Part 689: M. C. Lilley & Co. Lighting for Scottish Rite Stages
Any painting can be destroyed in an instant with poor lighting. It does not matter how beautiful the composition, or the painted aesthetic; if the person designing ot running the lights does not understand two-dimensional scenes it doesn’t matter.
Lighting for the Scottish Rite stage in Austin, Texas.
During a 1913 New York Dramatic Mirror interview with scenic artist Ernest Albert, he explained that a scenic artist’s function did not cease until the scenery was all installed and the lighting arrangements completed. He commented, “Lighting is within his province, just as groupings are in a measure. An unexpected orange light on violet, for instance, will produce a russet brown that will make everything look dirty. It is true that in the days of gas lighting much softer effects were possible, but I will sacrifice all of the advantages of mellow light for safety…Anyway, we are now avoiding many of the hard qualities of the electric light by greater use of ambers, straw colors, and pinks.”
A pamphlet produced by the M. C. Lilley & Co. for Scottish Rite stages during the early twentieth century commented, “The lighting equipment of a stage used for Scottish Rite purpose is very important. No matter how well the scenery may be executed, much of its effect will be lost without proper lighting. The equipment should be complete and in no department should a false economy produce a lack of capacity.”
In 1900, the following lighting equipment was delivered to the Scottish Rite stage in Guthrie, Oklahoma.
Four (4) Borders
Four (4) portable ground rows
Two (2) Strip rows
Two (2) Bunch lights
One (1) Slate switch board, full fused, containing 1 main, 3 Service and 32 subordinate double contact knife switches – 36 switches in all; connections on board all made
In 1912, the following lighting equipment was delivered to the Scottish Rite stage in Santa Fe, New Mexico:
Part 688: The American Reflector and Lighting Co., 1900
Yesterday, I examined some correspondence about footlights between Frank A. Derr, of the Scottish Rite in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and Charles E. Rosenbaum, of the Scottish Rite in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The original stage lighting for Guthrie was listed in a contract between the Guthrie Scottish Rite and E. A. Armstrong Mfg. Company of Chicago, dated April 28, 1900. The Armstrong company was located at 300-302-304 Wabash Avenue, Chicago, and listed as “Manufacturers of Secret Society, Military and Band Supplies.” The lighting, scenery and stage work for the new Guthrie stage was provided by through M. C. Lilley and Co. The companies western sales manager, well-known Mason Bestor G. Brown, subcontracted the new work to Sosman & Landis.
In 1900 the Guthrie Scottish Rite hired E. A. Armstrong Manufacturing C. of Chicago to outfit their new stage, lighting was included in the purchsse. The Scottish Rite bodies spent a total of $694.50 on lighting for the stage, the equivalent of $20,811.19 today.
Here is what the contract specified:
STAGE LIGHTING
Four (4) Borders, each 24 feet long, each containing 60 lights wired for three color; sockets and wiring complete but no lamps-
Four (4) portable ground rows, each 10 feet long, each containing 15 lights, wired for three colors, sockets and wiring complete – but no lamps-
Two (2) Strip rows, each 16 feet long, each containing 24 lights, wired for three colors; sockets and wiring complete but no lamps-
Two (2) eight light, porcelain lined, swing head, iron stand bunch lights; complete with extension cord and plug, but no lamps-
Six (6) cast iron floor pockets
Twenty-four (24) Slate receptacles
Fourteen (14) Plugs for receptacles
Fourteen (14) Plugs for receptacles, three lights attached to each of ground rows and one each to bunch lights-
Four (4) 40 Ampere dimmers, German silver wire wound
Three (3) 20 Ampere dimmers, German silver wire wound
One (1) Slate switch board, full fused, containing 1 main, 3 Service and 32 subordinate double contact knife switches – 36 switches in all; connections on board all made
Sockets all of Edison pattern
MISCELLANEOUS LIGHTING APPARATUS
One (1) lamp and chaser
One (1) 4,000 c/p focusing lamp and reflector, stand and rheostat included.
Large and small carbons – no charge
One (1) Lighting box, Complimentary
NOTE- Goods packed and shipped by American Reflector and Lighting Co. Charges collect, but to be paid and applied on bill.
For Scottish Rite theaters in 1900, scenery and lighting went hand in hand. The same would be true over a decade later, as the scenic studios still had great influence over the lighting systems used to light their painted scenery on Scottish Rite stages. Sosman & Landis were involved with the manufacture of painted scenery, stage machinery, and rigging for the stage. They were also heavily invested in the lighting industry. They designed and manufactured electric scenic theatres, electrical floats and other spectacular electrical effects for a variety of performance venues.
The American Reflector and Lighting Company opened its doors just before the Columbian Exposition. On March 24,1893, the “Chicago Inter Ocean” listed Perry Landis as one of the company’s incorporators and Charles Landis as the treasurer. Joseph S. Sosman was a major investor for the enterprise.
A floor pocket produced by the American Reflector and Lighting Co. found at the Scottish Rite theater in Yankton, South Dakota.
In 1894, the Sosman & Landis studio catalogue offered stage hardware and lighting for other projects than the stage. Actually, an entire page was devoted to the American Reflector and Lighting Company in their catalogue. They offered “a full line of improved lighting fixtures for electricity, gas or oil, specially adapted for the lighting of theatres, halls, assembly rooms, and churches.”
