fare for the Agnes DeVere Vaudeville Co. By September 1914, DeVere made a change to her program, dismissing two actors and hiring replacement for her upcoming production of The Million Dollar Girl (The Burton Independent 10 Sept 1914 p 1). This is likely when Harris left the DeVere Company, soon marrying an actress. Regarding DeVere, her company disbanded early in 1915, with the Marshall County News reporting, “Too heavy a salary list for receipts. Miss DeVere is now doing vaudeville” (5 Feb 1915 p 5).
Harris wed actress Freda Martha Giesel (1896-1980) in Washington, Iowa, on Nov. 16, 1914, listing his profession as an actor on their marriage certificate. Bride and groom both listed Chicago as their permanent residence. It is possible that both were on tour when they married that year. Freda and her family are difficult to track down as their surname varies in historic records from Giesel to Geisel. The spelling of Freda’s first name also shifts from Freda to Fredah, Frieda and Frida. Regardless, she was the daughter of Rev. Ernest Oscar Giesel (1849-1912), a Lutheran minister, and Elizabeth Herbert (1858-1936). She spent much of her childhood in Platteville, Wisconsin. In 1909 they moved to Illinois and were counted in the 1910 US Federal Census, living in Chemung, Illinois. For geographical reference, Chemung is approximately 75 miles northwest of Chicago. Freda’s stage name was “Ruth,” but after her marriage she also went by Freda Ruth Harris and Mrs. L. C. Harris.
In 1915, Lenn Harris was also working as a scenic artist to supplement their income. He made news that fall after he was contracted to paint a panorama for the International Wheat Show in Wichita, Kansas. On Sept. 14, 1915, the Wichita Beacon reported, “A Large Scenic Painting. Chicago Artist Will Make a Big Canvas for Wichita.” The article continued: “One of the largest pieces of scenic paintings ever shown in Wichita will be exhibited at the International Wheat Show during October. The painting which will be done in water colors [distemper], will be 150 feet long and 10 feet wide. It will form the background for the horticultural display in the building at the rear of the Forum. Lenn Harris, scenic artist from Chicago, started work on the canvas today and expects to have it completed in two weeks. The painting will depict a Kansas Orchard at harvest time and the orchard scenes will blend away to those of harvest field and pastoral surroundings. Apples and other Kansas orchard products will be on a large, inclined platform which will extend to the picture in the rear the natural fruits fading away in the distance and those on the painted scene gradually replacing them.”
Lenn Harris mentioned in the “Wichita Beacon” 14 Sept. 1915.
After completing the project, Harris organizing his own company and toured The Heart of the Rockies that fall. Harris was also responsible for the production’s scenery. The production was described in detail in the Oxford Register on Nov. 15, 1915:
“An undeniable treat is assured the playgoers of Oxford in Mr. Lenn Harris’ production of Lula Guereld’s powerful western story ‘The Heart of the Rockies.’ Mr. Harris has given to the production much careful preparation, selecting players of true type and proven merit, scenery to fit the local ideal, and an attention to detail that covers every requirement. The story deals with the life in the cattle lands of Arizona and has a human interest that is tense and convincing. The comedy is wholesome and natural, and characters are clearly and powerfully drawn. It is a play worth seeing.”
Harris placed an advertisement for the production in the Bella Plain News that November.
Advertisement in “Belle Plain News” 11 Nov. 1915, p. 1.
In On Nov. 11, 1915, the Belle Plain News described Harris’ contribution to the production, reporting, “Mr. Harris has given the production much careful preparation selecting players of true type and proven merit, scenery to fit the local idea, and an attention to detail that covers every requirement.” The show toured throughout Kansas as a one-night stand, with stops including the Belle Plain Opera House (Nov. 15), Oxford Opera House (Nov. 16), Winfield’s Grand Opera House (Nov. 17), Cedar Vale Opera House (Nov. 18), Cherryvale Opera House (Nov. 19), Dexter Opera House (Nov. 22), Conway Springs Opera House (Nov. 23), and then into Oklahoma: Alva’s Majestic Opera House (Nov. 25). Early in 1916, the Harrises settled in Liberal, Kansas, and produced a local version of the production. On March 6, 1916, The Liberal News reported that “The Heart of the Rockies will be performed and “The company will be composed chiefly of local talent, with the exception of Mr. Lenn Harris, who will play two of the important roles on the bill…Mr. Harris played the same bill, The Heart of the Rockies in the larger cities this winter. Previous to that with many first class road shows such as The Rosary [part of The Rosary Company], Polly of the Circus, and many others.”
On April 27, 1916, The Liberal News announced that Harris was forming his own company, reporting, “Lenn Harris, who has been directing the home talent productions here with such success, recently returned from a business trip east where he secured the popular players, Randolph Cray and Miss Jackson of the Pikes Peak Feature Film Company of Chicago, and Roy Max of Chicago, with well-known comedian Ray Kennedy, and Mrs. Ruth Harris, will make up the company who will play a royalty bill entitled The Scandal as the opening production. The company will open soon, playing at the opera house for four Saturday nights and at the Photoplay every Wednesday night for an indefinite period. ‘The Scandal’ is a great drama, strong in plot, and especially costumed. It is a bill for theatre-goers who like an up-to-date drama, clean throughout, no slapstick comedy, but a play that not only entertains but one that is for the mind. It was a New York Broadway success all last season and Mr. Harris paying royalty to use it. Watch for further notices. Mr. Harris is known here as a man who knows how to put on a play and with him as director a great success is guaranteed.”
Advertisement in the “Kiowa County Signal” of Greensburg, KS, 27 April 1916 p. 1.
The Lenn Harris Circuit Players then went on the road, performing The Scandal and Heart Adrift, throughout Kansas and Oklahoma. They soon added A Girl with a Million, The Devil, Saint Elmo and At Bay to their repertoire, advertising as the Lenn Harris Stock Company and Lenn Harris Players.
Advertisement in the “Kiowa County Signal” 18 May 1916.
When Harris registered for the WWI draft, he was living in Lansing, Michigan. In he was managing the Majestic Theatre at 723 West Kalamazoo, an employee of theatre proprietors Larsen & Whipple. His draft registration describes him as tall and slender with dark brown eyes and thinning black hair. He was also missing a portion of this second finger on his left hand (at first joint).
By the Fall of 1917, Harris and his wife began preparing for the arrival of their first child. On April 5, 1918, the young couple mourned the birth of a stillborn daughter in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That same month, Mrs. L. C. Harris, was listed as part of the cast for the silent film, A Mother’s Secret. Released by Universal. Directed by Douglas Gerrard, Mrs. L. C. Harris also is credited with the role of Mammy Cleo in the 1919 film The Thunderbolt. It remains uncertain if this is the same woman was married to Lenn C. Harris. However, between 1917 and 1920, the Harrises separate, but fail to file for divorce.
At the beginning of 1921, 31 yrs. old Harris is living in Norfolk, Virginia. He proposes to 22 yrs. old Marie Bowers (1898 of Madison, Wisconsin. Marie is the daughter of Frank Bowers and Florence Rockwood. On Feb. 1, 1921, the couple weds in Southampton County, Virginia. At the time, Harris lists his occupation as scenic artist.
In 1922, Harris was living in Cincinnati at flat 6, 100 Malvern, with Harris employed as a scenic artist. Newspaper article report that Harris had recently moved to Cincinnati from New York to paint Sampson and Delilah and The Zoo for the Grand Opera. Of his contribution, on July 23, 1922, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported, “Special scenery has been built for the production by Lenn Harris, scenic painter, who came to Cincinnati from New York for this purpose.”
He continued to work as a scenic artist and decorator, eventually settling with Marie in Evansville, Indiana. On Jan. 10, 1925, Lenn Harris was credited with the interior work for the Agoga Tabernacle that had been erected that winter. The article reported, “Interior work on the tabernacle is being completed this week and the scenery for the platform to be used in making it practical for a stage for various kinds of entertainments is being made by Lenn Harris. First of the entertainments planned is the moving picture, ‘Joseph and His Brethren’ which will be shown at the tabernacle January 22-24.” Four days later, Marie would discover that Harris had been previously married and never divorced his first wife.
The marriage is annulled four years later, with Bowers citing bigamy. The scandal makes newspaper headlines throughout the region. On June 18, 1925, The Evansville Journal of Evansville, Indiana, reported, “Mrs. Marie Harris did not like the idea of being Wife No. 2. Upon her alleged discovery that her husband, Lenn Harris, was married to another woman, said to have been Miss Fredia Geisel, she went to a lawyer and Thursday asked annulment of her marriage in an action filed in the circuit court. The wife No. 2 and Harris were married Feb 2, 1921, according to the complaint, and on Jan. 15, this year, the plaintiff claims she discovered that her husband was also the husband of another woman.” On August 20, 1925, the Evansville Press announced that their marriage was annulled.
Freda had also married again before divorcing Haris. On January 21, 1922, she married Fred H. Schaefer in Kenosha, Wisconsin. She was mentioned in Platteville, Wisconsin, newspapers in 1926. On Aug. 4, 1926, The Platteville Journal and Grant County News reported, “Mrs. Schaefer of Milwaukee has been here the past week visiting her sister, Mrs. W. Huehne. She is head lady in the Avenue Fashion Shop of that city. It is many years since she has been in Platteville. Her father, Rev. Giesel, moved from here in 1909. Mrs. Schaefer was formerly Miss Freda Giesel.”
Lenn Harris continued working as an itinerant scenic artist throughout the Midwest, eventually settling in California by 1926. He likely moved after his marriage to Marie Bowers was annulled in 1925. In 1927, Thomas G. Moses hired Harris for the Oakland Scottish Rite. Harris works for Moses from Oct. 12, 1927, and March 6, 1928. He marries Dorothy E. Schick (1901-1980) the next month.
Despite Harris’ experience, the scope of the Oakland Scottish Rite scenery necessitated a second artist when Moses left for Salt Lake City in early November 1927. This is when Moses hired scenic artist Earl Suddeth to help Harris during his trip to Salt Lake. Of the addition, Moses wrote, “I had to get Earl Sudderth to help Harris while I was back in Salt Lake on the 10th of November to get ready for the Dedication where I found plenty to do in order to get ready.” Harris’ contribution to the Oakland Scottish Rite was featured in the Oakland Tribune on Dec. 12, 1927. The article announced, “Stage Setting and Scenery are Artistic. Appliances Are in Harmony with Other Splendors of New Building.” In the section entitled, “Rich Stage Settings,” the article reported, “All painting was done at the new Temple where the designs could be discussed with the Oakland Scottish Rite officials. The excellent result of the cooperation is apparent in the finished work. Earl Sudderth and Lenn Harris, local artists, aided Moses in the actual painting of the huge settings.”
After completing the Oakland Scottish Rite project, Harris applies for a marriage license. On April 17, 1928, the San Francisco Call Bulletin lists Lenn C. Harris and Dorothy E. Schick.
Announcement listing Lenn Harris’ third marriage in 1928.
Dorothy was divorced with a young daughter named Beverly. Little is known of Dorothy’s past, but their marriage lasted for only two years. During this time, Harris continued to work as a scenic artist in California, settling near Los Angeles.
Harris’ name again made Long Beach news on Feb. 10, 1929. The Press-Telegram credited Harris with two painted scenes depicting street and bazaar scenes in “the picturesque North Africa City of Tunis” for the showrooms of Long Beach. Oldsmobile dealer at 427 American Avenue. The article reported, “They were done by Lenn Harris, well known motion picture studio artist and director of the pictorial division of the Douglas Fairbanks studios.”
