Mike Hume, Rick Boychuk, and I took the train from Newcastle upon Tyne, England, to Glasgow, Scotland, on Sept. 15. We were scheduled to meet up with Megumi (scenic art tutor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) and visit three theaters. Alan Butland also traveled up from Newcastle to spend time with us on our adventure.
Megumi in front of Wallace Studios, Royal Conservatoire Scotland. We first met at a CITT (Canadian Institute of Theatre Technology) scene painting workshop (2018, St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada).
For our Glasgow visit, Mike scheduled tours at the Theatre Royal, King’s Theatre, and the Citizen’s Theatre (the Citz). Our visit to both the Theatre Royal Glasgow and the King’s Theatre was facilitated by Gary Painter of UK’s Cinema Theatre Association. He could not have been more accommodating or kind!
Gary and Mike at the stage door, Theatre Royal Glasgow.
When all was said and done, we visited seven theaters before hopping a train for Edinburgh that evening.
Mike Hume in action at the Theatre Royal Glasgow.Hume’s theatre photography is not only beautiful, but also informative.
None of our theater visits would have been possible without Hume’s previous visits to the venues, and various relationships that he has cultivated over the years. Thank you again, Mike!
Here are a few of my photographs from our visit on Sept. 13, 2023.
Here is also the link to the Theatre Royal Glasgow’s website:
On Sept. 12, 2023, Mike Hume, Rick Boychuk, and I visited two theaters in York, Yorkshire, England. Today’s post is about our first stop and tour at the Grand Opera House York. Hume had arranged a tour with Technical and Buildings Manager, Joe Strange (pictured below).
Wendy Waszut-Barrett, Mike Hume, Joe Strange, and Rick Boychuk at the Grand Opera House York.
For geographical context, York is located north of London, at the confluence where the Foss and Ouse Rivers. Founded in 71 AD when Roman General Quintus Petillius Cerialis and the Ninth Legion constructed a military fortress. Roman origins remain quite visible throughout the city, forming the basis for later medieval structures.
Our walk to the Grand Opera House and Theatre Royal provided a wonderful opportunity to explore York. On a grey damp day, we passed by “The Shambles” (a medieval street), Sir Thomas Herbert’s House (Tudor), the Cathedral and Metropolitan Church of Saint Peter (York Minster), and the Assembly Rooms.
Walking through the Shambles section of York.
Sir Thomas Herbert’s House.
York Minster.
Another view of York Minster.
The Assembly Rooms. The building was erected by public subscription 1730-1736 to the design of Richard Boyle, Earl of Burlington.
The theater emerged from a previous building, dating from 1868. It was architect John P. Briggs who drew plans that converted a corn exchange and warehouse to a performance space. This 1902 venue recently underwent a major refurbishment.
Hume arranged a tour with Joe Strange, Technical and Building Manager of the Grand Opera House York.
Stage door and loading doors, Grand Opera House York.Joe is in the red shirt waiting at the stage door.
The exterior of the building still boasts tall doors; doors that provided necessary access for touring wings and other large flats. Here are several photos from our tour
A view of the auditorium from the stage.
Metal safety curtain at the Grand Opera House York.
Detail of safety curtain.
Backside of the safety curtain.
Ben Hur mural above the proscenium.
The Ben Hur mural above the proscenium arch.
Detail of the mural.
Detail of the mural.
Joe Strange in theupper gallery at the Grand Opera House York.
Auditorium Grand Opera House York.View of the opera boxes.
Opera Box detail.
More ornamental decor.
View of the stage and auditorium.
Looking up at the gridiron.
Rick Boychuk and Joe Strange discussing the grid.
The grid.
The grid.
The Fly floor looking upstage.
The fly floor.
This may be the most cozy fly floor that I have encountered to date.
My favorite backstage sign…“make it epic…”
The bridge (upstage/exterior wall). View from stage left.
I greatly appreciate the time that Joe spent giving us a tour of the building and sharing the history of this beautiful theater.
In 1924 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “During July, we had a number of designs to make. We closed an $18,000.00 contract at Memphis for the Civic Auditorium; very big drops and asbestos curtains.”
This was the new Memphis Municipal Auditorium in Tennessee. The facility had been in the planning stage for quite some time, with early committees forming in 1912. By 1919, the architect’s drawings were published in local newspapers. The idea was to not only build an amphitheater that could accommodate eleven thousand people, but also design one that could be converted into an opera house that could accommodate between two-thousand and seven-thousand audience members. There would be a stage, orchestra pit, tickets offices and all other requirements for a modern theater. The first public gathering of the auditorium was on June 3, 4, and 5, 1924 for the United Confederate Veteran’s Reunion. Although the building was not complete, visitors were able to gather in the main auditorium. The formal opening was on October 17, 1924 with two free concerts conducted by John Philip Sousa, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. Dedicatory exercises as part of the evening’s entertainment.
The auditorium was located in downtown Memphis on the corner of Poplar Avenue and Main Street, right next to the railroad. The facility had a seating capacity for 11,000 and boasted 30,000 square feet of display space. It was a massive undertaking with an electric movable stage.
In 1926, “The Story of the Memphis Auditorium” was published and described building. One section thoroughly described the auditorium and stage: “The history of the large auditorium in America has been one of steady progress from the armory and amphitheater type of structure to the modern convention hall and opera house of today. The program for the Memphis Auditorium was an ambitious one, calling for a large convention hall seating about twelve thousand, with arrangement to be provided for converting it into an opera house of considerable size, with provision for a stage to accommodate the most elaborate scenic effects” (page 39).