The American Reflector and Lighting Co. salesroom was located at 271-273 Franklin Street where the company advertised 150 styles of reflectors for users of electricity, gas and oil. Their products included lighting fixtures for art galleries, display windows, orchestra shades, street lights, stage dimmers, theatre lamps, silver plated mirror reflectors for incandescent cluster with prisms, and many other products. Their lighting fixtures used crystal glass lined with pure metallic silver to provide “the best practical reflecting surface.” The company advertised that their reflectors, for both indoor and outdoor lighting, “promised that the power of light was fully utilized, as its rays are saved from waste, strengthened and thrown in the desired direction.” In 1904, the American Reflector Co. was located at 199 Van Buren St. in Chicago. By 1914 various advertisements listed a new address for the company at 517 Jackson Blvd.
In addition to standard lighting for the stage, the Guthrie Scottish Rite ordered fifteen special lighting fixtures that included:
Four fixtures, two lights each – one above the other-
Four fixtures, four lights each, each fixture the shape of a circle – 12 inches in diameter-
Three fixtures, nine lights each, the lights in each fixture arranged in the shape of three equilateral triangles with the apexes joined – 18 inches square
One Fixture containing nine lights, eight in the shape of an octagon, and the remaining light in the center fixture 18 inches.
One Fixture containing three lights in the shape of an equilateral triangle – 12 inches
One Fixture of seven lights, arranged in the shape of a triangle, four in the bottom row, three in the next, two in the next, and one in the apex.-fixture 32 inches-
One fixture of five lights in the shape of a square, 5th light in the center.
With the foregoing fixtures are 116, 8 candle power 110 volt frosted, and colored lamps, also 7 receptacles.
NOTE: – Foregoing is billed at $31.25 less than the estimate.
The price for the above-listed special light fixtures was $419.75, making the total lighting purchase of $1114.25, todays equivalent of $33,389.30.
In 1910, the Guthrie Scottish Rite border lights were mentioned in a letter from Bestor G. Brown (western sales representative for M. C. Lilley & Co.) to Frank A. Derr (Secretary of the Oklahoma Consistory, in Guthrie, Oklahoma). Guthrie was enlarging the stage in their existing building, a project that necessitated the purchase of new scenery, stage machinery, and lighting equipment. The used stage systems were being returned for credit on the purchase of a new scenery collection. On July 26, 1910, Brown wrote, “I shall probably go to Lawrence some time within the next few days and if I can dispose of your electrical equipment, I will be very glad to do so. It is old and will not pass inspection. The borders have a wooden strip on the top and that disqualifies them under the present regulations. If the Lawrence people want to buy them with the full knowledge of the facts, I shall be very glad indeed to see them get them.”
A lighting fixture by the American Reflector and Lighting Co. included in the “American Electrician,” Vol. 16A lighting fixture by the American Reflector and Lighting Co. included in the “American Electrician,” Vol. 16
Lighting was an integral part of the Scottish Rite stage. In past posts, I have touched on the subject of lighting and its control by scenic artists during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. In 1913 many scenic artists still maintained control over the lighting of their work. This aspect of the commercial stage was noted by well-known scenic artists Ernest Albert in 1913. In an interview with Arthur Edwin Krows of the “The New York Dramatic Mirror, ” Albert explained his own design process for the stage. He explained that a scenic artist’s function did not cease until the scenery was all installed and the lighting arrangements completed. He commented, “Lighting is within [the scenic artist’s] province, just as groupings are in a measure. An unexpected orange light on violet, for instance, will produce a russet brown that will make everything look dirty.”
For the next few posts, I am going to examine some lighting characteristics apparent in early twentieth-century Scottish Rite theaters, starting with footlights. Some Scottish Rites installed footlights in the early twentieth century and others did not. In 1904, the Scottish Rite stage in Duluth included a series of retractable footlights, allowing the performers to easily access the steps at the front of the stage as they were not permanently up.
Footlights at the Scottish Rite theater in Duluth, Minnesota.
In 1916, a letter from Charles Rosenbaum of Little Rock to Frank A. Derr of Guthrie, Oklahoma, addressed the use of footlights in Scottish Rite theaters. Derr had asked Rosenbaum about the need for footlights in a previous letter, noting that the Scottish Rite in Memphis Tennessee employed the use of footlights for their degree productions. Derr was considering the value of installing footlights at the Scottish Rite in Guthrie, Texas.
Rosenbaum responded to Derr’s query on June 10, 1916:
“I note what you say about footlights, but what use are they? In our old synagogue [the Albert Pike Cathedral in Little Rock constructed in 1896], we had footlights, we found them sort of a nuisance, when we built on 8th and Scott [the Albert Pike Consistory Building of 1902] we left them out entirely.
While in New York several years ago talking to Stage expert equipment people they showed me foot light equipment they were building for a High School building and it had a nice disappearing arrangement which was all right.
I asked what was the necessary for foot lights, and why they were used.
The answer was —You have to have them to throw up the light on the people on the front of the stage to light up or destroy the rawness of their makeup, which means the paint and stuff they use on their faces, they said you can’t get along without them for that reason.
I said —Suppose there is no makeup, and I described out use of a stage, and they said it would be foolish to have footlights at all, and only in case we rented the building for theatrical purposes would it be necessary, because when Actors and Actresses made up the necessity would it be evident.