The 1930 US Federal Census listed Lenn and Dorothy Harris living with eight-yrs. old Beverly in Beverly Hills. Still listed as a commercial artist, most of their neighbors were employed in the motion picture industry.
Harris died on June 26, 1930.
I have yet to locate any other information about Harris’ life or career at this time.
Design by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite Theatre, 1927.Cave setting designed and painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite.Design by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite, 1927Painted detail on backdrop designed by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite, 1927.Looking stage right at the Oakland Scottish Rite with backdrop designed and painted by Thomas G. Moses, 1927.Design by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite, 1927.Cut drop painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite. Legs drop and cyclorama accompany the piece.
Tens of thousands of historic opera houses were constructed between 1850 and 1950. Of that number, a significant percentage was lost to fire and other natural, or manmade, disasters. Many of the remaining structures fell prey to building renovations, repurposing, and demolition. Thousands were gutted, transformed into department stores, apartment complexes, and office spaces. Others were demolished to make room for parking facilities. Landmarks that stood the test of time, surviving economic downturns and world wars, have recently been sold across the country, with their contents dispersed or destroyed. Most painted illusion for these stages was ephemeral. Stage scenery was seldom expected to last beyond a season, let alone a decade. Remarkably, Sosman & Landis guaranteed their work for twelve years, yet some of their painted scenes have lasted well over a century and are still in use.
Looking stage left at the Oakland Scottish Rite. Cut drop and fly floor. Scene and stage machinery designed by Sosman & Landis, Chicago, under the supervision of Thomas G. Moses.
It is remarkable that the Oakland Scottish Rite theater not only has it original stage machinery and scenery that was delivered in 1927, but also has remained in the hands of the organization that conceived and built it . Its proposed sale places not only the historically significant structure, as well as the culturally significant theatre contents in jeopardy. Extant examples of American scenic art and a unique stage system are in danger of being lost. It is very rare to encounter any first-generation stage scenery in an historic venue, let alone the original scenic designs and other supplemental primary source material. The original artists’ memoirs, scrapbook, scenic art brushes, and designs remain.
Scenic designs and original order in model box, created by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite in 1927.
This post focusses on the scenic design for the Oakland Scottish Rite within the context of other projects completed by the artist between 1925 and 1929. However, I am going to provide a little context for Moses’ design based on his previous work at dozens of Scottish Rite Theaters.
Line order for the original stage design at the Oakland Scottish Rite Theatre, 1927.
Masonic projects were not only massive, but also very complicated to design. Each Scottish Rite Valley had their own theatrical interpretation for degree work. Although many drops were similar in composition and placement, unique requests were constantly requested of theatrical suppliers. Few Scottish Rite Masons were familiar with the intricacies of theatrical design and production beyond seeing degree work at other Scottish Rite Valleys or attending a local production. Masonic stage settings were designed to facilitate quick scene changes by amateur stagehands. The Masonic versions of olio drops were positioned downstage to facilitate upstage scene changes. These were just short scenes that provided the much need time to reset a stage. One of the best examples is a Sosman & Landis design described as “Tower of Cyrus.”
Tower of Cyrus drop, designed and painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite Theatre, c. 1927.
It depicts an exterior scene near the palace of King Cyrus and was often placed with the first set of stock scenes, lines 4-7. Here are several examples of this scene in a downstage position.
Tower of Cyrus Design by THomas G. Moses, c. 1931. Harry Ransom Center UT Austin.Tower of Cyrus Backdrop by Thomas G. Moses for the Scottish Rite Theatre in McAlester, Oklahoma, 1929.Tower of Cyrus, delivered to the Grand Forks Scottish Rote stage in 1915 by Sosman & Landis.Tower of Cyrus back drop delivered by Sosman & Landis in 1904. Now at the Scottish Rite Theatre in Pasadena, California.
An antechamber in King Darius’ Palace functioned in the same was and was often hung from the first set of lines.
Design for King Darius’ antechamber by Thomas G. Moses. Sosman & Landis Collection, Harry Ransom Center UT Austin.Back drop for King Darius’ antechamber by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite, c. 1927. (30’h x 50’w)Back drop for King Darius’ antechamber by Thomas G. Moses for the McAlester Scottish Rite, c. 1929. (40’h x 56’w)
Another standard scene used for a downstage position was an architect’s room, an astronomer’s room, or generic classical interior. This setting was often based on information presented in the second degree and referred to as a “Middle Chamber” set.
Design by Thomas G. Moses. Sosman & Landis Collection at the Harry Ransom Center, UT Austin.Back drop painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite, c. 1927.
Unfortunately, over time, these short scenes were cut. When the corresponding drops were no longer used, they were removed, often transferred to an upstage line. Over the years degree directors and/or degree teams changed the original drop order and removed crucial downstage drops that helped conceal scene changes. This ended up prolonging scene changes and necessitated larger stage crews. When membership declined, stage crews became much smaller. Small stage crews meant that large scene changes were too challenging, so entire degree productions were cut, citing the lack of backstage support. Yet, the original designs never required large Masonic stage crews. The design and placement of each drop was to support the seamless flow of degree work with minimal stagehands.
From the beginning of the design process, Moses worked with John McEwing to plan efficient scene changes for Scottish Rite degree work. In January 1927, John McEwing (1865-1932), a representative for the Oakland Scottish Rite, met Moses in Fort Scott, Kansas.
John McEwing. Clipping pasted in Thomas Moses’ Scrapbook.
Their meeting was to examine a recent example of Moses’ scenic art work under stage lights and look at scenery placement. McEwing was Director of Work of the Oakland Scottish Rite Bodies. He was also a Past Master of Park Boulevard Lodge No. 568, advisor to the Oakland Chapter of De Molay, and a member of the Aahmes temple (Shrine). In addition to Masonic activities, McEwing also held memberships in both the Bohemian Club of San Francisco and Orpheus Club of Oakland. McEwing, an Honorary Inspector General, 33rd, was scheduled to be the Grand Master of Ceremonies at the dedication of the new Scottish Rite Temple in Oakland.
Scottish Rite Theatre in Fort Scott, Kansas. The building was sold and the stage gutted in 2015.Scenery painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Fort Scott Scottish Rite. The scenery and stage machinery were removed in 2015.Wraparound cyclorama for the Fort Scott Scottish Rite. Installed in 1925, removed in 2015.Bottoms of battens and the cyclorama at the Scottish Rite in Fort Scott. Everything from the theatre was removed in 2015.
During McEwing’s visit to the Fort Scott Scottish Rite, he examined a wraparound cyclorama for use with cut drops. This facilitated quick scene changes during degree productions. The number of leg drops was reduced as the cyclorama masked the side stages. This sped up the time that it took to change some scenes. Moses designed dozens of cut drops to accompany a wraparound cyclorama for the Fort Scott Scottish Rite stage in Kansas. This practice was incorporated as a key element to the Oakland Scottish Rite scenery design.
Crucifixion scene with cut drop and cyclorama at the Fort Scott Scottish Rite, c. 1925. Design and painting by Thomas G. Moses. Scene was removed in 2015.Crucifixion scene with cut drop, side flats, and cyclorama at the Oakland Scottish Rite, c. 1927. Design and painting by Thomas G. Moses.Cut drops, profile flats and cyclorama at the Oakland Scottish Rite.Detail of cut drops and cyclorama at the Oakland Scottish Rite.
Not every Scottish Rite stage could afford this luxury of a cyclorama and series of cut drops. Both were expensive and labor intensive, costing both time and money for the studio to produce. They also provided a unique look on stage, accentuating the painted illusion. The use of cut drops and cycloramas transformed relatively shallow spaces into expansive vistas. The Temple Ruins setting for the Fifteenth Degree was especially effective and easy to set. Two men lowering cut drops in front of a cyclorama instantly transformed the space.
Of his 1927 trip to meet with John McEwing in Kansas, Moses wrote:
January 4th. I left for Fort Scott Kansas to meet John McEwing of Oakland, California who insists on seeing some of our finished work instead of models. We arrived on time and soon got busy showing all the sets well lighted. All the members helped and McEwing was well pleased, and I made it pretty plain that I wanted to spend the winter in California, especially Oakland. New design to be submitted for each degree.
Some of the designs inspected by Ewing inspired a similar version for Oakland Scottish Rite theater. In many cases they were slightly altered, or elements combined for the new installation. For example, the basic design for the Mausoleum remains the same; only the color palette shifts from green marble to rose marble columns.
Mausoleum scene, designed and painted by Thomas G. Moses, for the Oakland Scottish Rite.Mausoleum scene, designed and painted by Thomas G. Moses, for the Fort Scott Scottish Rite two years earlier.Demolay Tomb profile flat for the Fort Scott Scottish Rite.Demolay Tomb profile flat for the Oakland Scottish Rite.
The same can be seen with the DeMolay tomb flat designed for each. The basic design concept remains constant, but more elements are added as the size of the Oakland Scottish Rite stage was much grander than that in Fort Scott, Kansas; almost four times the seating capacity. The festival palace for King Darius in the sixteenth degree used a series of cut drop, both leg and back to suggest an expansive visit beyond the upstage colonnade.
King Darius’ Festival Palace scene (2 leg drops, two cut drops, and a back drop) designed and painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite.
The scenic design utilizes the exact same placement of scenic elements for the foreground, middle ground, and background. The use of a colonnade cut drop was unique to Moses’ design for Fort Scott and Oakland. Previously, only an intricate cut drop was paired with standard leg drops and a solid back drop.
Some of Moses original designs from 1927 are at the Oakland Scottish Rite. They show the subtitle shift from design to final painting, especially when the interpretation is solely controlled by the creator. His designs also reflected current degree practices, as he attended Scottish Rite degrees while working in Oakland. Of his attendance at Scottish Rite meetings, he wrote that it provided “an idea of what they have been doing” without a proper stage.
Colonnade cut drop for the King Darius Festival Palace scene (16th degree). Designed and painted by Thomas G. Moses.
In Moses’ memoirs, he explains how one scene influenced the next throughout the painting process in Oakland, writing, “The work has gone along very nicely. I am giving it all the time necessary to produce a pleasing lot of drops. One idea and finished drop suggests the next one and the result is good, even better than when we try to design all in the beginning and not have proper lighting of the scene.” Forty-three drops had been painted and hung for the Scottish Rite Reunion by Dec. 12, 1927. This meant all the lighting equipment was up and running. Moses intimately knew how well the drop reflected light; what worked and what didn’t. There is no question that position of the border lights and their effectiveness on the first 43 drops affected how he painted the next 42 drops. Moses was able to fine tune each design for the desired effect, something very rare. It meant subtitle shifts in color and overall composition.
Border lights delivered to the Fort Scott Scottish Rite in 1925.Border lights at the Fort Scott Scottish Rite. Notice spacing.A glimpse of a border light, nestled between drops, at the Oakland Scottish Rite.