Later in the book, the stage house and mechanics were described in detail:
“The stage is forty-two feet wide by the entire width of the auditorium back of the arena wall behind the circle of boxes and seats, which is one hundred thirty-five feet on the floor and one hundred thirteen feet between the fronts of the balconies above, the latter being the actual width of the enclosed stage house. Among the many peculiar problems of this building was the design and construction of the stage house. A stage house must be a fireproof structure, generally built of concrete or brick walls, be provided with gridiron arrangement for raising and lowering scenery and for hanging same when it is not needed on the stage. It must have a steel asbestos curtain to cover the entire stage opening which will automatically close in case of fire, and in an ordinary theater has a rear stage door for taking scenery in an out. Dressing rooms are generally arranged on either side of the stage.
“It was found necessary to build the upper part of this stage house of structural steel with reinforced concrete upon the inside from a height of forty-five feet to the arena floor to the roof of the building. This necessitated dropping the ceiling of the north hall at the point noted one hundred sixty feet from exchange street wall, and designing that part of the building in a separate unit as a large auditorium for the giving of operas, fetes, etc. from the stage. The stage house proper, then, is a solid concrete wall under a concrete roof one hundred and thirteen feet long by forty feet deep long and forty feet high at its highest point. This was ample height to install all machinery, gridirons, etc. When the stage is in use from wither hall, walls of special fireproof construction are let down by machinery from above, making a hollow wall below built up of steel and asbestos products, with a large air space in between. When these walls are in place for a theatrical production the stage house is similar to that of any other theater, with the exception of the method of construction and the fact that the stage has a proscenium opening on either side.
“The curtain openings are each seventy by thirty-two feet. The stage is deep enough to receive one hundred and twenty lines of scenery, which is all that could be required in present day theatrical performance, and up-to-date opera company using only about eighty. The stage house and openings are as large if not larger than in any other country. All of the fireproof walls, etc., which can go below permanent stage house can be raised into the latter by means of motors located on the gridiron level by the turning of a switch. The stage walls may be raised slowly in at this manner in forty-five minutes; while a complete change from two halls with stage into a large amphitheater may be made in eight hours.
“The large truss at the north side of the stage house, which carries a large part of the load, has a span of two hundred feet and weighs sixteen hundred tons. All of the steel work in connection with the stage house is fireproofed with hollow tile or concrete. The stage itself when in position is five feet above the arena floor and three feet above the floor of the concert hall. This stage is set on a series of screws which operate by motors to raise or lower it to any desired height. When the stage is lowered to the arena floor and all walls are raised to the attic, a fireproof collapsible ceiling is suspended over the opening of the stage house and below the hanging scenes, asbestos curtains, suspended walls and border lights. When this is done the auditorium is open for its entire length. The boxes, circle seats, and balcony seats continue south below and at each end of the stage house, so that the amphitheater is two hundred feet wide for a distance of two hundred and twenty feet from the north wall and one hundred and thirteen feet wide from this point to the south wall.
“At each side of the stage house above the balcony and on a level with the bottom of the permanent stage house – that is, forty-five feet above the arena floor – is a space forty-two feet wide by fifty-five feet long, designed to be used as an organ loft. These is also a connecting space eleven by one hundred and thirteen feet south of the stage house at this same level, which will be used in distributing the sounds from the two parts of the organ into the concert hall when the music is wanted there. The organ blowers and motors are all on this same level. Baffles will be used to direct the sound room from the organ to either the north hall or the south hall as desired. The organ is not installed at the time the building was built, but is now being provided for.
“Another very necessary feature of an auditorium which has full theatrical equipment is ample dressing room area. This is provided for in a unique way. On the stage floor level at either side are two star dressing rooms with private toilets, a stairway up to ta mezzanine dressing room section and a door to the main corridor thirteen feet wide, into which auto trucks can be driven with scenery, equipment and trunks. The larger pieces of scenery are brought in through the center, north or south doors, as the case may be, to the back of the stage. The orchestra pit has the usual connection to men’s chorus room and retiring rooms in the basement.”
At the beginning of 1922 Thomas G. Moses was working in Tacoma, painting scenery for the Scottish Rite. Of the project, he wrote, “Harry Naile showed up the latter part of February. We then started to get things into the Temple and it began to look like a job. I did a picture of Jerusalem for the asbestos curtain, and it came out very good…On the completion of our contract and on the eve of our departure, the trustees gave us a dinner in our honor, which was attended by Harry Naile, it was very fine – we certainly felt honored….completed our work on April 1st, got all settled and with Naile and the Madam, we started south. Enjoyed the trip very much; had two days in San Francisco, then took the boat for Stockton. On our arrival, we found the large hotel was laboring under the delusion of war rates. So, we found a small apartment, very nicely furnished, and we certainly enjoyed it. Naile had good accommodations at a small hotel.” Moses and Naile were traveling from one project to another. This had remained the standard practice at Sosman & Landis from the beginning; a scenic artist and carpenter were paired for most on site projects. Occasionally, if a job required more hands, a second scenic artists was sent on site. For Moses, this was frequently Ed Loitz. However, stage carpenter’s such as Naile also filled in as the primary scenic artist’s assistant after the construction was completed and a second set of hands was needed on site. This speaks to the versatility of the Sosman & Landis stage carpenters at the time.
Harry Elmore Naile worked as a carpenter and assistant to Moses from 1922-1925. I have yet to determine how long he worked at Sosman & Landis in that capacity, but he was repeatedly mentioned in Moses Memoirs at this time. Projects in addition to the Tacoma Scottish Rite completed by Naile included the Binghamton Scottish Rite (1923) and the Pasadena Scottish Rite (1925). In Binghamton, it was Moses, Loitz and Naile. Of the project, Moses wrote, “I got settled at the Marion Hotel, Loitz and Naile got quarters up near the Temple.” Basically, Moses showed up to painter, while Loitz and Naile prepared everything for his arrival. Moses had specifically asked to work with Naile in 1923. In regard to the Binghamton project, he wrote, “I insisted on having Naile on the job, so Hunt allowed me to send for him. He and Mrs. Naile arrived on the 1st of October and we then proceeded to get things going.”