So —as we don’t rent for any such purpose and don’t make up our faces, and have no business very far out to ward the front of the stage, or for that matter in front of the curtain line, we have no use for ‘feet lights, to high light our faces and they have no use for them in Memphis [Memphis Scottish Rite] either unless they rent for shows of one kind or another.’”
There are a few things to consider about subjects touched upon in Rosenbaum’s letter. The first is that the participant’s in degree productions on Scottish Rite stages do not wear makeup. Costumes and wigs were part of the normal degree production, but not stage makeup. This makes sense as many of the degrees were not solely contained to the stage area and they would frequently break the curtain line, getting within a very short distance of the audience; there was no need for stage makeup. The apron of a Scottish Rite stage often transitioned into three steps, allowing the actors to easily move the action out into the auditorium. Again, there was not fixed seating in the first part of the auditorium floor as this area was used for degree work.
Retractable footlights at the Scottish Rite in Duluth, Minnesota.Retractable footlights at the Scottish Rite in Duluth, Minnesota.Retractable footlights at the Scottish Rite in Duluth, Minnesota.
A second thing to consider is the mention of disappearing footlights. This is the same type of footlights at the Duluth Scottish Rite and other Scottish Rite Valleys. They allow the stage action to easily transition to and from the stage, a common aspect to some degree productions. This is all dependent on the individual interpretation of a particular Scottish Rite valley.
The final point concerns the Scottish Rite stage being used by non-Masonic groups. This was an option many Scottish Rite stages from the onset; consider Masonic opera houses, Temple theaters and shared stages often provided much the needed revenue for Fraternal building expenses. Just a retail shops supported Masonic lodge rooms located on the top floors of a Masonic building, so did stages provide revenue for Masonic edifices. Some were specifically planned and constructed for the Fraternity, as it was another viable source of income that paid for the basic operation of the building. Some Masonic complexes even had two theaters; one solely for Scottish Rite purposes and the other for the general public. Masonic buildings in Detroit, Michigan, and Cincinnati, Ohio, are only two examples.
Part 675: The Second Scottish Rite in Wichita, Kansas.
The Wichita Scottish Rite Masons laid their cornerstone for their second cathedral in 1907. That year, the “Grand County Republican” reported, “The consistory has grown from two little room, decorated with calico curtains to a stately temple erected at a cost of $250,000 and with costing paraphernalia for the proper setting of the different degrees valued at no less than $25,000” (6 April 1907, page 5).
Wichita Scottish Rite Temple cornerstone from 1907.
When the building opened in 1908, the “Wichita Daily Eagle” included a full page spread about the new Scottish Rite Cathedral, detailing specifics of the building. There were three sections of particular interest to me that I am going to share today:
The Auditorium
The mind at this stage has been raised to such a pitch of pleasurable delight that one forgets that there are grandeurs yet to com. Standing in the center of the great auditorium, which measures 77×73 feet, two feelings struggle for mastery, a sense of largeness of the place and its extreme beauty. The sense that one generally gets when standing in the great cathedrals or buildings of the world, is here replaced by the sense of beauty which is inculcated by the choice of the best effects of the ages have produced. One feels for the moment that these past ages have been profitable only in that they have produced this, for there is no room in the mind to think of other glories of architecture and
art while the senses are yet endeavoring to assimilate the surroundings here.
Passing under the proscenium arch, one enters upon the immense stage which measures 73×37½x42. This is a stage commensurate for any production the world has ever seen, and will afford ample space for all the rites and ceremonies for which it was built. An idea of the immensity of the stage may be gained from the fact that it will house 115 drops, each of which measures 20×36 feet. There are six boarder lamps, each containing 192 subsidiary lights divided into four colors –red, white, green and amber [I hope this was a misprint!] These lights will produce and known combination in stage effect and would meet even the exigencies of a Savage or Belasco production. The switchboard is a striking example of advanced electrical proficiency and contains 110 switches. The dimmers are of the very latest pattern and the whole system is laid in conduits and not exposed in any place in the entire building.
Underneath the stage are the dressing rooms. The space devoted to them covers 25×73 feet and they contain all the modern paraphernalia and costumes necessary for the rendition of the degrees. To the south of the dressing rooms are property rooms and toilets. These rooms are finished in golden oak.
The decorations f the auditorium, foyers and halls are the work of the F. Seifert Plastic Company of St. Louis, Mo. The stairways were designed by Terry and were made by the Standard company of Chicago.
Lights for the Stage
The stage equipment will require about 2,500 lights. Of these there will be six border lamps, each of which will carry 248 lights in four colors. By means of these colors in the lights, stage effects can be produced which are impossible in a ordinary theater. The switchboard, which in part of the stage equipment, will be between seven and eight feet in length, and six feet in height, and will carry one hundred and ten switches, controlling a different set of lights.
As an auxiliary to the switchboard will be the dimmer plant by which the power of any separate set of lights, or all of them, can be turned low or high at will. This will set near, ad be operated in connection with the switchboard.
Besides this, facilities have been installed for a system of arc lights to be used in connection with or alone in stage illumination. Other means of handling the lighting equipment for stage lighting are by what are known as “stage pockets.” These are holes in the floor, from which connection is made for lighting the lower portion of the scenery. An ordinary good stage usually has two to three of these on each side, but this stage is equipped with sixteen on each side, with an additional of six others for special purposes.