The border lights at the Oakland Scottish Rite were referenced in a letter regarding the placement of the proposed boarder lights at the Scottish Rite theater in McAlester, OK. Moses was now representing the William Lemle Company at the old Sosman & Landis Studio, 417-419 South Clinton Street, Chicago. 1930 letterheads, listed Moses at “Art Director” for both William Lemle, Inc. and the National Theatre Supply Co. Moses listed his home office at 1525 Oak Street in Oakland, CA. On August 19, 1930, Moses wrote: “Regarding the Blue Borders, they are to hang on the cable that supports the border lights, they are very light, and the additional weight means nothing. That is the way I have completed them at Oakland, and they are very satisfactory, because the Blue Board is used to mask any reflected light from the bottom, hanging fully 18 inches below the border light.”
Borders for Thomas G. Moses electrified model. Harry Ransom Center, UT Austin.
The current stage lighting at the Scottish Rite Temple deviates from the original design in terms of placement and coloration. LED lighting fixtures have been placed on empty lines that are no longer masked by the blue borders (see image above).
Scenic elements were designed to partner with a specific stage lighting system with a limited color range. All the distemper drops were produced to be illuminated with red, blue, and white incandescent lighting. The selection and mixture of colors supported a metamorphosis on stage, allowing each scene to transition from a daytime to nighttime scene without compromising any portion of the painting. The was a standard theatrical practice in manufacturing and lighting scenic illusion on stage at the time.
Miniature border lights for Scottish Rite model created by Thomas G. Moses. Harry Ransom Center, UT Austin.Lighting box for Scottish Rite model created by Thomas G. Moses. Harry Ransom Center, UT Austin.Lighting box for Scottish Rite model created by Thomas G. Moses. Harry Ransom Center, UT Austin.Trunk with Scottish Rite designs for Thomas G. Moses’ electrified model. Harry Ransom Center, UT Austin.Electrified model for Scottish Rite scenery designs, created by Thomas G. Moses. Harry Ransom Center, UT Austin.
A significant portion of Moses’ designs for the Oakland Scottish Rite are also part of the Sosman & Landis Collection in the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin. They include designs for drops, flats, profile pieces, and other scenic elements.
Model pieces designed by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite. Harry Ransom Center, UT Austin.Model pieces by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite scenery design in 1927.
For example, the entire Crucifixion design created by Thomas Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite depicts the complexity of a scene constructed of two large flats, a cut drop and cyclorama.
Design for tri-fold flat to accompany crucifixion scene atthe Oakland Scottish Rite, Harry Ransom Center, UT Austin.Tri-fold flat to accompany the crucifixion scene at the Oakland Scottish Rite. Design and painting by Thomas G. Moses, c. 1927.
The use of tri-fold flats as side masking was unique to the Oakland Scottish Rite. In many cases, it was impractical to fill the side stages with framed scenic pieces as they were too bulky to store. Most Scottish Rites stored single, or hinged, flat in a lofted area, often situated above the stage-left wings. Oakland had an excessive amount of space for flat storage, including an entire box interior set, complete with ceiling panel. Twelve flats could be quickly lashed together to construct an interior setting. The Oakland Scottish Rite box set is a rarity, if not the only example in the United States. Theatres often purchased box sets, by Masonic stages did not.
Interior box set designed and painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite, c. 1927. Each flat is 20′-0″ tall.
Moses did not have a contract in hand until four months after his meeting with McEwing in Fort Scott. Dated, May 4, 1927, the $36,000 scenery contract was handled by Moses’ business partner, Fred R. Megan. Signed on May 4, 1927. At the time, Moses wrote, “I am to go there to do the work which will come in the late fall, after I finish the Salt Lake Consistory. Moses also received partial payments for his work as the project progressed. He wrote, “The first of February, the Directors granted me $5,000.00 to take care of local accounts, which put me on easy street once more. Megan’s request that part payment only should be paid, was ignored by all concerned.”
Megan formerly worked as a salesman and technical designer for the Kansas City Scenic Co. and Service Studios of Chicago, in 1923 Megan partnered with Moses as the first iteration of Sosman & Landis was liquidated. Moses & Megan purchased the name and “goodwill” of the firm the next year, although negotiations for this purchase had been ongoing since early in 1923. Several entities were interested in acquiring the main studio space, supplies, designs, and name of the firm. For decades, Sosman & Landis had advertised their main studio as the largest in North America, if not the world.
1926 advertisement placed in “Wilmette Life” on Dec. 24.
The Oakland designs and scenery project was just one of many in 1927. Other Sosman & Landis projects contracted and/or completed by Moses that year included stock scenery collections at theaters in Gary, IN, Loredo, TX, Dayton, OH, Edinburg, TX, Little Rock, AR, Salt Lake City, UT, Chicago, IL, Milwaukee, WI and Battle Creek, MI. Of his painting that summer in Salt Lake City, Moses wrote, “During the month of August I averaged more than 10 drops per week, besides making a number of designs and painting special sets…” Again, Moses was 71 years old at the time. Painting large backdrops took long hours and was physically tasking, but he had worked at this pace for years. On Thursday, Oct. 6, 1927, Moses dismantled his art gallery in Salt Lake City and packed up his supplies for Oakland. He was to start painting the Oakland Scottish Rite scenery that coming Monday. On Oct 6 in Oakland the paint bridge and frames were put up at the Oakland Scottish Rite where they would remain in place for the next five months, dismantled on March 6, 1928.
Moses would complete only more Scottish Rite collection that was comparable Oakland before his passing in 1934; it was in McAlester, Oklahoma. He would remember Oakland as his most artistic and McAlester as his biggest. The Oakland scenery measured 30’h x 50’w. The McAlester scenery measured 40’h x 56’w.
Auditorium at the McAlester Scottish Rite Theatre.View of the stage left fly floor and cyclorama at the McAlester Scottish Rite.Wood setting designed and painted by Thomas G. Moses for the McAlester Scottish Rite in Oklahoma, 1929. 40’h x 56’w.
Ninety-eight years ago, Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934) was finishing up the first batch of scenery for the newly constructed Scottish Rite Theatre in Oakland, California. In his memoirs, Moses records that he painted eighty-five drops on site in less than five months. In addition to back drops, cut drops and leg drops, he also painted numerous book flats and profile pieces to accompany each scene. This post is going to focus on the timeline for his painting, as well as providing some context for his health at the time. At the age of 71 years old, he accomplished an impressive workload; one that would have challenged a man half his age.
The Oakland Scottish Rite stage with cathedral scene and altar flats painted by Thomas G. Moses in 1927. The backdrops are 30’h x 50’w.The Oakland Scottish Rite stage with cathedral scene and altar flats painted by Thomas G. Moses in 1927. The backdrops are 30’h x 50’w.
On Oct. 6, 1927, he had just completed painting the new scenery collection for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Salt Lake City, Utah. On Oct. 9, 1927, Moses wrote, “Was on the road all day towards Oakland. Arrived on time and found [Fred] Megan had gone to Los Angeles to see [Fitch] Fulton.” Megan was Moses’ business partner. Both had purchased the Sosman & Landis name in 1924. Moses was hoping that Fulton would assist him in Oakland, as he had been unable to in Salt Lake. The two had recently painted scenery for the San Jose and Pasadena Scottish Rite Theaters.
Of his arrival in Oakland, Moses wrote, “I rented a five-room apartment next door to the New Temple. A fine view of Lake Merritt. Have been nicely entertained by John McEwing and Larry Abrott.” John McEwing was the Director of Degree Work at the Oakland Scottish Rite and had been working with Moses on stage designs since the beginning of the year. Larry Abrott, of Western Scenic Studio, was scheduled to personally supervise the installation of Moses’ scenery in Oakland.
Notice in the Oakland Tribune on De.c 12, 1927.
On Oct. 12, 1927, Moses climbed up to the newly constructed paint bridge at the Oakland Scottish Rite and began painting. Two paint frames were waiting on either side, each one able to accommodate a 30’-0” x 50’-0” drop.
Of his first week in Oakland, Moses wrote, “Started my painting on October 12th. Of course I had to do my pet scene, the dark wood drop, which I finished quickly and proved to be quite satisfactory.” The wood set was followed by a scene in King Solomon’s Temple. Known as the Holy of Holies, or Sanctum Sanctorum, the scene consisted of a back drop, cut drop and tri-fold backing flat.
Painted detail of Thomas G. Moses’ dark wood backdrop, 1927. Oakland Scottish Rite Theatre.A portion of the wood set painted by Thomas G. Moses in 1927 for the Oakland Scottish Rite.Detail showing backing flat, back drop (with opening), and cut frop (with gate) at the Oakland Scottish Rite. Painted by Thomas G. Moses in 1927.
Of the timeline, Moses wrote, “I am to do 43 drops for the reunion class on Dec. 12th.” He would have only sixty days to complete the first portion of the project, and this was not his only project to finish that fall. In November, Moses had to return to return to Salt Lake and finish final stage preparations for the dedication ceremonies and Scottish Rite Reunion. This meant that he really had only 46 days in Oakland to paint 43 drops. He began with one assistant – local scenic artist, Lenn Harris.
Thomas G. Moses pictured in the Oakland Tribune on Dec. 12, 1927.
When he picked up his brush in Oakland, Moses had been painting for over five decades. Now president of Sosman & Landis, he had been directly responsible for the design and painting of fifty-two other Scottish Rite scenery collections over the past thirty years. All told, he would paint scenery for 64 Scottish Rite theaters, 7 Shrine Auditoriums, 14 Commanderies, and 9 Grottos by 1931. Near the end of his career, Moses compiled an impressive list of past clients that included Sarah Bernhardt, Madame Modjeska, Joseph Jefferson, Edwin Booth, John McCullough, Katherine Clemmons, Emma Abbott, William Haworth, Julia Marlowe, Walker Whitesides, Buffalo Bill, Al Ringling, Fredrick Thompson, and many, many others. Moses was a prolific designer and scenic artist with a career that spanned from 1873-1934. Generations of artists learned the scene painting trade under his direct supervision, going on to establish their own studios across the country and abroad. Moses was a major influence in the scope of American art, theatre history, and fraternalism. However, I am going to start with his health.
In 1918, Moses was struck by a bicycle near his home. At the time he was 62 years old. Of the incident, he wrote, “October 10th, I was knocked down by a boy on a bicycle in Oak Park. It was dark and I did not see the wheel. It was thought by the doctor that I had fractured my skull. It was a couple of months before I recovered. Only a few days after this I was forced to go to Cleveland to look after a big Masonic order and I hope we will be able to get the contract.” Moses’ work pace seldom slacked, with him rushing from one project to the next in the months following his head injury.
He never fully recovered and suffered migraine headaches for years. Initially, they believed that the migraines were caused from decaying teeth. In 1920 he wrote, “My headache still continues and there seems to be no help for it. No one seems to know the cause, now that my teeth are all out, which everyone thought would be the remedy.” Today we know how important it is to rest in the days, weeks and months following a concussion. That was not the case when Moses was injured in 1927.
Also, his migraines may have been linked to underlying cardiovascular issues. Problems with his heart began by 1921 with symptoms plaguing him for the next four years until they they became life threatening and landed him in the hospital. 1925 was the year that Moses would divide projects into “before or after the taking.”
It was also the same year that Moses decided to become a Mason with the intent of getting in the Scottish Rite class at Pasadena that spring. On February 10, 1925, he not only completed the second degree, but also the Pasadena Scottish Rite scenery contract. It had been a long project, with refurbishing and expanding the used scenery collection from Little Rock for the Pasadena Scottish Rite.