For larger projects, local labor was added as needed. So, in Binghamton, Naile hired a crew. You see, Moses was painting a variety of scenery at the Binghamton Scottish Rite, including drops destined for Eldorado and Wichita. Of this group, Moses wrote, “Naile and his men are not giving me full service and I am getting desperate, as to my ability to pull the contract through with profit.”
Born on June 15, 1879, he was the son of Mary Elizabeth Orr (1854-1900) and Louis Phillip Naile (1855-1918); one of four children born to the couple. His siblings were Roy (1886-?), Grace (1891-?), and Ralph ( 1897-1958). His father was a house carpenter who later remarried after the death of his first, so there is also a half-sister, Loretta (1908-?).
Harry grew up in Pierceton, Indiana. He met and married Georgia E. Robinson (b. 28 Jan. 1888) 1907. Georgia was the only child of William W. Robinson (1863-1926) and Mary A. “Mamie” Rogers (1869-1954), born in Kansas. Her father was a painter, and likely the link that connected Harry and Georgia. On June 1, 1907, the couple tied the knot in Colorado Springs, with Edgar W. Work performing the ceremony. He was twenty-seven years old at the time, and Georgia was only nineteen years old. Interesting fact: Colorado required the grooms to be over 21 years old when applying for a marriage license, but the brides needed to be only eighteen years old. Regardless, the couple spent much of their marriage apart, with Harry lodging in various hotels and boarding houses for work. The 1913 Polk County directory listed “Naile, Harry E. (Georgia), removed to Chicago, Illinois.
His 1918 draft registration card listed Harry as the stage mechanic for the Chateau Theatre at 3810 Broadway in Chicago, living at 514 E. 42nd Street. His was described at 5’-7” tall, with a slender build and blue eyes. Interestingly, no hair color was listed; the first omission that I have encountered to date.
In 1920, he was lodging with several theatrical performers at 57 East Van Buren Street in South Town Chicago. I have yet to track down where Georgia was living at this time, or if she returned to stay with her parents when he was on the road. The couple had no children, so it was not as if she needed to stay in any one place for long. When opportunity presented itself, she also traveled with her husband, such as to Binghamton, New York.
By 1925, Moses and Nail were working at the Scottish Rite Theatre in Pasadena, California. The Pasadena Scottish Rite had purchased a used scenery collection that needed to be touched-up, supplemented, and installed. Nail was in charge of both the used stage machinery and scenery installation. Of the work, Moses wrote, “Harry Naile is coming along with his work fairly well, and we will finish on time without a doubt.” Naile was also mentioned in “Pasadena Evening Post.” The article reported, “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 form Chicago so that no mistake in installation could be made” (Pasadena Evening Post, 14 Feb. 1925, page 16).
After the Pasadena Scottish Rite project, Moses and Nail worked in San Jose. Of the project, Moses wrote, “I started for San Jose on March 27th and found Naile had everything in good shape.” They then worked in Los Angeles on the Fullerton job. That was the last mention of Naile in Moses’ memoirs, and I have located no mention of Naile in the newspapers during the remainder of the decade.
By 1930, Naile was living at the Kenomore Beach Hotel, 552 Kenmore Avenue, in Chicago. The 1930 US Federal Census listed Naile as a superintendent for a theatrical supply company, although it remains unclear as to which firm. He died shortly after the US Federal census recorded his employment.
Naile passed away on September 15, 1930. He was only fifty years old at the time and had been married to Georgia for twenty-three years. I have yet to locate any death notice or obituary, giving any cause for his passing.
Georgia was left a widow at forty-six years old and never remarried. She lost her father only four years earlier. Her mother also lived a long life, remaining a widow for almost three decades. I believe that Georgia returned to Colorado Springs where she lived with her mother. Georgia was a widow for forty-five years.
Mrs. Harry E. Naile
Of Georgia’s own passing the “Gazette Telegraph” in Colorado Springs reported, “Naile- Mrs. Georgia Naile, 2612 W. Cucharras, passed away Tuesday at a local nursing home. Arrangements later” (12 March 1975, page 4).
Both Georgia and Harry are buried in Colorado Springs’ Evergreen Cemetery.
The final resting place of Harry and Georgia Maile in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
In 1921 Thomas G. Moses wrote,
“Did two watercolors for Mr. Hoblitzelle, which I trust will be pleasing to him
and his wife.” This was immediately after Moses painted the asbestos curtain
and decorated Hoblitzelle’s new Majestic Theatre in 1921.
Karl Hoblitzelle pictured with his new Majestic Theatre in 1921.
Much has been written about Karl
St. John Hoblitzelle, namesake of the Hoblitzelle Foundation.
The following write up about Hoblitzelle
is included as part of the foundation’s history (https://hoblitzelle.org/about):
“Karl St. John Hoblitzelle was born in St. Louis in
1879. While serving as an event manager at the St. Louis World Fair in his
early 20s, Karl Hoblitzelle met performers and concession operators who
indicated the south, in particular Texas, lacked venues to showcase their work
and talent. Upon the fair’s closing in 1903, Karl Hoblitzelle came to
Dallas, Texas with $2,500 and began to build a chain of vaudeville
theaters. At its peak, Interstate Theater Company held 160 theaters across
Texas and the Southeast. These theaters were soon transformed into movie
houses, and the success of this entertainment business created financial
resources which he invested in the growing oil and gas, real estate, and
banking industries in Texas.
Karl Hoblitzelle married Esther Thomas in 1920, a Broadway
starlet who had performed under the name of “Esther Walker” and come to Dallas
to perform at one of the theaters. Both were active in the social, civic,
and cultural activities of Dallas, and did not have any descendants.