The Electrical Equipment
The electrical equipment of the old building has been installed under the personal supervision of Mr. Frank Payne, who is well known in Wichita. Although not identified with electrical work commercially in the past, Mr. Payne – or “Frank” as he is familiarly known to everyone, has kept pace with electrical matters for a number of years, and has planned equipment of a number of buildings. Associated with him has been Mr. Henry Stumberg, formerly of St. Louis, who did the conduit work in the new building.
At first it was intended to let much of the wiring in the old building remain but upon inspection, non of it was found up to standard, and as nothing short of the most carefully installed and complete equipment was to be considered. All the old wiring was removed and reinstalled to meet the most modern requirements
The equipment will be by far the finest and most complete in any structure west of Chicago, and in stage equipment proper, will probably not be excelled by any theater in any city, large or small. The current will be distributed from seven separate switchboards advantageously placed in different sections of the building, and by this means a much more economically arranged system is secured, and also one which is readily handled.”
There is a point at which numerous Scottish Rite theaters began shifting from using red, white and blue lights to light their scenery to red, white and green lights. This shift always confused me. M. C. Lilley offered three-color and four-color systems to Scottish Rite theaters. Reading the newspaper article and the role of Frank Payne, the hometown lighting guy with minimal electrical experience, makes me pause. Was this the moment when the green was introduced to the Scottish Rite border lights?
The article specified, “There are six boarder lamps, each containing 192 subsidiary lights divided into four colors –red, white, green and amber. These lights will produce and known combination in stage effect and would meet even the exigencies of a Savage or Belasco production.”
Example of red, green and white border lights in a Scottish Rite auditoriumExample of red, green and white border lights in a Scottish Rite auditorium
In 1909, the Scottish Rite Masons in Lawrence, Kansas, were planning for the construction of a new home. By 1911, their Egyptian-Revival style building included a stage with 55 backdrops produced by Sosman & Landis studio in Chicago, Illinois. Between the initial planning stages and final dedication ceremony, several things were in play in regard to stage, scenery and lighting. Let’s start with lighting.
Letterhead for M. C. Lilley & Co. with Bestor G. Brown as manager in Kansas City, ca. 1910.
In 1910, the Scottish Rite in Lawrence was mentioned in a letter from Bestor G. Brown, western sales representative for M. C. Lilley & Co., to Frank A. Derr, secretary of the Oklahoma Consistory, in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Guthrie was enlarging the stage of their building, requiring all new scenery and stage machinery.
The home for Scottish Rite Masons in Guthrie, Oklahoma, 1901.The building in Guthrie, Oklahoma, after the addition. This building included the new stage with scenery by Sosman & Landis of Chicago.
The used scenery was returned for credit on the new scenery. The Guthrie bodies were upgrading all of their equipment, including the border lights. On July 26, 1910, Brown wrote, “I shall probably go to Lawrence some time within the next few days and if I can dispose of your electrical equipment, I will be very glad to do so. It is old and will not pass inspection. The borders have a wooden strip on the top and that disqualifies them under the present regulations. If the Lawrence people want to buy them with the full knowledge of the facts, I shall be very glad indeed to see them get them.” In other words, “these could catch on fire, but if they know that we’re all good.”
Brown continued in his letter, “The battens on the scenery could be left there if you want to use new battens for your job. In that event, however, the people at Lawrence would have to pay us more than we allowed you for your scenery because you will remember we were to retain the battens at Guthrie and use them in your new scenery. It is impossible to get lumber that is the equal of the lumber in your own battens. I do not think you will have a great deal of trouble with the new lumber, but at the same time, the old battens will curl less in Guthrie than the new battens would curl in Lawrence on account of the difference in climate.” This is the first mention that I have ever encountered about warping battens. The lumber that was always specified noted white pine. This meant old growth, first cut pine.
The original stage lighting for Guthrie was listed in a contract between the Guthrie Scottish Rite and E. A. Armstrong Mfg. Company of Chicago, dated April 28, 1900. The Armstrong company was located at 300-302-304 Wabash Avenue, Chicago, and listed as “Manufacturers of Secret Society, Military and Band Supplies.” The lighting, scenery and stage work for the new Guthrie stage was provided by through M. C. Lilley and Co. The companies western sales manager, well-known Mason Bestor G. Brown, subcontracted the new work to Sosman & Landis.
E. A. Armstrong <fg. Company letterhead, 1900
The original stage lighting order from Armstrong for Guthrie included:
“Four (4) Borders, each 24 feet long, each containing 60 lights wired for three colors; sockets and wiring complete but no lamps-
Four (4) portable ground rows, each 10 feet long, each containing 15 lights, wired for three colors, sockets and wiring complete – but no lamps
Two (2) Strip rows, each 16 feet long, each containing 24 lights, wired for three colors; sockets and wiring complete but no lamps
Two (2) eight light, porcelain lined, swing head, iron stand bunch lights; complete with extension cord and plug, but no lamps-
Six (6) Cast iron floor pockets
Twenty-four (24) Slate receptacles
Fourteen (14) Plugs for receptacles, three attached to each of the ground rows and one each to bunch lights
Four (4) 40 Ampere dimmers, German silver wire wound
Three (3) Ampere dimmers, German silver wire wound
One (1) Slate switch board, full fused, containing 1 main 3 service and 32 subordinate double contact knife switches – 36 switches in all; connections on board all made
$620.00 (Today’s equivalent in approximately $18,200 – pretty good deal).
A portion of 1900 contract between the Guthrie Scottish Rite and E. A. Armstrong Mfg. Company that includes some of the lights.