He completed the third degree just in time to get into the Scottish Rite Class at Pasadena on the Feb. 24, 1925. Four days later, he became a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason and then entered the Shrine. Of the momentous occasion he wrote, “It was like a dream to me as all my Masonic knowledge was only padded over by the ritual and some new work which was thankfully received. So, after forty years of designing and painting these degrees, I will now go into the work with a better understanding.”
Thomas G. Moses Pasadena Scottish Rite certificate, 1925. Author’s Collection
In addition to completing the Pasadena Scottish Rite project, Moses landed contracts for the San Jose Scottish Rite, Al Malaikah Shrine, and Los Angeles Consistory. Everything hit at once.
On March 25, 1925, Moses became a member of the Al Malaikah Shrine before starting the San Jose Scottish Rite project just two days later.
Thomas Gibbs Moses Al Malaikah Shrine certificate, 1925. Author’s collection.
At the San Jose Scottish Rite, he was again assisted by scenic artist Fitch Fulton (1879-1955) and stage carpenter Harry Naile (1879-1930) who had also worked with him in Pasadena.
He was not only working at a frantic pace but also beginning to falter. Moses’ health was deteriorating, and yet he couldn’t slow down. In addition to painting scenery in San Jose, Moses also completed two murals that he donated to the Pasadena Scottish Rite.
One of the many murals painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Pasadena Scottish Rite.
He worked at a frantic pace that April, writing, “I started for San Jose on March 27th and found Naile had everything in good shape. Fulton and I got busy immediately, got a good start and pounded away pretty steadily until April 18th when my trouble that had been growing for the past four years came to a climax, and it was a case of life or death.”
Whether it was a sudden pain, heart palpitations, or something else, Moses was admitted to the San Jose hospital on April 18, 1927. Of the incident, he wrote, “Dr. Moore and Fulton got me to the San Jose Hospital on a Saturday night after an unsuccessful attempt to relieve me of my trouble. It took two nurses to keep me alive. when morning came, and operation had to be performed. [My wife Ella] arrived from Los Angeles in the afternoon, several hours after the operation. I very soon recovered from the shock and while it was necessary to be kept quiet, [Ella] was with me every minute, only going to the hotel at night…I was in good condition by May 1st, and I was taken again to the operating room for the second serious operation, which was successful, after which came the battle for strength.” Despite the two operations, Moses wrote, “All through my illness, I had to keep work going and had to ask [Ella] to see that the salaries were paid and the work at the [Scottish Rite] did not stop.” The San Jose Scottish Rite project was completed just before Moses’ second operation. He was not released from the hospital until May 30. Of his condition after returning to the hotel, Moses wrote, “I was very weak and could hardly walk.” He and Ella remained at the hotel for two more weeks, and then headed back to the home in Oak Park, Illinois. They took a few days to settle in after arriving on June 17, then Moses wrote, “I soon got back on my job and took a run down to Fort Wayne to see about getting to work, as we had a big job ahead of us. I also made a trip to Oshkosh and one to Detroit, travelling did not seem to hurt me.” He soon resumed his busy schedule, returning to California that summer and then on to Pittsburg, KS, Little Rock, AR, El Paso, TX, and Detroit, MI.
You have two options after a health crises or critical diagnosis: play it safe or see how much you can get accomplished in the time that you have left. It does not appear that Moses tried to play it safe. He certainly did not retire from a physically-taxing career, but he may not have been able to afford that option.
On Sept. 17, 1927, he began a painting project in Fort Wayne, TX, writing, “found everything in good shape; a good bridge and frame and a drop on the frame ready for me. I got busy the next day and did a 30’ x 75’ wood in a day and a half – quickest time I ever made, and for one who had not worked in five months, I considered it some feat. I found that I was in good condition and capable of doing a good day’s work.” Good for him.
A year later, Moses wrote that he averaged ten drops a week in July while painting the Salt Lake Scottish Rite scenery. This was the project that he was working on just prior to the Oakland Scottish Rite. In later years, Moses referred to Oakland as his “most artistic work.”
Moses often worked with a scenic art assistant and a stage carpenter; both usually on site before Moses, constructing paint frames and setting up the studio. In Oakland, Moses was assisted by Earl Suddeth (1891-1957) and Lenn Harris (1889-1930). Like Fulton before them, they replaced his long-term assistant, Edward Loitz (1865-1940). From 1883-1923, Moses was primarily assisted by Loitz who traveled one step ahead of him, preparing the jobsite and then assisting with various tasks. Loitz even finished some projects or took on smaller contracts if extra work was needed to be done on site. Moses also entrusted Loitz with supervision of the main Chicago studio during especially busy periods or Moses’ prolonged absences. The last public mention of Loitz and Moses working together on site is from the fall of 1923. On Oct. 17, 1923, the Press and Sun-Bulletin reported, “Mr. Moses is assisted by Edward Loitz, who has traveled from coast to coast with Mr. Moses working on many contracts.” By 1924, younger scenic artists were assisting Moses on site. During this time, Moses also heavily relied on stage carpenter Harry Naile.
Naile was repeatedly mentioned in Moses’ memoirs between 1922-1925, with his projects including the Little Rock Scottish Rite Theatre in Arkansas, Tacoma Scottish Rite Theatre in Washington, the Binghamton Scottish Rite Theatre in New York, and the Pasadena Scottish Rite Theatre and San Jose Scottish Rite Theatre in California. Naile was mentioned in Pasadena Evening Post on Feb. 14, 1925, with the article reporting, “The final work of hanging and installing the curtains will be under the supervision of Harry Naile, a member of the Sosman & Landis company. This work demands such expert workmanship that Mr. Naile was brought from Chicago so that no mistake in installation could be made.”
Looking up at the underside of the fly floor (left), the wooden grid (center) and the bottom battens (right). All installed by Edward Naile at the Pasadena Scottish Rite Theatre.Arbors and operating lines stage right at the Pasadena Scottish Rote Theatre, Stage machinery installed by Edward Naile in 1925.
Naile and Fulton became responsible for Sosman & Landis’ California projects when Moses went into the hospital during the spring of 1925. Moses later wrote, “Fulton and Naile went to Los Angeles to do the Fullerton job which was carried through without a hitch. Walter [Moses’ brother] handled the payments in Los Angeles, and everything was done on time and highly satisfactory, and was settled for promptly.” Despite the kind words and gestures, Moses lost his core crew that spring. They may have perceived him as a ticking time bomb. Neither Naile nor Fulton were available to assist at the Oakland Scottish Rite. Despite two operations and slow recovery, Moses was again working at a frantic pace by mid-June. One could understand that those working for him wondered when his health would fail again and who would be left to complete the next project.
In Oakland, Moses contracted local artists, initially hiring Lenn Harris as his on-site assistant. The 38-yrs. old Harris was a well-seasoned artist in 1927, not an inexperienced youngster. Moses needed someone who was fast and accurate. Despite Harris’ experience, the scope of the Oakland Scottish Rite scenery necessitated a second artist when Moses left for Salt Lake City in early November 1927. This is when Moses hired a second scenic artist to help Harris during his trip to Salt Lake. Of the addition, Moses wrote, “I had to get Earl Sudderth to help Harris while I was back in Salt Lake.”
Moses was gone from Oakland for two full weeks. Of his trip, Moses wrote, “I was back in Salt Lake on the 10th of November to get ready for the Dedication where I found plenty to do in order to get ready. Besides the touching up of the battens there was a lot of set pieces to be gone over. We were all ready on the 18th of November for an informal opening. The regular opening was the 21st when I was on stage and introduced to the crowd. Was well pleased to hear my Cathedral setting received a big round of applause. I have certainly had my share of honor on this job. On Wednesday November 23rd I started back to Oakland where I arrived on the 25th and had to jump into the harness quickly. Was obliged to do some night work in order to complete my work by December 12th which was done.”
Moses made the front page of the Salt Lake Telegram on Nov. 24, 1927. An article entitled, “Moses Recalls Old Theatre Days,” was written by Kay Harms after an interview with Tom Moses. The newspaper clipping eventually made its way into Moses’ scrapbook.
Thomas G. Moses’ portrait in the Salt Lake Telegram article, Nov. 24, 1927.
I am including the article in its entirety as it provides a wonderful snapshot of Moses in 1927:
Sarah Bernhardt, Madame Modjeska, Edwin Booth, Lawrence Barrett, Thomas Keene, John McCullough, Julia Marlowe, Buffalo Bill – all these have gone the way of the flesh, and still Thomas G. Moses who painted the scenery for their productions, is hale and healthy and actively at work. There is scarcely a city of any consequence in America today that does not boast at least one theatre curtain painted by Tom Moses, and his landscape and still life sketches adorn the walls of some of the loveliest homes in the nation. The curtain at the Wilkes theatre was painted by him twenty-one years ago, and when he saw it last week his fingers fairly itched to get at his paint pots and refurbish the time-dimmed colors on it. He just completed painting the 150 “drops” and great curtains at the auditorium of the new Masonic temple, having spent the entire summer in Salt Lake upon the work.
LOVES HIS ART
Tom Moses is the most sought after scenic artist in America, and most of the elaborate productions have his direction if not his actual touch in their scenery. He is the president of the firm Sosman & Landis of Chicago, the leading theatrical scenery firm of the country, yet when he dons his paint-smeared overalls and takes a brush in his hand, Tom Moses becomes just a scenery painter who loves his art.
To looks at Tom Moses, one would never guess that he was born in Liverpool, England, in 1856, for he is robust and strong, with a heavy head of iron-gray hair, clear blue eyes, and straight as a ramrod. Nor does his face, with its smug, square-cut mustache, and his hands, with thick, square fingers, suggest the artist. Meeting him, one instinctively says, “Here is a successful banker, real estate agent or insurance salesman.”
To get Tom Moses, whose life has been one of interesting and romantic associations, to talk about himself is difficult, but to get Tom Moses to talk about those associations is to see his laughing eyes light up as he begins to unfold a fascinating chain of incidents and reminiscences.
RAN AWAY FROM HOME
Mr. Moses came to America with his parents when he was a mere child. His father was a sea captain who longed to see his son follow in his footsteps, but his mother had the soul of an artist and instilled in him the desire to do great creative work. Because his father insisted on his choosing the life of the sea, believing only starvation and despair faced an artist, Tom Moses ran away from home when he was 17 years old and secured his first job in Chicago as a paint boy at the munificent salary of $4 a week at the Almini studios.
The going was hard for the first few months, and as his room rent equaled his salary, he was forced to walk the miles to the studio and to earn his meals by doing errands for the men about the studio. Soon his ability with the brush became apparent and at the end of his first year he was instructed with important assignments and his check raised to $21. After a short time, he entered the Chicago Art Institute for study. His only other teacher was Roswell M. Shurtleff, with whom he studied when he was 40 years old.
“Bernhardt was a great woman, but Madame Modjeska was a lovable one,” Mr. Moses said in chatting intimately about some of the famous personalities with whom he worked in the past fifty years. When Modjeska went on tour with her repertoire of “Mary Stuart,” “Marie Antoinette” and “Macbeth,” it was with scenery by Tom Moses. “When she was rehearsing in San Diego in 1899, we were all like one big family. Often the entire company spent the week-end with her at her home in Santa Ana. She was a great woman who possessed no professional jealously, and her hospitality was as far fames as her own wonderful self. That time with her was the happiest time in my professional life.”