Prudent management of their financial assets resulted in the
accumulation of significant wealth, which upon the death of Mrs. Hoblitzelle in
1943 and Mr. Hoblitzelle in 1967, became the corpus of Hoblitzelle Foundation.
It was likely that Moses first
met Karl St. John Hoblitzelle at the St. Louis World’s Fair. Moses attended the
event with his wife Ella, checking on several attractions delivered by the
Sosman & Landis Studio for the event. Moses frequently gifted a painted to client’s
he considered good friends by the end of a project. It is no surprise that
Hoblitzelle was the recipient of two watercolor paintings. I wonder where they
are now?
In 1921, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Mitchell of
Mitchell and Halbach has engaged my services for Dallas, Texas, for the new
Majestic Theatre.”
The Majestic Theatre in Dallas, Texas.
To clarify, a well-known interior decorating firm subcontracted some of the work for the new Majestic Theatre in Dallas to Thomas G. Moses, representing Sosman & Landis. Since the establishment of Soman & Landis, the firm delivered stage scenery and painted décor for a variety of venues. This does not mean that Moses was credited for any of the Majestic Theatre painting as a subcontractor.
Since the late nineteenth century, Mitchell and Halbach were
well known interior decorators and furnishers, located at 1715 S. Michigan Ave.
in Chicago, Illinois. In 1921 they advertised as “specialists in high class
interior decorations and furnishings for public and private buildings. Moses had even hired Mitchell & Halbach
to decorate the rooms in his own home.
Later in 1921 Moses specified his contribution to the
Majestic Theatre in Dallas, writing, “I was successful with the asbestos
curtain, and then went on to the wall decorations, which were very interesting
and finally the playroom which was doubly interesting.” Moses remained in the
south for nine weeks, working on the Majestic Theatre, Dallas Shrine scenery, and negotiating future
contracts with the Scottish Rite in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Asbestos curtain painted by Thomas G. Moses, representing Sosman & Landis, that was subcontracted by Mitchell & Halback for the Majestic Theatre in Dallas, Texas, 1921.
Moses was accompanied by his wife Ella [Madam] when they
headed south that February, writing, “On the 15th I started for
Dallas, where I arrived the next day, late in the afternoon. I was pleased to get this work as it was away
from the extreme cold weather and a novel adventure for the Madam and myself.”
Later that spring, Moses wrote, “Made a side trip to Little
Rock to settle on the Scottish Rite Temple.
I hope to be able to close the contract very soon. I enjoyed the trip as I saw some very
interesting old buildings. On my return
to Dallas, it didn’t take me long to complete the work.
Of Moses’ Majestic Theatre painting, advertisements
announced, “In the vast auditorium that seats 3,000, a Roman Garden has been
reproduced in detail. Overhead a sunset sinks to rest, sending the flaming
amber tinted farewell to a sky that heralds the night with its millions of
twinkling stars. One every side, seen over flower-covered walls, is a vision of
‘Gods Out-of-Doors, cloud-kissed hills with dormant Vesuvius rising on the distance to greet them”
(Corsica Daily Sun, 1 April 1921, page 10).
Dallas Majestic Theatre advertisement published in the “Corsicana Sun,” 1 April 1921, page 10.
The Majestic Theatre in Dallas
opened on April 11, 1921. It was advertised as the “New 2 Million Dollar Peak
on the Dallas Sky-line” (Corsicana Daily Sun, 1 April 1921, page 10). This was
the flagship of Karl St. John Hoblitzelle’s Interstate Amusement Company chain
of theaters. Replacing Hoblitzelle’s previous Majestic Theatre from 1905 that
burned to the ground in 1916. Located at the corner of Commerce and St. Paul
streets, the five-story building boasted 20,000 square feet and was also home
to business offices for Hoblitzelle. The Renaissance Revival structure was
designed by John Eberson.” Later in 1921, Moses would write, “Did two
watercolors for Mr. Hoblitzelle, which I trust will be pleasing to him and his
wife.” Moses frequently gifted fine art paintings to his theatre clients. It
was a personal thank you for the work and added credibility to the artistic
works for the stage.
Dallas Majestic Theatre advertisement published in the “Dallas Express,” 8 Oct 1921, page 7.
On October 13, 1921, the “Corsicana Daily Sun” reported, “When Fair visitors go to Dallas this year there will be one place they will all want to go – The New Majestic of Dallas, For to come to Dallas and fail to see this palatial show house would be like going to Rome and forgetting to visit the Vatican. The New Majestic of Dallas is conceded to be the peer of all playhouses in the world for it possesses a Majesticland. A playground that is all of 90 feet long and 50 wide- containing all manner of toys, animals, merry go rounds, slides, etc. Mary Garden the famous diva of the Chicago Symphony Opera Co. declared that even she – in her plans and ambitions for an ideal playhouse never dreamed of such innovation and theatredom as Majesticland. But Majesticland is the only one of the many perfect details of this beautiful theatre. Throughout it is an example of the highest art. Patterned after the beautiful decorations of Louis Sixteenth it stands alone in its simple elegance of beauty n in the entire southwest” (page 10).
Advertisements stated, “The ancients never thought of going to Rome without visiting the Coliseum. No one thinks of going to Paris without visiting the Louvre. No one thinks of going to Washington, D.C. without seeing the Capitol Building and White House. Correspondingly – on one thinks of going to Dallas without visiting the New Majestic Theatre – the Greatest Amusement Institution in America” (Dallas Express, 8 Oct. 1921, page 7).
The “Scenic Artists” column in “The Billboard” that year reported, “Thos. G. Moses, art director for the Sosman & Landis Studios, is at Dallas, Tex., painting the new curtain and mural gardens in the new Majestic Theater now under construction. Mr. Moses states that this new Dallas House is one of the most wonderful in the country, having a number of unique features that make it interesting.” This article was clipped by Moses and placed in his scrapbook. There is no exact date or page number.