Sockets all of Edison pattern
MISCELLANEOUS LIGHTING APPARATUS
One (1) Lamp and chaser 32.00
One (1) 4,000 c/p focusing lamp and reflector, stand and rheostat included 42.50
Large and small carbons – no charge
One (1) Lighting box, Complimentary
Note – Goods packed and shipped by American Reflector and Lighting Co. Charges collect, but to be paid and applied on bill.”
Keep in mind that Abraham Perry Landis, of Sosman & Landis, was one of the founders for the American Reflector and Lighting Co. Joseph S. Sosman was also an investor in the company.
Part 611: The Union Opera House and Greene’s Opera House in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Col. J. M. Wood stated that the first theater he designed as a young architect was in Cedar Rapids, Ia.; this was while testifying about the theatre roof collapse in Detroit during 1898.
I was curious to see if I could find Wood’s first theatre project in Cedar Rapids. There were two potential candidates – the Union Opera House and Greene’s Opera House. Both buildings were built by Judge George Greene. The Union Opera House opened in 1870, the same year that some sources list J. M. Wood establishing his first architectural firm in Chicago. Wood was 29 years old in 1870.
The Union Opera house was in the same building that housed the Union bank and the Daily Republican Steam Printing Offices.
The “Cedar Rapids Gazette” commented on performance spaces at he time, reporting “Before 1871, Cedar Rapids concert halls were temporary in nature. They were usually large rooms on upper stories of office buildings and had removable seating and portable stages. But in the year that the Union Opera House was established at First Avenue and Second Street SE, it featured a permanent stage and fixed seats for 600” (Cedar Rapids Gazette, 19 July 1964, page 11). Keep in mind that Cedar Rapids was a stop for traveling troops going between Chicago and Omaha or Minneapolis and Kansas City. The two opera houses were built on land purchased from Osgood Shephard, who was described as “a horse thief” by local historians and the “first Cedar Rapids resident” (Des Moines Register, 19 Jan. 1969, page 31).
As I hunted through old newspaper article and theatrical guides, I encountered some technical information pertaining to the Judge’s second opera house – Greene’s Opera House. This was quite an interesting space – so interesting that I am compelled to explore it over two installments. There was a listing for Greene’s Opera House in the “Jno. B. Jeffery’s Guide and Directory to the Opera Houses, Theatres, Public Halls, Bill Posters, Etc. of the Cities and Towns of America” (1882). Greene’s Opera House was constructed in 1879, located at 113 Second Street NE, between First and A Avenues. The opera house’s façade was made of red brick and trimmed black brick, cut stone and ornamental tiling. The edifice was crowned with an ornate iron cornice. The four-story building had the theater located in the second and third floor and was located across the street from the Roosevelt Hotel. The Greene Opera House was once listed as one the largest theaters between Chicago and Denver.
Greene’s Opera House, built next door to the Union Opera House in 1879.
Judge Greene was one of the Cedar Rapids’ founders and a leading businessman. He was an Iowa legislator, as well as an Iowa Supreme Court justice. Rather late in his career, Judge Green considered building opera houses. In fact, his second opera house was still under construction when Greene passed away in June 1880. It was his son, Calvin H. Greene, who saw to the completion of the theatre and became the venue’s first manager.
Greene began construction on his second opera house next door to the Union Opera House. This is similar to the Temple theatre being built next door to the Detroit Opera House, with Col. J. M. Wood being involved with the design of each theater, even though they were constructed years apart. The Union opera house was eventually converted into a hall for meetings and other social events after the immediate success of Greene’s Opera House. The Union Theatre was later renamed Woodward Hall by 1889.
As with many nineteenth-century opera houses, the theater was not completely finished by opening night. Regardless, Greene’s Opera House officially opened to a house of 2000 on Dec. 27, 1880. The first production was the Emma Abbott Grand English Opera Company’s production of “The Bohemian Girl.” Unfortunately, it was winter and the patrons of the theater were bundled up with coats and gloves throughout the performance. The building was not completed until that spring – Aug. 4, 1881. As with many western theaters, Greene’s Opera House advertised as one of the “finest west of Chicago.”
The building’s foot print was 60 feet by 142 feet, rising and four stories high above the street, with the theater on the second and third floors. The size of the proscenium opening was 30 feet by 33 feet with a 40 feet by 60 feet stage. The height from the stage to the grooves was 18 feet with the height from the stage to the rigging loft at 36 feet. The depth under the stage was 9 feet with 4 traps. There were also 21 sets of scenery in 1884.
The theater included a parquet, dress circle and three balconies with seating for 2,000. The “Daily Times,” reported that with chairs placed on stage there was a seating capacity of 2,500 (22 April 1896, page 3). As with may performance spaces of the time, seating primarily consisted of “folding opera chairs, many which were upholstered.” At Greene’s Opera House, the chairs were upholstered in maroon plush, or red Morocco. I immediately thought of the opera chairs purchased by Horace C. Tabor for his opera house in Leadville, Colorado, and the advertisements for opera chairs in “Jno. B. Jeffery’s Guide and Directory to the Opera Houses.”
The building was illuminated with gas. There with a large 92-jet “sun burner” in the center of the theater’s dome that purportedly illuminate the space to be “as bright as day.” There were an additional 850 gas jets throughout the building for general lighting. Interestingly the stage area also included an elegant gas chandelier, that could be raised and lowered as required.