PRIZES TELEGRAM
When Bernhardt played the now famous one-night stand of “Judas,” the drama written by a Wisconsin newspaper man, as a favor to the author, Moses executed the scenery, and Madame Bernhardt telegraphed him her congratulations and appreciation. That telegram is one of the prized possessions of Tom Moses.
“Since I made the sets for the original “Floradora” production and all of the four companies on tour, I knew all of the famous ‘Floradora sextetts’ girls,” Mr. Moses laughed. “If all the girls who now claim to have been the original “Floradora” girls had really been, there would have been enough sextettes for every theatre in the country.
Sometimes his painting ability was called on in odd ways, Mr. Moses said. In 1893 he executed the sets for Katherine Clemmons, whose “Lady of Venice” was financed somewhat disastrously by “Buffalo Bill” Cody. Miss Clemmons was fencing at a rehearsal one day in her armor costume when her gauntlet struck her eye as she raised her arm in protection from the thrust.
“Katherine had the most marvelous blue eyes of any woman I have ever known,” Mr. Moses said; “but inside of half an hour the one she had struck was the sorriest looking spectacle you ever saw, all black and yellow and swollen. She had a performance that night and was about hysterical over her condition, but when curtain time came, I painted her a couple of eyes that passed for perfect over the footlight.”
Just as Madame Modjeska was the easiest artist whom he ever worked, Mr. Moses designated the late Henry Miller as the most difficult.
MILLER FINICKY
“Henry was finicky,” Tom said. “He was forever fussing around about the most minute and inconsequential detail in the sets. When a painted line on a windowsill would give the desired effect, Henry would insist on an entire real sill.”
The most beautiful set he ever created was a deep sea effect for the spectacle “Robinson Crusoe,” Mr. Moses believes, while the most gruesome was the Iceland set from the allegory, “Hatred” by Charles Rand Kennedy, which Henry Miller played. The most difficult was the Niagara Falls scene in the melodrama “The Old Sleuth.” The falls were manufactured by placing thin silk over a frame and controlling movement by machines.
Favorite of all his creations was the street scene in Jerusalem for Bernhardt’s production of “Judas,” Mr. Moses said.
Mr. Moses is a member of the largest art clubs and societies in the country, and what portions of his diary, which he has kept since he was 20 years of age, have been published, bid fair to bring him added renown as an author.
“Before I pass on, I should love to see again some old good melodrama, such as “The Lights of London,” and some spectacles, such as “Cinderella,” Mr. Moses said. “And even if people should say, ‘Oh, well, Moses is getting to be an old crab,’ I should like to see girls’ skirts to their knees – at least.”
When Moses’ interview was published on Nov. 24, he was already on his way back to Oakland. Returning to work that Friday, November 25, he had only seventeen days to complete the work before the scenery was used for the Scottish Rite Reunion.
In addition to working on two Scottish Rite projects that November, Moses was mourning the passing of his younger brother. Frank Deming Moses passed away on Nov. 7 in Trenton, New Jersey. Of the news, Moses wrote, “One sad incident that caused us all to realize how uncertain life is, was the death of brother Frank in Trenton on November 7th. We knew nothing of his illness.” They had mourned his sister’s passing (actress Illinois “Illie” Moses) seven years earlier. Tom was the last remaining family member from his father’s first marriage.
Moses completion of the first 43 drops by December 12 was a significant accomplishment. The Oakland Tribune reported that degree work included several degrees: “The fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth degrees will be conferred Thursday, two degrees from the nineteenth to thirtieth will be given, with the thirty-first and thirty-second degrees to be conferred Friday afternoon and evening respectively.” For the dedication ceremony, Moses wrote, “I had the honor of sitting with the 33° members as the reunion class started on the road.” More than 3000 members attended the festivities. On Dec. 13, 1927, the Oakland Tribune reported “Two hundred and fifty Blue Lodge Masons today began their journey through the Scottish Rite as members of the first class to receive their degrees in the new $1,500,000 temple of the order which was officially dedicated last night.”
Painted detail by Thomas G. Moses on backdrop painted for the Oakland Scottish Rite, c. 1927.Painted back drop by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite Theatre, c. 1927.Painted back drop by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite, c. 1927.Painted detail by Thomas G. Moses on backdrop painted for the Oakland Scottish Rite, c. 1927.Two leg drops, two cut drops and a back drop painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite, c. 1927.Cut drop and set piece for the Mausoleum setting, painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite, c. 1927.Cut drop and set piece for the Mausoleum setting, painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite, c. 1927.
The week after the Dedication of the Oakland Scottish Rite, Moses finally enjoyed a few days off, writing, “During this idle week for me I went to Los Angeles to meet Mr. Townsbey regarding the new work for McAlester, Oklahoma. I took the sample case and arrived at the Hotel Rosslyn on December 15th. Saw my man, also Perry Weidner and Chas. Pyke…It will take me some time after I close this diary to complete Oakland, which I will tell about in my next year’s diary.” He would work on the scenery until March 6, 1928.
Moses’ stay in Oakland during the holiday season in 1927 was somewhat relaxing as his wife had arrived on Oct. 23 with the intent to stay for four months. Christmas day was spent with John McEwing and his family. After the initial push of 43 drops, Moses had a little extra time that he devoted to sketching local scenery. That spring he wrote, “I have enjoyed the sketching along the Alameda docks and the Oakland waterfront.”
Oil painting by Thomas G. Moses in 1928, titled “Near Oakland California 1928.” Author’s collection.
Of completing the Oakland Scottish Rite scenery, Moses wrote, “The bridge and frames came down on the 6th of March, five months from the day they were put up. I completed eighty-five drops and set pieces. A very complete outfit.” Of those eighty-five drops, only seventy-one survive. Moses’ contribution to the Oakland Scottish Rite was featured in the Oakland Tribune on Dec. 12, 1927. He even pasted the newspaper clipping into his scrapbook. The article announced, “Stage Setting and Scenery are Artistic. Appliances Are in Harmony with Other Splendors of New Building.” Including a portrait of Moses, the article reported:
In keeping with the magnificent beauty of the new Oakland Scottish Rite Temple is the stage scenery and equipment installed by Thomas G. Moses, representing the Sosman & Landis company of Chicago. The settings exemplify the degrees of Scottish Rite Masonry and portray an oriental splendor whose style ranges from Egyptian to the Assyrian, Persian, Gothic, Grecian, Norman Gothic, Babylonian, ending in the land of the Druids of Stonehenge, England.
Moses bears the reputation of being the most sought-after scenic artist ion America. Not only is he known for his masterful production of elaborate scenery and stage settings, but his own hand wields the brush in the majority of his creations.
Into the stage settings for the Oakland Scottish Rite Temple, he has put the knowledge and ability of over fifty years of scenic production work.
RICH STAGE SETTINGS
The richness of the stage settings concurs with the art of the ancient courts of Cyrus, Darius and Solomon, though the motif of the scenery is to provide a background for the colorful robes used in the Scottish Rite degree work.
The ideas of members conferring the degrees were combined with those of the designer. All painting was done at the new Temple where the designs could be discussed with the Oakland Scottish Rite officials. The excellent result of the cooperation is apparent in the finished work. Earl Sudderth and Lenn Harris, local artists, aided Moses in the actual painting of the huge settings.
The scenery for the Oakland Scottish Rite Temple is the largest Masonic scenery ever to be painted according to Moses. The drops on the stage measure thirty by fifty feet while the average drop for this type of work measures but twenty by thirty-six feet.
NEW DESIGN PAINTED
The canvas employed in this work is a heavy six-ounce duck tied to an iron pipe instead of wood. Moses started several months ago painting a complete set of new designs using a large neutral cyclorama, forty feet high and one hundred and thirty feet long. This is used as a background for many sets.
A special set of rigging was installed for the operating of the stage scenery. The rigging was designed and planned by Fred R. Megan, also of the Sosman & Landis company. Special concentration was given to the arrangement and construction of the rigging as the commodious stage of the Oakland Scottish Rite allows eighty-five drops to be raised out of sight. This allows plenty of pace for high sets. This is the first Scottish Rite Temple to have wall slots, in which the counterweight arbors travel without interference with the operators. In the old system the operator’s hands were in constant danger of being injured by the counterweight frames. Steel sheaves with ball bearings, the best tiller rope cable, Cuban bolt hauling lines, iron arbors with counterweights constitutes the rigging equipment. Iron pipe battens are used in place of the old style wood battens. The material for this rigging was furnished by Oakland foundries. Patterns were shipped from the east while additional ones were made here. Megan was aided in this work by L. A. Abrott, of the Western Scenic studios.
All of the Oakland Scottish Rite scenery was produced with distemper paint on 6-ouonce cotton duck fabric. Distemper paint is a combination of dry pigment (powdered colors), and diluted animal hide glue, also known as size water. The powdered color was transformed into a paste and placed on the scenic artists’ palettes to be combined with the binder just prior to application. Rendering animal hides resulted in a gelatinous substance that was used by scenic artists for centuries. In the early twentieth century, the dried glue was sold as granules or slabs. The dried glue was soaked overnight in water and cooked in a double boiler the next morning. Once melted, this thick syrup was diluted with water to create a painting binder known as size. A thicker version used in fabric preparation was called strong size. A thinner version, called working size, or size water, was the binder mixed with pigment paste.
Strong size was brushed onto fabric at the beginning of the painting process. This part of the painting process was called sizing, and once completed the drop was considered sized. Sizing a drop both tightened and sealed the fibers, preventing the future bleeding of dyes and reducing the overall amount of paint needed during the painting. It also allowed the drop’s surface to accept color in an even fashion for a successful composition. After the strong-size coat dried, the subject matter was drawn, or “cartooned,” onto the drop with charcoal. For the painting of each scene, dry pigment paste, and size water were combined on a paint table. A paint table for scenic artists was reminiscent to an artist’s palette but on a massive scale. Successful distemper painting for the stage demands extensive experience. In 1916, Frank Atkinson again reiterated this point in Scene Painting and Bulletin Art, writing:
And it must be born in mind that distemper colors change greatly in value as they dry out, especially those carrying white in the admixture, which dry lighter or higher in value. The student must not let a few failures discourage him. True ‘color deductions’ will come with experience, and unless trials are conscientiously persisted in, and in connection with, the study procedure set forth in this manual, your progress cannot be other than slow.
Over time, a water-based binder can fail for many reasons: the poor quality of the glue, improper handling of the glue during the painting process, water damage, environmental conditions, or age. When the binder in dry pigment paint breaks down, the color begins to flake or dust off the surface, eventually leaving areas of raw fabric. Fortunately, the Oakland Scottish Rite scenery is in remarkable condition for its age. Only a few pieces need immediate attention to prevent irreparable damage, but that is unlikely as the building is for sale.
The proposed sale of the Oakland Scottish Rite places this unparalleled scenery collection in jeopardy. It is very rare to encounter this scope of first-generation stage scenery in any historic venue, let alone one with this amount of artistic provenance and cultural significance. Painted illusion for the stage was ephemeral. Over time, most scenery that was designed and painted for a newly-constructed stage was replaced with modern-day equivalents. Stage settings delivered to Scottish Rite theaters were never intended to last much more than a decade, let alone a century. Sosman & Landis guaranteed their scenery for twelve years, and yet the Oakland Scottish Rite scenery is turning ninety-eight years old.
It is critical to professionally document the Oakland Scottish Rite’s large-scale distemper artworks before they deteriorate any further.