Al Ringling text panel at the Circus Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin.The Al Ringling Theatre in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
In 1915, Moses wrote, “The new
theatre we did at Baraboo for Al Ringling was a good contract at
$2,600.00. I went up to open and found a
beautiful theatre, very unique in design, fifty years ahead of the town.” Al
Ringling hired the architectural firm of Rapp and Rapp to design a theater
based on the Orpheum Theatre built in Champaign, Illinois in 1914. The “Janesville
Daily Gazette” announced, “Theatrical men, scenic painters, canvas makers and
many prominent citizens from Chicago and other towns, all of whom were bound
for Baraboo to do honor to a man who had the courage to build in that city one
of the finest, if not the finest, playhouse in America, Mr. Al Ringling. (20
Nov. 1915, page 20). There were 844 seats, with seventeen boxes, each
containing six seats. The stage was 33’-6” deep, 60’ wide and 46’ high. The
massive fire curtain of asbestos measured 24’ high by 40’ wide, weighing 750
pounds.
The Al Ringling Theatre in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
The Ringling Theatre opened its
doors in November 17, 1915.
D. W. Watt wrote a lovely
article about the theater’s opening. Published in the “Janesville Daily Gazette”
on Nov. 20, 1915, Watts described meeting with Ringing and attending the event (page
6). It is a long, but touching, article that describes the man and his project
from the perspective of a friend. Here is the article in its entirety:
“Side Lights on the Circus
Business.
On Wednesday of this week, I
took the 11:35 train over the Northern road for Baraboo, Wis., where I had been
invited to be the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Al Ringling at the opening of their
beautiful new theatre. On entering the train at Janesville, I was soon greeted
by many old friends, among them Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Ringling and their son,
Robert, who make their home at Evanston, Illinois; Alf T. Ringling and son,
Richard, of New York City, and many other prominent circus people, who for many
years have been with the Ringling and Barnum shows. Theatrical men, scenic
painters, canvas makers and many prominent citizens from Chicago and other
towns, all of whom were bound for Baraboo to do honor to a man who had the
courage to build in that city one of the finest, if not the finest playhouse in
America, Mr. Al Ringling.
“At Madison, many prominent
people joined the party, among who were the son-in-law and daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Charles Ringling, and by the time the train reached Baraboo, it was
crowded like an excursion train bound for the big Ringling circus. On our
arrival in Baraboo, Henry Ringling was there with a big touring car to meet his
brother, Charles, and family, and the crowd soon left the depot in differing
directions, everybody in a hurry, and seeming to know just where they wanted to
go.
“Many of the old employees
visited the winter quarters, and others the homes of old friends. As soon as I
had brushed off a little of the dust I was on my way to the home of Mr. and
Mrs. Al Ringling. As it was information that I was looking after, I made up my
mind there was only one place to go, and that was headquarters. In a few
minutes I was at the palatial home, which is only a short distance around the
corner from the theatre.
“The massive home with its many
entrances, it was difficult for me, as they would say in the circus, “to pick
out the main entrance,” but I finally pushed the button and a male servant
appeared at the door, and asked me for my card, but I politely told him that I
only had one deck in my pocket and I did not care to break that, but I was an
old friend of Mr. Ringling and was there to make an informal call.
He ushered me into a large room
which Mr. Ringling has used much of the time through his sickness, as kind of a
business office, and I found him busy dictating telegrams and letters to his
secretary, and I was soon seated in a big easy leather chair, and Al said to
his secretary, “Young man, there will be nothing more doing for a time, for I
have many questions to ask Mr. Watt, and we will make a visit here while you
run up town and attend to some other business.
I so told Mr. Ringling the
business part of my visit was to find out as much of the particulars as
possible about the beautiful new playhouse and how he came to build so fine and
beautiful a theater in a city the size of Baraboo.
The ground on which the theater
is built and which has been owned by Mr. Ringling for some time is eighty-eight
feet frontage on the corner, almost directly opposite the old stone court
house, and 132 feet deep, but after Mr. Ringling had his plans for the building
all completed, and just the size that he wanted it, he found that he was short
four feet of ground in the rear of the building, which he would have to have in
order to get just the size auditorium and stage that he had figured on. This
land fortunately belonged to the city, and he was not long in getting a deed of
the extra four feet. In a few days the work was commenced, which was early in
the spring.
It was about four o’clock in the
afternoon on Wednesday, when everything was completed and up in shape, ready to
be occupied in the evening. The building is as near fireproof as it is possible
to build one, the entire front being two shades of granite and white marble,
and the entire building re-enforced steel and cement. There are two lobbies at
the main entrance of the theatre, a beautiful marble trimmed office being the
first lobby and the second entrance there are six swinging doors and on
entering the second lobby, there is a beautiful fountain, and opposite on the
right was what they called an Italian rest bench. From this you enter the main floor,
which contains 844 seats raised from the stage so that every seat gives a good
view of the stage, as does the front row. There are seventeen boxes, which
contain six seats each.
“Beautiful dark red velvet
carpets cover the cement floors on the inside, as they also do down the main
aisles. The curtains and draperies in the boxes are in keeping with the carpets
and of the same color. The huge marble columns on the inside, with their brass
trimming, presented a most beautiful sight. As the tickets were all sold in
advance, the lights were kept well turned down until the entire audience was
seated, and it was almost time for the curtain to go up when the lighting plant
in the second was turned on, and the cheers that went up from the people at
their first sight of the playhouse was deafening and lasted for some minutes.
“In the private boxes were many
prominent people from different parts of the state, Gov. Phillip and a party of
friends being in one box; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ringling and family in another,
and Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ringling and friends, and Al Ringling and his wife with
some friends in another. As a large party of the audience came in full dress,
it was certainly a wonderful sight to behold.