Chandelier removed from Greene’s Opera House in 1968, after it sat unused for years.Chandelier that once hung in Greene’s Opera House
In 1900, the Henderson and Smith Company acquired the building and remodeled the theater.
Greene’s Opera House pictured in 1900
A 1904 edition of “The Cedar Rapids Gazette” described the “elegant appointments” that included ten large dressing rooms, steam heat, and electric lighting. The theater remained in operation until 1928, although other sources note dates ranging from 1921-1926. When it closed, the theatre was $50,000 in debt and immediately fell into disuse (Des Moines Register, 19 Jan. 1969, page 31). Greene’s Opera House eventually became a storage garage, destined to be demolished by 1969.
Greene’s Opera House in 1969
Tomorrow I will explore the scenic art trio who decided to manage Greene’s Opera House during the 1880s.
Part 585: John J. Murdock and the Olympic Music Hall
In 1908, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “We did a show for Murdock at the Olympic – a failure, scenery and play.” He was referring to the newly opened Olympic Music Hall in Chicago. The venue was previously known as the Olympic Theatre before the purchase and renovation by J. J. Murdock in 1908. The Olympic Music Hall opened on November 2, 1908.
John J. Murdock and his Olympic Music Hall, from the “Inter Ocean,” 8 Nov 1908, page 30
An article in the “Inter Ocean” reported, “The work of converting this famous landmark of amusement into a music hall is being carried on day and night, the men working in shifts of eight hours each. The playhouse is now under the control of J. J. Murdock, who successfully operated the Masonic Temple roof garden, and who had been at the head of the Western Vaudeville Managers’ Association. Mr. Murdock will adopt a policy along the lines of the Palace, or Tivoli, London, England, on a more elaborate scale” (Chicago, 25 Oct 1908, page 41). The mention of the Masonic Temple Roof Garden caught my eye.
The Masonic Temple roof garden and observatory was transformed into two electric theatres by Sosman & Landis in 1894. Advertised as Chicago’s first roof garn theatre, it included two electric scenic theatres that were design, constructed and operated by Sosman & Landis. An images of the Masonic Temple roof garden theatre was even pictured on an 1894 catalogue for Sosman & Moses. Although their control of this venue was short-lived, it provides an earlier connection between Murdock and Moses at Sosman & Landis. Murdock’s association with unique and innovative performance venues such as the roof top garden and music hall provides additional context.
High class vaudeville was to be the dominant feature at the Olympic. The “Inter Ocean” published an article on the new Olympic Music Hall (8 Nov 1908, page 30). In it, the question was asked, “When is a vaudeville theatre not a vaudeville theatre?” The response was “When smoking is permitted, then it is a music hall.” In Chicago, Murdock afforded patrons that privilege. The article continued, “Mr. Murdock is a connoisseur of everything pertaining to the entertainment of the public, and realizing that the great majority of men are addicted to the smoking habit, he conceived the happy idea of permitting the patrons of the Olympic Music hall to indulge in that pleasure.” The article noted, “The new Olympic will be different from other Chicago playhouses, in that smoking will be permitted. This innovation, new to Chicago, is familiar to London and Paris theater-goers, and Manager Murdock is convinced that this feature is destined to be as popular in Chicago as it is abroad.” Another “Inter Ocean” article described the smoked-filled music hall: “Blue smoke curled upward from full 500 cigars. Maybe 1,000 men lounged back comfortably in their theatre chairs. Beside almost blessed man of them sat his wife, or his sweetheart, or his dearest friend, or maybe only his sister. Toward a rose tinted ceiling smoke drifted cloudlike and then mysteriously, as an enchantment, suddenly disappeared.”
According to Julius Cahn’s Official theatrical guides, the original Olympic Theatre in Chicago had a seating capacity of 2,127, and new music hall had a seating capacity of 1584. The “inter Ocean” provided a further description of the Olympic Music Hall’s auditorium and stage:
“Immediately above the entrance to the auditorium a series of Swiss chalet windows, with stained glass and heavy stucco ornamentation, attract the eye. The theater proper also has undergone a thorough renovation. The color scheme is of gray damask, blending harmoniously with rose and old Roman gold. The ceiling and mural decorations consist of panels of exquisite design, bordered by stucco ornaments, tipped with gold and ivory. A massive new chandelier bearing hundreds of glistening prisms and scores of electric globes hangs just above the orchestra, while at the side of the boxes on both sides two tremendous light clusters have been placed. The balcony and gallery rails have been provided with strings of lights, so that the house is capable of illumination equal to the noonday sun.
The boxes, which formerly were most artistic, have come out of the hands of the decorators as veritable bowers of rich yet tasty beauty. They have been decorated with stucco ornaments, painted in consonance with the general color scheme and provided with heavy plush maroon curtains swinging on brass rods. The entrance to the boxes, above and below, are adorned with rich curtains, that insure at once privacy and real comfort. The proscenium has been decorated in Roman gold, the façade, doing away with the curtain drop, being especially tasty…the steel curtain has been repainted and a new olio drop provided.” The article continued, “The seating capacity of the theater has undergone no change, the safety of the patrons being Manager Murdock’s first consideration when this matter was taken up. The seats above and below have been provided with cushion seats and the framework of the chairs tinted in ivory and gold…More than $30,000 was spent by Manager Murdock in the beautification of the theater, and that the money has been expended to some purpose the admirable result are ample indication” (8 Nov 1908, page 30).