Treasure chamber setting in King Cyrus’ palace consisting of one leg drop, one cut drop, back drop with practical opening and hinged treasure flat. Painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite, c. 1927.Detail from King Cyrus Palace cut drop painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite, c. 1927.Two leg drops and a scrim drop (theatrical gauze with seams) painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite, c. 1927.View from behind the scrim drop (36″ wide theatrical gauze with vertical seams) painted y Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite theatre, c. 1927.Photograph of same scene (pictured below without 31st degree set pieces) in the “Pharaoh’s Daughter” performed at the Oakland Scottish Rite Auditorium on Jan. 13, 1936. Scenery painted for the Oakland Scottish Rite by Thomas G. Moses, c. 1927.Two leg drops and a scrim drop (theatrical gauze with seams) painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite, c. 1927.View from behind TWO scrims (theatrical gauze with vertical seams) painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Oakland Scottish Rite, c. 1927.
My next few posts will look at the original scenic designs, lighting system and stage machinery delivered to the Oakland Scottish Rite in 1927, as well as the lives and careers of Sudderth, Harris and Abrott.
Backdrop painted by Phil S. Railguel for the Long Beach Scottish Rite in 1966.Upstage view of the same scene by Phil S. Raiguel.
There are two scenery collections at the Long Beach Scottish Rite: The Martin Studio Collection (c. 1900-1926) and The Phil Raiguel Collection (c. 1962-1979).
The Phil Raiguel collection includes new and refurbished scenery handled by Curran Productions, and Bates Lighting Co. & Scenic Studio. Both were owned and operated by the Los Angeles Civic Opera Association (LACOA). Scenes painted by Paul Raiguel (1915-1998) for the Long Beach Scottish Rite are often signed, noting his Masonic affiliation as a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason.
Signature on the front of a drop at the Long Beach Scottish Rite.
Raiguel not only painted twenty-one drops between 1966 and 1979, but also repainted a Martin Studio’s Egyptian scene that was originally delivered in 1926.
Martin Studio scene altered by Phil S. Raiguel. Figures in cut drop were added to the cut drop. Paint touched up throughout, including metallic accents.Phil S. Raiguel’s note on the back of the Egyptian drop at the Long Beach Scottish Rite.
Phillip “Phil” Smith Raiguel, Jr. (1915-1998) was the son of Phillip Smith Raiguel (1883-1940), Sr. and Emily Dutton Brower (1885-1978).
Phil S. Raiguel’s father as a young man.
Raiguel Jr. grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where his father initially worked as a salesman for the Michigan Seating Company. He was later identified as a “Veteran in the Furniture Industry” in the Wood County Reporter on Feb. 1 Feb 1917. The Raiguel family had deep ties to the Grand Rapids lumber industry. Phil’s grandfather, William Raiguel left Philadelphi to enter the lumber business in 1870. He later established Raiguel & Co., before representing Osterhout & Fox Lumber Co. It appears that the family was relatively well off, with Phil being able to explore local thespian opportunities.
Phil S. Raiguel’s High School Photo, 1933.
Phil was introduced to theatre at Ottawa Hills High School where he participated in several dramatic productions and was a member of Mimes. Raiguel’s high school yearbook described this extracurricular group in 1933:
Mimes is an honor society organized for the purpose of maintaining a high standard of dramatic taste at Ottawa Hills High School. Students are admitted to a membership after they have proved by participating in at least one public program that they can meet the threefold standard of loyalty to the ideals of the club, voluntary service, and quality of work.
Phil S. Raiguel performing in 1933
Mimes and the Ottawa Hills dramatic program were under the sponsorship and direction of Miss Mary Baloyan. She is an individual worthy of note, not only in the context of Raiguel’s life and career, but as an immigrant who contributed to North American Theatre. I have not come across many tributes to women like Baloyan. She was a driving force in Grand Rapids that directly fueled Raiguel’s love for the theater and is worthy of note.
Years later, Raiguel was listed as one of her many students that continued in the arts. On Sept. 1, 1980, The Grand Rapids Press published an article entitled “Mary Baloyan. Her Students Learned Well.”
Mary Baloyan pictured in The Grand Rapids Press on 2 Sept 1980.
Baloyan’s parents were the first Armenian immigrants to arrive at Grand Rapids in 1896. She was one of three children born to the young couple with her father establishing an oriental Rug business. Bayolan’s grandfather also emigrated to Grand Rapids and worked as a carver for the John Widdicomb Furniture Co. The article reported,
Mary and her sister also took dancing lessons that led to her teaching a class in ballet pantomime in the Travis school. She also took classes in drama at the YMCA and private lessons in art. 2 yrs. at Grand Rapids Junior College and then University of Michigan, she received a BA and MA in English. Afterwards she taught for two years at the old North Division Avenue School and then Harrison Park School for five years. At Harrison, she met Paul Stephenson, director of Grand Rapids Civic Theater, who persuaded her to study drama at Yale University for a year under the famed George Pierce Baker, the man credited with having inspired at least a dozen of the country’s finest dramatists. By the time Mary had completed her work at Yale she had earned enough credit hours for her doctorate, but they were spread over so many fields that she decided not to pursue that degree. Her work at Yale had been intended to prepare her for either education or a career in the theater… While she enjoyed acting, her real bent was for teaching. Then she taught at Ottawa Hills High School… She was at Ottawa Hills for 21 years, for 13 in dramatics.
Raiguel was fortunate to be at Ottawa Hills during the same time as Baloyan. Her list of successful students was quite long, with the article reporting, “Many others found their way into theatrical work, Wallace Standards became technical director for the Lawrence Welk Show, Lloyd Bethune became an actor in New York, Phil Raiguel did technical work in Hollywood. George Bethune became a designer for an art gallery, Barry McGee, who did some work for Civic Theater eventually went west to stage shows on the Pacific Coast.”
Jack Thompson, paid tribute to Baloyan in a Harper’s Magazine article entitled “Yesterdays in Grand Rapids.” He credited her with being the teacher who had the greatest influence on him.
Baloyan also devoted more than 20 years to the Grand Rapids Civic Theater, having served as board member, vice-president and president, working on campaigns as co-chairman and as chairman of other committees. By the way, annual dues for the Grand Rapids Civic Players were $5 and included admissions to the six plays of the season, opportunities to study dramatic direction, to participate in amateur plays, and to serve on the organization’s committees. It was at the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre that Raiguel transitioned from performance to scenic art.
By the spring of 1936, Raiguel was listed as assistant director for the Civic Players. He was also noted for some scenic contributions that year. He soon moved to California where he landed work with Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. Raiguel’s uncle, Otto Brower (1895-1946) was also associated with Twentieth Century Fox as a traveling unit director, having moved to Hollywood in 1917.
Phil S. Raiguel’s uncle, Otto Brower.
Bower initially worked as a performer, taking on bit parts in pictures with Charlie Chaplin and other greats of the era, then transitioned to unit director, director, and eventually producer.
Otto Brower featured with his film crew at the Inglewood track in 1939. He is picture on the right (second row).
Raiguel was fortunate to have a familial connection in Hollywood. Brower had gained a reputation for action and authenticity in his outdoor scenes, Between 1928 and 1946 he directed more than forty-five films. His 1946 obituary in The Los Angeles Times noted “Brower had been with 20th Century-Fox since 1933. One of the most widely-traveled directors in Hollywood, he had made films in Alaska, South America, Africa, Costa Rica and the South Seas. His first megaphonic effort, Slave Ship, was made in 1923, and he directed such stars as Wallace Beery, Gary Cooper, and Richard Arlen.”
Just prior to Raiguel’s move to Hollywood, he was extremely active with the Civic Players in Grand Rapids. His association with the group was repeatedly mentioned in The Grand Rapids Press. He performed in Trial of Mary Dugan and Squaring the Circle during the spring of 1936. His scenic art was also noted at the end of the season in As Others See Us. On May 23, 1936, The Grand Rapids Press reported, “The scenic backgrounds and settings, in keeping with the atmosphere of the play, were designed by Phil Raiguel and Jean Hunt Savage.” Raiguel and Savage (1911-1984) had been working together for a few years. On Oct. 24, 1935, The Grand Rapids Press listed Jean Hunt Savage, Phil Raiguel, and Neva Marzolf as production staff for the Civic Players production of Thunder in the Air. In 1935, Savage was in charge of the technical work for Ladies in Waiting (The Grand Rapids Press 6 Dec 1935) Similarly, on March 16, 1936, The Grand Rapids Press credited Savage with the stage settings for Variations on a Theme. During this time, Raiguel primarily worked as the assistant director for the Civic Players, not a designer or scenic artist.
That fall, Raiguel’s absence from the Civic Players was reported in local news. On Sept. 26, 1936, The Grand Rapids Press announced that for the upcoming performance of Fresh Field, “Miss Millicent McElwee will serve as assistant director in the absence of Phil Raiguel, who is in Hollywood.”
Raiguel’s work in Hollywood was noted three years later when he became engaged. On Jan. 2, 1939, The Grand Rapids Press reported, “Mr and Mrs Edward R Rood of College-av. Announce the engagement of their daughter to Phil S. Raiguel, jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Phil S. Raiguel of Richard-ter. Miss Rood is a member of the Junior League. Mr. Raiguel has been in Los Angeles for the past two years. He is associated with the Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. It remains unclear as to whether Raiguel started off as a performer, production assistant, or painter in California. However, by 1940 he was listed as a scenic artist in San Francisco.
The 1940 US Federal Census listed 25 yrs. old living at 440 Geary Somerton Hotel with several performers and technicians. Two years later, he had moved to Hollywood. In 1942 he was working for Samuel Goldwyn Studio. This was the same year that he married Norma May Fletcher (1917-1997). Fletcher had left her hometown of Roundup, Montana, to become an actress. Their marriage was announced in the Roundup Record-Tribune on Dec. 17, 1942: “Norma Fletcher Marries Hollywood Man Dec 2. Charles Fletcher received word recently of the marriage of his daughter Norma to Phil Raiguel, which took place in Westwood, California on December 2. Both are residents of Hollywood and are employed at the Samuel Goldwyn Studio.”
During the WWII, Raiguel served in the Navy as Carpenter’s Mate, Second Class. His military service included the building and repair of wooden construction, in addition to working with ventilation systems, watertight doors and damage control (fixing leaks).
After the war, Raiguel returned to the theatre, becoming a resident scenic designer for the Players’ Production at El Patio Theater in Los Angeles, an organization that the Los Angeles Evening Citizen described as “Hollywood’s answer to a cry for good repertory theater” (2 Oct 1946 p 7). Raiguel was credited with scenic designs for 20th Century, Blind Alley, On Borrowed Time and Macbeth, to name a few. By the late 1940s, Raiguel was living with his wife and daughter in Beverly Hills. During this time, Raiguel became associated with Homer Curran, designing sets for his Geary Theater in San Francisco, being signed to design the settings for Free for All. Mr. Adam followed, becoming a national touring show. His Broadway credits include The Barber had Two Sons (1943), Slightly Married (1943), Mr. Adam (1949) and Kismet (1953).
The 1950 US Federal Census listed Phil Raiguel as a 35-yrs. old scenic artist, living with his wife Norma, mother Emily, and daughter Mary Jill. Another child was born that fall, Faith Estelle arriving on Nov. 16. During this time, Raiguel became associated with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera set department. He participated in programs that delivered free opera to San Gabriel Valley children at Pasadena (Covina Argus 24 Feb 1955 p 9), as well as skits produced by the St. Ambrose Episcopal Church in Claremont and the Bellagio PTA in Los Angeles. He was working professionally but also gave back to his community.