The Al Ringling Theatre with front curtain painted by Sosman & Landis.
“After Mr. Ringling had given me
as many particulars as possible about the building, I asked him what I should
say about the cost, or the approximate cost of the entire investment, and he
simply smiled and shook his head and said: ‘Nothing doing. That Dave,’ said he,
‘has never entered into the game. My object from the start to finish was to
give the people as fine a playhouse for the size of it as there was anywhere,
and the architects and finishers and many theatrical men have said that I
accomplished my undertaking. And is so, then I am satisfied, for I have had so
much pleasure in all the years that I have been in business, and although at
times it seemed hard, it was a pleasure for me to make the money, and now is I
have done something with a part of it that will bring pleasure to my friends
and neighbors, I have accomplished something.’
“And if the warm welcome that Al
Ringling and his esteemed wife received in their private box at the close of
the show goes for anything, their friends are legion.
“Mr. and Mrs. Harry North and
friends occupied a box next to Mr. and Mrs. Al Ringling. Mrs. North is the only
sister of the Ringling brothers.
“Sosman & Landis company of
Chicago did the scenic painting in the new theatre; Gustave Brand of New York
and Chicago were the decorators; The Ornamental Plaster & Carving Company
did the plaster work; the Wiley Bros. of Chicago were the general contractors;
Charles Kleckner, of Baraboo, the general painting; the Mandel Bros. of Chicago
furnished the draperies, carets and seat coverings; Victor S. Pearlman Company
installed the lighting fixtures of which there are 2,500.
The stage is 33 ½ x 60 feet wide
and 46 feet high, and the beautiful marquetry awning reaches out to the edge of
the sidewalk, and all is metal and glass and underneath is a mass of electric
lights. A massive fire curtain of asbestos, which is 24 x 40 feet and weights
750 pounds, serves as a protection between the stage and the main floor.
The fire curtain by Sosman & Landis.
“An organ, which cost $5,000 was
furnished by a local music house of Baraboo, and is said to be one of the
finest of its kind in the country.
“The dressing rooms, of which there are many, are furnished with the latest of everything; in fact, nothing has been overlooked to make it the most complete theater of its size in all appointments, that there is in the country.
“The ushers were all in uniform and all seemed to work as though they had been at it for years.
“Long before the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Al Ringling, their box was simply a bower of roses and beautiful flowers of all descriptions, among which was apiece over four feet high given them by the Commercial Club of Baraboo.
“And after the fall of the curtain on the first act, Governor Phillip was called upon for a speech, in which he said in part that he was there with other friends and neighbors to do honor to a man who had honored Baraboo and its people for so many years. He paid the Ringling brothers a glowing tribute for the way in which they had always conducted their business and said without any question, they had done more to build up the models of the circus people than any who had ever been in business. He congratulated the people of Baraboo and the surrounding country on their being so fortunate as to have a man in their community who would build such a beautiful playhouse, where they could go for years to come, and always be proud to point it out to their friends as the theatre beautiful, which will always be known as the Al Ringling Theatre.
“And for myself with the many
old friends surrounding me, I almost fancied that I backed up thirty years of
more and was again in the business, for I thought that I could smell the
sawdust and menagerie, but the dream pipe soon went out, and I had to bid my
old friends adieu and take the train back home. But Wednesday, November 17th
put another bright day in my life, all through the kindness of an old friend
whom I met in the circus business more than thirty years ago – Al Ringling.”
To be continued…
The Al Ringling Theatre at night in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
Asbestos curtain design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co., now part of the Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.
In 1913, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Miles asbestos curtain in Cleveland, which I did, hangs badly and big dents kill my picture. As it is a woven wire asbestos there is no remedy – they should never be folded, always rolled.” There were many different ways to construct a fire curtain for the theatre, with a wire substrate being one.
Asbestos curtain design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co., now part of the Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.
The demand for asbestos curtains dramatically increased after the 1903 Iroquois Theatre tragedy. As theaters implemented additional steps for fire prevention, asbestos curtain orders increased for at Sosman & Landis. There were a variety of ways to manufacture and install fire curtains as the time, but only one way to ship – rolled. All asbestos curtains demanded careful handling to avoid damaging a painted scene. In 1909, an article in the “Democrat and Chronicle” commented on the installation of a Sosman & Landis asbestos curtain at the Temple Theatre in Rochester, New York: “The asbestos, or fire curtain, will be the first to be placed so as to avoid wrinkling and the beautiful drop curtain will be the last thing” (25 October 1909, page 10).
Colored photograph in sales catalogue. Asbestos curtain design by the Twin City Scenic Co., now part of the Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.
Today, we hear asbestos and cringe, with many people
demanding its removal, regardless of how beautiful. In 1913, reading the word
“asbestos” on a drop curtain meant safety.
So what is this dangerous substance that caused once comfort
and now causes concern? Asbestos.com (sponsored by the Mesothelioma Center)
notes, “Asbestos is a group of six naturally occurring fibrous minerals
composed of thin, needle-like fibers. Exposure to asbestos causes several
cancers and diseases, including mesothelioma and asbestosis. Although asbestos
strengthens and fireproofs materials, it is banned in many countries. Asbestos
is not banned in the United States.” The main problem is that when asbestos
fibers are inhaled or ingested, the mineral fibers can become trapped in the
body. Trapped asbestos fibers can cause inflammation, scarring and genetic
damage to the bodies cells.