“Streets of Paris” advertisement from the “Star Tribune,” 18 April 1907 page 7
In 1907, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “In April I went to St. Paul to put up the show ‘Streets of Paris’ in the Auditorium. It fitted alright and looked well.”
The show was given by the Junior Pioneers and held in the St. Paul Auditorium. The Auditorium, built by popular subscription, had been recently completed and turned over to the city only a few weeks prior to the event. 50,000 people attended “Streets of Paris” that spring. One of the display booths was a reproduction of the Eiffel Tower by an electric company. It was located in the center of the hall as part of an area arranged to replicate the streets of Paris. This type of project continued to offer opportunities to scenic studios as themed booths required creative construction methods and scenic art.
The “Streets of Paris” Eiffel Tower exhibit by the St. Paul Gas Light Company from the St. Paul Pioneer Dispatch, 1907.
Events such as the “Streets of Paris” became increasingly popular during the first decade of the twentieth century. They offered local companies an indirect method of securing business throughout their area and region. Food fairs, electric shows, advertising shows, automobile exhibits and other popular public events drew thousands of people together in metropolitan areas every years, providing visibility for a variety of products.
The National Electric Light Association Convention even included the presentation of a paper about noting the benefits of the “Streets of Paris” and a previous show at the St. Paul armory in 1907. Prior to the Streets of Paris, the St. Paul Lodge of Elks held a pure-food show and home industrial carnival at the armory. The event provided St. Paul Gas Light Company with an opportunity to present the many sanitary and other reasons to use electricity for cooking, heating, lighting and ventilating, showing the possibilities of improved electric appliances. For the “Streets of Paris” there were demonstration with electric coffee percolators and electric cooking appliances.
The 1905 electric exhibit by the St. Paul Gas Light Company at the armory.
As with the armory, the St. Paul Auditorium was well adapted to reach a large number of people at the same time. It was an ideal advertising opportunity for many local businesses. These grand scale events subsequently provided work for scenic studios throughout the region to supplement their income. There was more work than any one studio could handle, so studios outside of the area were brought in to create a variety of display booths and exhibits.
Part 570: Cleopatra at Kansas City’s Electric Park
In 1907, Thomas G. Moses wrote that he did one project “outside in the Electric Park.” He noted that it was a small Cleopatra production.
Main Entrance to Electric Park in Kansas City, Missouri
The Electric Park that Moses worked at was the second amusement park constructed by Joseph, Michael, and Ferdinand Jr. Heim, of Heim Brothers Brewery. It opened to the public May 19, 1907, and remained in operation until 1925 when it burned to the ground. The first Electric Park in Kansas City constructed by the Heim Brothers was built next to the Heim Brewery in 1899. At the time, Heim Brothers Brewery was the largest brewery in the world.
Heim Brewery in Kansas City, MissouriHeim Brewery with the first electric park in the distance.
The first Electric Park was open from 1899-1906. When the first park closed, some of the attractions were moved to the second Electric Park. Both parks were known for their illuminated buildings and considered trolley parks.
A scene from the first Electric Park in Kansas City, Missouri. The brewery in pictured in the distant right background.
Known as Kansas City’s Coney Island, the second Electric Park was served by the Troost Avenue, Woodland Avenue, and Rockhill lines of the Metropolitan Street Railway Company. The park featured band concerts, vaudeville theatre, a natatorium (outdoor swimming area), boat tours, soda fountains and ice cream shops. A variety of attractions included, an electric fountain, a ballroom, a German Village, and alligator farm, boat tours, and old mill ride, a scenic railway, a shooting gallery, ice cream shops, an air gun gallery, Chutes, Dips Coaster, Norton Slid, Hale’s Tour of the World, a Temple of Mirth, Flying Lady, Double Whirl, a carousel, pool room, penny parlors, Casino 5 Cent Theatre, fortune telling, palmistry, a covered promenade and horseless buggy garage.
A postcard of Electric Park in Kansas City, MissouriThe same scene at night. A postcard of Electric Park in Kansas City, Missouri
In 1911, one million people visited Electric park, averaging 8000 visitors a day during the season. It was the second Electric Park, however, that would prove inspirational to Walt Disney when he designed Disneyland.
A postcard of Electric Park in Kansas City, MissouriA postcard of Electric Park in Kansas City, MissouriA postcard of Electric Park in Kansas City, MissouriA postcard of Electric Park in Kansas City, Missouri
When the park burned to the ground in 1925, a young Walter Cronkite witnessed the event. In his 1996 memoirs, “A Reporter’s Life” he wrote, “Our hill overlooked, a half dozen blocks away, Electric Park…One night after closing it burned in a spectacular fire. The Ferris wheel seemed to turn as the flames climbed up its sides. The grease caught fire on the two parallel tracks of the Greyhound Racer roller coaster, and twin blazes raced up and down with the speed of the cars that once toured the Disorderly conduct tumultuous circuit…”
In 1907, Thomas G. Moses wrote, ““We opened our annex studio at 19 W. 20th Street in July, and Ansel Cook went there as a manager.” Moses commented on Cook as a scenic artist, “He did some very good work but was a long time doing it, which, of course, didn’t pay us.” Moses divided his time between Sosman & Landis’ main and annex studios that year, in addition to being on the road a lot. After one extended absence from the annex studio, he wrote, “Took charge of the 20th Street Studio on my return weeks. Cook did $750.00 of work in three weeks. My first three amounted to $3,500.00, some difference. I hustled while he talked art and what the firm ought to do to get business.” This is a pretty interesting observation made by Moses about Cook, as Moses was known for his speed. Anyone that dawdled or didn’t pull his weight was criticized by Moses.