Phil Raiguel pictured in 1955 (second to right).
Raiguel was also an active part of the art department for numerous films, including the famous Annie Get Your Gun (1957). In 1959, Raiguel was guest speaker at a Pomona College Rembrandt Club meeting. On Jan. 2, 1959, an announcement in the article “Claremont Colleges Announce Programs” stated, “Guest Speaker at the Jan 15 meeting of the Pomona College Rembrandt Club will be Phil Raiguel whose topic will be the Los Angeles Opera Company’s production of The Scenic Artist. The lecture will be held in Montgomery Art Center at 2:30pm.” I would love to know more about this production, or if it was simply a typo – the title of his lecture. So far, I have yet to uncover anything.
Raiguel continued his association with the Los Angeles and San Francisco Civic Opera Associations throughout the 1960s. In 1962, the musical Oliver previewed in Los Angeles with Edwin Lester’s Los Angeles Civic Opera Association. The original Sean Kenny’s sets were duplicated in London for the American Tour. Lester did not care for the stylized approach and ordered Raiguel, his scene shop manager, to glaze down the “wood-grained” sets with red, green, blue, yellow and orange. I find it fascinating that this specific production detail has managed to make its way to Broadway.Fandom.com.
In 1962 Raiguel was also pictured as part of the scenery production team in an article entitled “Panic Alley” (The Los Angeles Times on April 15, 1962). He was part of the production team for Song of Norway, a show about the life and music of Edward Grieg. The performance was part of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera Association‘s (LACLO) silver anniversary season.
Phil Raiguel pictured (second from left) as part of the Song of Norway Production team in 1962.
As previously noted, LACLO owned two theatrical supply businesses: Curran Productions and Bates Lighting Company and Scenic Studio. Raiguel worked for both, and his connection is clearly documented on the backside of several Long Beach Scottish Rote backdrops. In 1973 Curran Productions and Raiguel made the news, providing context for the paint frames and space where the Long Beach Scottish Rite drops were painted in the 1970s. On May 18, 1973, the Los Angeles Times reported:
In Hollywood, in the large pie-shaped building of the LACLO-owned Curran Productions, turn-of-the-century Paris is being rebuilt at a cost of more than $100,000 – the pre-Catalan Restaurant, Maxim’s and Aunt Alicia’s apartment, decorated on her principal that “only those who have no taste at all understate.” At the narrow end of the building, the huge warehouse doors are rolled back and period furniture, in unpainted pine, literally bulges out of the shop. William (Bud) Merkle, technical adviser, is supervising 15 carpenters here and another 15 in another shop downtown in building Oliver Smith’s lavish sets. “There’s another thing that puts the pinch on a production this size,” Merkle says. “Rising lumber prices. We’ve got more than $100,000 in materials in the shop alone.” In the wide end of the building, master painter Phil Raiguel oversees the painting of massive sheets of muslin 33 feet high. The backdrops – scrims of the beach at Trouville, the Bois de Boulogne, vast expanses of wallpapers to be attached to wood-framed sets – are rolled and unrolled like giant curtains and painted like paint-by-numbers kits are from the Oliver Smith Originals. Six scenic artists are working in the Hollywood shop, five down town.
Examples of Raiguel’s work for Curran Productions still exist at the Long Beach Scottish Rite. Raiguel painted 21 drops for the Long Beach Scottish Rite and refurbished 5 existing drops in the 1960s and 1970s. On many drops he both signed and dated his work. In addition to his signature, studio stickers and flame-retardant tags give dates for continued work on many pieces.
Tag on the back of a scene painted by Phil Raiguel for the Long Beach Scottish Rite.
Below are a few of the scenes painted by Raiguel between 1962 and 1979.
Landscape back drop with translucent sky painted by Phil S. Raiguel for the Long Beach Scottish Rite.Painted detail from the landscape painted by Phil S. Raiguel for the Long Beach Scottish Rite.Long Beach Scottish Rite scene painted by Phil S. Raiguel. Crypt flat delivered by Martin Studio in 1926.Painted detail from cathedral cut drop painted by Phil S. Raiguel for the Long Beach Scottish Rite.Back Drop painted by Phil S. Raiguel for the Long Beach Scottish Rite.Back Drop painted by Phil S. Raiguel for the Long Beach Scottish Rite.Painted detail from Phil S. Raiguel back drop for the Long Beach Scottish Rite.
The scenery painted by Raiguel for the Long Beach Scottish Rite is a marked departure from that delivered by Martin Studios in 1926. It depicts a scenic art form heavily influenced by the film industry. The demand for painted illusion diminished throughout the 1920s and 1930s. This trend was exacerbated by the Great Depression. As former Sosman & Landis scenic artist John Hanny wrote, “The depression of 1929 just about stopped the production of stage scenery…At this point the studios disappeared, but the scene painter couldn’t disappear and had to become a freelancer. There was no such thing as a steady job and the boys were hard put to find a day’s pay. Most of the following 10 years were really tough and 1929 proved to be a big change in our business, in purpose, in design, paint, and other materials.”
Raiguel entered the painting business at the same time that many scenic artists were scrambling for work. Some sought employment with the government and others entered the movie industry. Both were a marked departure from what they had been doing for live theater; specifically, scenic art techniques employed prior to WWI. Hollywood artists painted for the camera, tightening their style to make backgrounds appear as reality. Those working for the government were employed to do technical designs, camouflage painting, and other projects. Live theatre increasingly focussed on dimensional scenery, draperies, and lighting effects.
It is not that scenic artists disappeared or that the scenic art industry died, it is that scene painting techniques shifted to reflect expectations form a new audience. In many ways scenic art became more of a scenic craft, adopting the increased use of stencil work, patterns, spatter, and an increasingly solid areas of color. So much became a stylized art form. Color palettes, painting products, materials, and techniques became forever altered, with so much industrial memory vanishing by the next generation.
For quite some time, I have recognized that many people fail to grasp the significance of the Sosman & Landis Scene Painting studio in Chicago. Few appreciate the quality and quantity of scenic art produced by firm between 1880 and 1920. They dominated the production of painted illusion in North America during this period. By 1902, Sosman & Landis had delivered scenery to 6000 theaters in the United States, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, and the Caribbean. It is remarkable to think that this number did not include touring shows, world fair amusements, industrial shows, or other public spectacles. This was also before their period of peak production, c. 1912-1914.
For quite some time I have wanted to create a a visual aid – a short video that explored the early history and rapid growth of Sosman & Landis. I was just waiting for the right music.
This summer, my son, Aaron Barrett, composed “Serenade for Her,” as a gift for his girlfriend on their third anniversary. After listening to it during my commute to work for weeks, I knew this was the perfect music for my story. It is the story of a remarkable partnership between Joseph S. Sosman and Perry Landis. Enjoy.
It is a pre-cursor to my upcoming book about Sosman & Landis. I will keep you posted about it’s release here.
Scottish Rite Theaters are typically only one small part of a much larger complex; a structure that includes meeting rooms, lounges, ballrooms, commercial kitchens, and in some cases, dormitories. In Long Beach, a stunning double-staircase ascends to a second-floor theater. A ballroom, lounge, offices and more are located on the first floor. There is so much more to this building than meets the eye; it is a perfect event space, complete with parking lot and elevators.
Holy of Holies setting for the Long Beach Scottish Rite stage, c. 1926. Photograph from October 2025.Entrance at the Long Beach Scottish Rite. Photograph from October2025.
The Long Beach Scottish Rite is frequently rented; its stage used by the community for a variety of events and productions. The income generated from this type of rental has provided much-needed relief for basic operational expenses. Event Coordinator and office Manager for the Scottish Rite Cathedral Association of Long Beach, Hannah McMullen, has succeeded in so many ways. She is also associated with Children’s Theatre Long Beach, a local group that also uses the stage and historic scenery collection. There are quite a few Scottish Rite theaters that could benefit in chatting with her.
Stage of the Long Beach Scottish Rite. Photograph from October 2025.
That being said, the constant use of historic scenery comes at a cost. For years, Scottish Rite scenery collections were sparingly used. Backdrops were only lowered a few times each year at Scottish Rite Reunions.
What is a Scottish Rite Reunion?
Over the course of a week, or weekend, between five and twenty-nine Scottish Rite degrees are performed, with members participating as both performers and stagehands. These annual, or biannual, gatherings featured degree productions performed by a specific group of member. They rehearse and perform a single degree for the reunion. The function of each degree production is to educate the members.
Stage scenery that was solely cared for by Scottish Rite Masons began to be handled by outside groups, including community theater groups. Although local thespians appreciated the beauty of the scenery, each backdrop is often treated as if it were a contemporary one. Quick scene changes, with drops rapidly rubbing again each other removed paint and thinned fabric over time. Performers brushing against drops during entrances and exits caused the ripping of now fragile fabric.
Failing section of drop caused by contact.
There are two scenery collections at the Long Beach Scottish Rite: The Martin Studios Collection (c. 1900-1926) and the Phil Raiguel Collection (c. 1962-1979). The Martin studio collection is divided into two categories: scenery produced for the opening of the building in 1926, and used scenery that was refurbished to accompany the new scenery that year. The Phil Raiguel collection, scenery produced and repaired by Raiguel, was completed in association with both Curran Productions, and Bates Lighting Co. & Scenic Studio. Each of these firms were owned and operated by the Los Angeles Civic Opera Association (LACOA).
Martin Studios stencil on Long Beach Scottish Rite backdrop, c. 1926.
Today’s post focusses on Martin Studios. Joel David Martin was the founder of J. D. Martin Studios, later known as Martin Studios. His son, William T. Martin later managed the studio as Martin Studio. That being said, old J. D. Martin scenic studio tags were still being used in the 1930s.
Studio tag discovered at the Tucson Scottish Rite.
Joel Martin was born in Indiana, the third son of William Martin and Lucinda Amburn. In the 1860s the Martins moved to Wabasha, Minnesota where his sister, Mattie Bell, was born in 1868. Growing up on a farm near Wabasha, little is known of Martin’s early artistic training or career in the theatre.
Main Street in Wabasha, Minnesota, 1875, Minnesota Historical Society.
However, by the 1880s, Martin was married and working as a stage carpenter in New York City. He founded J. D. Martin Studios in 1887, with the company maintaining a studio and offices in the Majestic Theatre Building on Broadway, before moving to a larger space at Center and Banning Streets. J. D. Martin’s studio remained at that location for approximately five years with business continuing to thrive. In 1891, his son, William T. Martin was born in Minnesota; Anna likely went back home to be with family during the birth of her first child.
In 1899, J. D. Martin came to Los Angeles as part of the technical staff with the James O’Neill repertoire company. His new studio was established at Located at 545 South Los Angeles Street. The 1910 US Federal Census listed Martin as a 45-yrs. old stage carpenter in Los Angles, living with his 39-yrs. old wife Anna, and 17-yrs. old son William T., who also entered the theatre trade as a scenic artist. By 1914, Martin renovated a building at 111 North Center St, Los Angeles, for his studio (Los Angeles Evening Express 14 May 1914). At the time, Martin was working at the Civic Center in Pasadena. He built stage settings that Robert Brunton painted (Pasadena-Star News 27 April 1927).