In 1913, however, asbestos was considered a common and
useful product. There were even asbestos pockets in men’s suits, allowing them
to tuck away burning cigarettes. Nearly all of the asbestos mined in the United
States came from Vermont and Virginia, although a little came from Wyoming. The
finest asbestos was considered to be from the Grand Canyon of Colorado and
Arizona. In 1913, asbestos was advertised
as “the most important fire-proofing material known” and was in great demand
for commercial and home use (Lead Daily Call, Lead, South Dakota, 14 Oct. 1913,
page 3). The “Lead Daily Call” reported, “Its fibrous structure adapts it to a
wide range of applications, from woven fabrics such as theatre curtains and
articles of clothing to various forms of asbestos shingles, stucco, plaster,
“lumber,” and other building materials that render structures thoroughly
fireproof. Its lightness, strength, durability, and insulating property against
heat and electricity give it special advantages for structural uses in cars and
electric motor subways…The most common use of asbestos paper, millboard, pipe
covering, and lagging to enclose heat pipes, furnaces, and locomotives in order
to prevent loss of heat by radiation. As a non-conductor of heat it may be used
not only in the preparation of fire proof safes and vaults, but also cold
storage and cooling structures. Houses made of asbestos materials or coated
with asbestos throughout are not only warmer in winter, but cooler in summer.
In recent years, asbestos has been used successfully as a filler in high grade
paints. The finest asbestos thread yet spun carried a small percentage of
cotton and runs over 2 miles to the pound.”
Here is one article that put it all in perspective for
me. On October 25, 1913, the “Ottumwa Tri-Weekly Courier” published “Just a Few
Helpful Uses for Asbestos About the House” (Ottumwa, Iowa, page 4). It is well
worth reading for historical context.
“In your list of household conveniences have you included
a sheet or two of asbestos.
You’d be really surprised to known how valuable this is
about the house. There are thousands of uses to which it may be put to save
work and worry.
You see, asbestos is such a splendid non-conductor of
heat that it equalizes and lessens considerable heat, thus preventing things
from burning when it is intercepted. In addition to this it is non-combustible,
which still further adds to its desirability as a household accessory.
In the kitchen, the laundry, the dining room, the
bathroom – practically in every room in the house it may be used.
The housekeeper as cook can lay a sheet of asbestos over
the gas burner and plate a kettle of jam upon it. The heat will be so modified
as to lessen the opportunity for the scorching of the food. If the bread in the
oven is in danger of burning black upon the bottom, the cook can slip a sheet
of asbestos beneath the pan. If the heat is too intense above the loaf the
protector is laid over it. The modern fireless cooker, designed to hold to heat
within a box, may be lined with sheets of asbestos to resist the escape of heat
from the enclosed buckets of hot food.
Baking day does not monopolize the asbestos, for Tuesday
sees an asbestos iron rest to protect the cover of the ironing board from
scorching. An ingenious housekeeper covered a large pan with asbestos, attached
a handle to what had been the bottom and inverted it over the irons being
heated upon the gas stove. The result was that less gas was required, for all
of its heat was conserved for the irons and not wasted in heating the kitchen
The style of flat irons with removable handles, depends for its special
efficiency upon asbestos linings for the detachable outer shell.
The housekeeper may place around asbestos mats upon the
dining table under hot serving dishes to protect the polished table top beneath
from being marred by heat. Better still, she can buy or make a large sheet of
asbestos to lay beneath the table cloth. These can be purchased made to order
to fit the table exactly. There cost is several dollars, varying with the size
and with the quality of binding and covering. Sheet asbestos can be had cheaply
at the hardware stores, and a clever and economical housekeeper can contrive a
non-conducting silence cloth for herself.
As a matter of fire protection asbestos is invaluable.
Tacked to the ceiling above the furnace, it guards the floor above from
overheating or igniting should the furnace become defective. Where coal heating
stoves and ranges are used and must be set near a wall it is best to have an
asbestos covered board set behind them. When a stovepipe passes through a
ceiling to warm a bedroom above (a common thing in old-fashioned houses) a
sheeting of asbestos should encircle it whenever it would touch combustible
surfaces.
If you have a hot furnace the plumber will probably paste
one thin layer of asbestos around the pipes to conserve their heat. A thick
layer or two separate layers will prevent heat wasting even more efficiently.
One thrifty householder, who is chary of all unnecessary expense, pasted
asbestos thickly all over the outside of his furnace proper. He had never seen
this done before, yet tried the experiment, and reports enthusiastically that
the saving in his coal bills of one year made it worthwhile. Formerly he had
been wasting heat upon the cellar air. A man who followed his example had the
asbestos bound to the furnace cylinder with wire hoops instead of paste.”
To sum up the fondness for asbestos in 1913, many newspapers
included the following quote that year: “All the world’s a stage, but it lacks
an asbestos curtain.”
Asbestos curtain design now part of the Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.Asbestos curtain design by the Great Western Stage Equipment Co.., now part of the Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.Asbestos curtain design bythe Twin City Scenic Co., now part of the Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.Asbestos curtain design by the Twin City Scenic Co., now part of the Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.Asbestos curtain design by the Twin City Scenic Co., now part of the Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.Asbestos curtain design by the Twin City Scenic Co., now part of the Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.Asbestos curtain design by the Twin City Scenic Co., now part of the Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.
For well over a year I have posted a historic stage setting every day to my Facebook group “Dry Pigment.” This post is then shared with other groups for digital dissemination, but not here. I often group stage compositions on a theme, posting one version after another over the course of a week. In the past I have covered landscapes, seascapes, palaces, dungeons, hell scenes, cathedrals, and much more. The images are often from scenery evaluations that I completed over the past few decades while traveling throughout the United States of America.
While I take a break from the life and time of Thomas G. Moses until November 11, 2019, I am going to share my Dry Pigment FB Group posts. It helps illustrated the scenic aesthetic that I have been writing about for over three years.
I primarily post daily pictures of historic backdrops each day for my fellow scenic artists, many of whom were not exposed to this history during , or friends who are completely unfamiliar with this form of American popular entertainment. I always hope that this small and consistent gesture will help others with their future projects and research.