In 1921, The Los Angeles Times,published a lengthy article entitled “J. D. Martin Scenic Co.” The article reported:
Locating in Los Angeles twenty years ago, the J. D. Martin Scenic Company has executed scenery for nearly all of the plays that have been produced in this city since their advent into local theatrical circles…Last January the J. D. Martin Scenic Company was forced to move to its present quarters at 545 South Los Angeles Street. Many of the theater in Los Angeles are examples of the work of this company as it has installed the stage equipment for the Auditorium, Majestic Morosco and Little theaters and was associated in the equipping of Grauman’s and the California theaters. This company also recently equipped the stage of Marcu Loew’s ‘New State Theater” at Long Beach and the $10,000 stage setting for W. A. Clark’s Philharmonic Orchestra. The J. D. Martin Scenic Company executed the settings for practically all of the Oliver Morosco productions. Chief among these productions that the company has supplied settings for are “Tick Tock Man,” “Canary Cottage,” “So Long Letty,” “Up Stairs and Down,” “What Next,” “Lombardi Limited” and “The Brat.” Practically all of the exquisite prologue sets used by the Kinema and California theaters in some of their super photoplays are designed by the J. D. martin Scenic Co; in fact, the company is a pioneer in this branch of stage craft as it designed and executed the first prologue set used by W. H. Clune in his premiere presentation of D. W. Griffith’s master picture, “The Clansman,’”at Clune’s Auditorium in 1915, subsequently executing the same for Thos. H. Ince’s ‘Civilization,’ as well as many other notable photoplays.
During the war years, Martin’s studio was one of three listed in LA Directories, with the other two being Edwin H. Flagg Scenic Co. and Charles F. Thompson Scenic Co. By now, William Thomas Martin (1892-1967) was working for his father as a scenic artist. On his WWI draft registration, William listed his title as general manager of J. D. Martin Scenery Co, Central and Banning streets. In 1920, he listed “studio owner” as his occupation when the census was taken that year. William T. Martin would continue to list his role as Studio owner until 1940, when he listed “Proprietor of Theatre Productions” as his occupation. He took over the business when J. D. Martin passed away in 1927.
Los Angeles Historical Society. Sunset Boulevard and Myra Avenue Bridge, looking southeast from the south side of Sunset Boulevard at a point west of the bridge site, J. D. Martin Scenic Studio in left side of photo.
Throughout the 1920s, J. D. Martin projects made the news. Project included the American Theatre in Ventura and the Women’s Club in Bakersfield. However, at the onset of the decade, J. D. Martin Scenic Co., Los Angeles, was listed as a new corporation in Southwest Builders and Contractors. The announcement reported, “J. D. Martin Scenic Co., Los Angeles, Capital stock, $25,000: subscribed, $3000. Directors J. D. Martin and Wm. T. Martin, 215 E 25th St. and Fitch Fulton, 1510 Mohawk St.” I am going to briefly mention Fulton as he worked for three major scenic firms in the post-war years and 1920s: Edwin H. Flagg Scenic Studio, Sosman & Landis and J. D. Martin. Fulton’s biography is listed with my Sosman & Landis: Shaping the Landscape of American Theatre Employee series.
Although listed as a director for J. D. Martin in 1920, he was listed as a Master Artist there in 1922. That year, he painted scenery La Golondria scenery at the Hollywood Bowl in Pasadena. In 1924, the J D Martin Studio was damaged by fire. The blaze originated at the Progressive Tent and Awning Shop, 1091 Manzanita Street, but rapidly spread the neighboring buildings. Half of Martin’s studio was destroyed, ceasing all operations (Los Angeles Time and Los Angeles Evening Citizen News 24 Sept. 1924). In the aftermath, Fulton worked for Sosman & Landis, now under the direction of Thomas G. Moses and salesman Fred Megan. Between 1924 and 1926, Fulton worked with Moses on several Masonic projects, but neither the 1927 Salt Lake or Oakland Scottish Rite projects.
Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934)Thomas G. Moses in the model room at Sosman & Landis. Clipping in his scrapbook at the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas – Austin.
In 1925, Moses and Fulton refurbished old scenery and painted new scenery for the Pasadena Scottish Rite. On February 14, 1925, the Pasadena Post reported, “While Mr. Moses has watched carefully the painting of the curtains, much credit for their final perfection must go to his assistant and scenic artist, F. B. Fulton. Mr. Fulton believes the scenic work to be some of the finest he has ever produced. The final work of hanging and installing the curtains will. Be under the supervision of Harry Naile, a member of the Sosman & Landis Company. This work demands such expert workmanship that Mr. Naile was brought from Chicago so that no mistakes in installation could be made.”
Refurbished backdrop at the Pasadena Scottish Rite, c. 1902. This scene was originally installed at the Little Rock, Arkansas, Scottish Rite.
This was a significant period in the construction of Scottish Rite Theaters throughout the region. Studios were forming alliances and sharing their work force to complete massive Masonic projects in a compressed timeline. Sosman & Landis had relied on regional studios working with branch offices for decades, calling on former employees who has established their own firms in an area. One example was Edwin H. Flagg Studios and Sosman & Landis in 1925.
Edwin H. Flagg advertisement in the Los Angeles Evening Express 19 Feb 1921, p. 75.Edwin H. Flagg pictured in the Los Angeles Evening Post 12 March 1919 p. 7.
That year Moses wrote, “Took a trip over to Los Angeles to see Flagg at his studio…Flagg is anxious for Sosman & Landis Company to join him still. I can’t see it. While I would like to remain on the coast, I would not be able to agree with Flagg.” In the 1920s, Sosman & Landis landed one Masonic contract after another. An increasing number of projects were in the western states. So many, that Moses began planning the construction of a new Sosman & Landis Scenic Studio in California. Since 1879, the firm’s base for operations was situated in Chicago. However, they had regional offices and other studio spaces all over the country. In these shops, Moses had worked with many of the scenic artists, training dozens of young artists over the years. He knew the key players, how to win a bid, and when to walk away from a project. Sosman & Landis also went after the Long Beach Scottish Rite contract, with Moses writing, “I left Los Angeles on Friday, August 28th. The day before I left, I made one more trip to Long Beach to see if there was any chance for us to get in on Consistory work and found that the architect was an old school mate of one of our competitors, so I gracefully withdrew. No chance.”
Throughout the 1920s, however, Moses continued to work with former Sosman & Landis employees, including Fulton and Arthur Hurtt. There were quite a few scenic artists who had left Chicago studios for West Coast opportunities, especially during the post war years. During WWI, both Hurtt and Flagg had worked as camouflage artists, representing the Edwin H. Flagg Scenic Company. I have written about Hurtt in the past, as one of his backdrops is in the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Click HERE for more information about Hurtt.
Backdrop painted by Arthur Hurtt, now displayed at the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana. Edwin H. Flagg Studios and Arthur Hurtt mentioned in Camouflage article, Los Angeles Times 2 Sept 1919 p. 69.
Both Hurtt and Flagg had worked with Moses in Chicago early on in their careers. Each had moved to Los Angeles where work became more lucrative. In 1924, they even lived on the same street, with Fulton at 1510 and Hurtt at 1518 on Mohawk. The connections between scenic artists and studio was constant. Like many scenic artists in the 1920s, Fulton did not work exclusively at any one studio. However, he was a great asset to have on hand, as he knew what had been manufactured by competitors. He was extremely familiar with Masonic installations, having painted several throughout his career for Sosman & Landis. For a little background, as a young man, Fulton had studied at the Art Students League of New York City and at the Art Institute of Chicago under Vanderpoel, Freer, and J. Francis Smith. This was the same period where worked as a scenic artist at Sosman & Landis (both in Chicago’s main studio and their affiliate, New York studios). Like Martin, Fulton’s work with a touring show had brought him to California. In 1913, he was living in San Francisco. By 1916, he had moved to Los Angeles. Fulton became a member of the Academy of Western Painters, the California Watercolor Society and the California Art Club, among others. In later years, he completed projects at various studios and under his own name, with J. D. Martin executing his designs.
Little Rock written on back of the Camp scene backdrop, indicating the first venue (Little Rock Scottish Rite) where it was installed.Grand Encampment scene originally installed at the Little Rock Scottish Rote. Now used at the Pasadena Scottish Rite.
Fulton had a long history with refurbishing old and painting new Masonic scenery. This was a was a skill that he had acquired at Sosman & Landis, then passed on to J. D. Martin. Just prior to Martin’s creation of a scenery collection for the Long Beach Scottish Rite. From 1924-1925, Fulton assisted Moses on the Pasadena Scottish Rite scenery collection. They refurbished used scenery from the Little Rock (Arkansas) Scottish Rite and painted a few new scenes. The old (c. 1902) Little Rock collection had been divided up, with some scenes going to the Scottish Rite theatre in Pasadena and other scenes going to the Scottish Rite Theatre in Miami, Florida. Such was the case at the Long Beach Scottish Rite, with some of the scenes pre-date the building, as they were originally installed at a previous venue.
Scene refurbished by Thomas G. Moses and Fitch Fulton for the Pasadena Scottish Rite. The scene predates the Pasadena Scottish Rite. It was originally installed at the Little Rock Scottish Rite.
By 1926, Fulton was again working with J. D. Martin.
“New” drops created in 1926 for the Long Beach Stage have horizontal seams on the back, not vertical as they earlier ones. The new drops in the 1926 collection consists of scenes depicting the Persian Palace, the Holy of Holies in King Solomon’s Temple, Hades, Hillside Cavern, the Crucifixion, a Garden, the Grand Encampment, and a Commander’s Tent.
Cave scene delivered by Martin Studios for the Long Beach Scottish Rite, 1926.Painted detail from Cave scene, c. 1926. Notice blue shadow work.Garden scene delivered by Martin Studios for the Long Beach Scottish Rite, 1926.
Most of these drops are easily identifiable as there is a predominance of blue incorporated into the shadows, characteristic of painted illusion produced in the 1920s. Drops that pre-date the building, those created long before the 1926 installation, are identified by vertical seams. They include settings that depict Egypt, Woods, Quarry, Treasure Chamber, River, Scaffolding Rebuilding the Temple leg drop. These scenes were refurbished to accompany new scenery at the Long Beach Scottish Rite.
Painted detail from the Wood scene at the Long Beach Scottish Rite. Notice that the shadow work is more lavender and not bright blue. This drop predates 1926. It was refurbished and installed alongside new scenery.Wood setting installed in 1926 at the Long Beach Scottish Rite by Martin Studio. This setting was refurbished to accompany new drops for the 1926 installation.
In fact, Martin Studios delivered second-generation scenery to other Masonic theaters with first-generation scenery by Sosman and Landis. One example is the Tucson Scottish Rite. In 1914, Sosman & Landis delivered a scenery collection to the venue. In 1931, J. D. Martin Studios manufactured and shipped a floor cloth and other scenic items to the Scottish Rite Cathedral Association in Tucson, Arizona, in 1931.
Floorcloth with Martin Studios stencil in the corner. Tucson Scottish Rite.
Scottish Rite theaters received credit on their purchase of a second scenery collection. Think of trading in a used car when purchasing a new one. The trade-in may be low, but it will be resold for much, much more. Almost four decades after the installation of the 1926 scenery collection, some new settings replaced the original. Between 1962 and 1979, Phil Raiguel painting new scenery for the Long Beach Scottish Rite. Raiguel is the topic of my next post.