Today’s Dry Pigment post depicts an asbestos curtain produced by a the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the opera house in Virginia, Minnesota.
Scene by the Twin City Scenic Co.Scene by the Twin City Scenic Co.Scene by the Twin City Scenic Co.Scene by the Twin City Scenic Co.Scene by the Twin City Scenic Co.Scene by the Twin City Scenic Co.Peep hole for actors. Scene by the Twin City Scenic Co.Standard stencil to identify manufacturing studio. Scene by the Twin City Scenic Co.
In 1912, Thomas mentioned three
projects at Sosman & Landis, writing, “A nice little order from Charlotte,
N. Car., Minnie Palmer, two shows, full stock for the Empress Theatre, Fort
Wayne.”
Postcard with bird’s eye view of Fort Wayne, ca. 1912.
The Empress Theatre was located
at the intersection of Wayne and Clinton streets in Fort Wayne. In addition to
an auditorium and stage, the building included gentlemen smoking rooms, ladies
rest rooms, and a nursery. Of the Sosman & Landis installation, local
newspapers described fire prevention measures.
Postcard depicting Fort Wayne, Indiana, ca. 1912.Postcard depicting Fort Wayne, Indiana, ca. 1912.
On March 8, 1913, the “Fort
Wayne Journal-Gazette” reported, “The stage is fitted with the finest scenery
that has ever been brought to Fort Wayne. The curtain arrangement is also
something new to Fort Wayne. Two asbestos curtains will be used with a water
curtain in the center, which makes the matter of a fire upon the stage the next
thing to an impossibility. The curtain will be raised and lowered
automatically, sliding through a metal groove which also makes it an
impossibility for fire, if there should be one to get through the curtain and
out into the auditorium.” (page 7).
Previously, “Fort Wayne
Journal-Gazette” reported, “In matter of exits, the Empress will boast pf being
one of the safest theaters in the middle west. Constructed almost entirely of
concrete and steel, it is practically fireproof and being equipped with sixteen
exits, open on all four sides, the place can be emptied in less than three
minutes” (February 23, 1913page 15). The industry was still reeling from the
Iroquois Theatre fire, with new theaters now citing how quickly an auditorium
could be evacuated. Fort Wayne residents had also witnessed the Aveline Hotel
Fire of 1908, a devastating tragedy for the town. The Empress Theater’s opening
drew many men prominent in vaudeville to be in attendance.
Although Sosman & Landis completed
the scenery in 1912, the official opening of the Empress Theatre was on March
9, 1913. With a seating capacity of almost 1300, advertisements promised,
“every modern convenience known to theatre building.” The theater’s policy was
three performances every day, with five hundred “choice seats” being available
for ten cents. Matinees started at 2:30 and were followed by two evening shows
at 7:30 and 9:00 P.M. Girls were used as ushers for the evening performances
and on Sunday. For matinees, patrons were expected to seat themselves.
The opening billing included Lew
Field’s “Fun in a Boarding House” as the headliner. The stage setting for the
show included the section of a house, six rooms in all. Fields, of the firm
Weber & Fields, was engaged to produce “fun” acts exclusively for the
Sullivan & Considine theaters nationwide.
Scene from “Fun in a Boarding House,” from the “Fort Wayne Journal Gazette,” 2 March, page 25
In addition to the headliner,
there were four other acts and two reels of famous “Kinemacolor pictures” as
part of the new vaudeville theater’s program. The Kinemacolor pictures were
changed twice weekly – on Sunday when the entire bill was changed – and on
Thursday (Fort Wayne Daily News, 10 March 1913, page 8).The May 8, 1913, “Fort
Wayne Journal-Gazette” article reported, “Kinemacolor pictures will also be
shown, which is something new in the motion picture art in Fort Wayne. The
Empress controls the sole right to these pictures in the city, therefore they
will be shown at no other place in Fort Wayne. The pictures are educational in
a way and also amusing.”
An advertisement in the
“Fort-Wayne Journal-Gazette” stated, “The Empress theatre has instituted the
new and marvelous Kinemacolor moving picture machine, which reproduces on the
screen the same colors and shades that are present when the picture is taken.
The colors are true to nature in every respect, and, although the system of
mechanism is carried out in a very complicated manner, yet the color scheme is
most simple, entirely like the doctored and painted films of the black and
white machines. A filter wheel, divided in four parts, two of which are filled
with a red filter and the other two parts with green filter, forms the
foundation and basis of the new system, The great, yet simple, law of nature ,
that all colors of the rainbow can be made from three colors – red, yellow, and
blue- is taken advantage of, and two colors, yellow and blue are so blended in
the filter as to produce the shade of green desired. The film is sensitized so
that the darker colors are shows through the green filter and then lighter
shades are projected through the red filter, thus making a segregation of
colors that are true to nature. The method of producing such a high degree
sensitiveness on the film is the same as the other methods of film making ways,
only a picture for the Kinemacolor machine must be taken out in pure sunlight,
whose rays alone are strong enough to produce the desired sensitiveness on the
negative. The red and green filter wheel is placed in front of the negative
when the picture is taken and the rays passing through the filter form a color
value on the film. Then when the film is put into the machine, a high-powered Arclight
throws its strong rays through the filter onto the film and out through the
lens, forming a segregation of colors that exactly reproduce the picture. The
machine utilizes three times as much candle power as the black and white machines,
and, being run by a one-horsepower electric motor shows forty pictures in a
second, while the other machines, most of which are run by hand, project and
average of sixteen pictures per second. The
inventor of the machine is an American, Charles Urban who has resided in
England for the past fifteen years. The machine has been in England for the
last six years, but only in America for three years. It has been largely
accepted by all the large theatres of the east, and its success is due to its
value. The machine is merely leased to the companies, and the Empress is the
only one in the city at present that will use it “(8 March 1913, page 7).