I have found no information about Ansel Cook beyond his scenic art. Moses records that he was primarily a drapery painter who began working at Sosman & Landis studio during 1904. Prior to his time at Sosman & Landis, Cook worked as a scenic artist with stage mechanic Ben W. Craig for the Castle Square Theatre Company. Together they designed and built many shows from 1896 to 1902. Some of their projects included “The Ensign,” “Captain Swift,” “Rosedale,” “The Heart of Maryland,” “The New South,” “The Prisoner of Zenda,” “Caste,” “Men and Women,” “Mignon,” “Tannhäuser,” “The Prodigal Daughter,” “Darkest Russia,” “A Social Highwayman,” Cumberland 61,” “Col George of Mt. Vernon,” “Nell Gwyn,” “Cyrano de Bergerac,” “The Little Minister,” “Jim the Penman,” and “Quo Vadis.”
Castle Square Theatre production of Erminie with scenery by Ansel Cook. From the “Boston Post,” 6 Sept 1896, page 10Castle Square Theatre production of Erminie with scenery by Ansel Cook. From the “Boston Post,” 6 Sept 1896, page 10
By 1905, Cook was working in Chicago, establishing Ansel Cook studios. In addition to painting under his own name, he was also working in the Sosman & Landis studio. This is similar to what Moses did at Sosman & Landis, taking many projects after hours. It also explains his advertisement in White City Magazine where he includes, “All the scenery in beautiful Canals of Venice at White City painted my me.”
Ansel Cook advertisement in White City Magazine, 1905
The Ansel Cook studio was mentioned in “Minneapolis Journal” as producing the accompanying painted backings for the first formal American production of Lorenzo Perosi’s La Risurrezione di Cristo, the Resurrection of Christ, at the Minneapolis Auditorium in 1905 (2 Sept. 1905, page 14). Perosi’s oratorio was part of the Banda Rossa program performed at the Auditorium during State Fair week, and included Gina Ciaparelli (soprano), Bessie Bonsall (contralto), Albert Quesnel (tenor) and Salvatore Nunziato (baritone) for the solo parts.
30×40 paintings for the American premiere of Pelosi’s oratorio were created by Ansel Cook. From the “Star Tribune,” 3 Sept 1905, page 31
Cook’s compositions included “Mary at the Tomb, the meeting between the Savior and Mary Magdalene, the meeting of the Saviour and the Disciples on the Road to Emmaus, the Savior in the Multitude and the Ascension Scene” (Minneapolis Journal, 2 Sept. 1905, page 14). The “Minneapolis Journal” article described, “As the music progresses, these views, each 30×40 feet, with the wonderful electric lighting effects, are dissolved one into another. The effect is intensely interesting, and the mind, acted upon alike by the music and the pictures, is almost overwhelmed by the reality, the beauty and the solemnity of the scenes thus depicted by tone and brush.” The “Star Tribune” added, “These are exquisite works of art and when lighted by the different electrical devices used in their presentation are wonderful, beautiful, and fantastic, illuminating the music as it progresses” (Star Tribune, 3 Sept 1905, page 31). In 1905 Cook’s office was in room 60 of the Grand Opera House Building in Chicago. He was listed as a scenic artist, designer, originator and constructor in The White City Magazine. The Banda Rossa had also performed for four weeks at White City Amusement Park where Cook had painted the scenery for the attraction, “Venice.” The water ride included 90,000 square feet of painted panoramas depicting the sites of the city.
Banda Rossa featured as entertainment for four weeks at White City Amusement park, 1905
There is little mention of Cook again until 1908 when he is working in California. The “Los Angeles Times” reported, “Ansel Cook, late scenic artist for Henry Miller, has just been engaged for the same position at the Belasco Theatre here. ‘The Great Divide’ settings were made by Mr. Cook. He was for six years with the Castle Square company of Boston” (27 July 1908, page 7). Also that summer, Cook was mentioned as providing new scenery for the Weyerson & Clifford’s Southern Thorne and Orange Blossoms Company (Billboard, Vol. 20, 8 August 1908, page 25).
By fall 1908, the “Los Angeles Times” announced, “Belasco Theatre has a new scene painter, Ansel Cook. He has the reputation of being one of the country. His “Exterior of the Black Snake Ranch,” in Acts II and III, is a Texas landscape, beautiful in color, and one of the most effective backgrounds ever seen on the Belasco stage” (Los Angeles Times, 30 Sept. 1908, page 17). By winter, Cook was also credited with also decorating the green room of Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles (Los Angeles Herald, 13 Dec. 1908, page 32).
I have been unable to locate any information of Ansel Cook beyond 1908, only brief mention of Mrs. Ansel Cook’s attendance at social gatherings. Interestingly, however, a Vaudeville palace drop sketch by Cook sketch was donated to the Morgan Library & Museum by Mr. and Mrs. Donald M. Oenslager in 1982. As with many designs, notes were scribbled all over the back of this painting the Scollay Square Theatre in Boston in 1900. There is a New York Studios stamp on the back: “THE NEW YORK STUDIOS / 1004 TIMES B’LDG, – NEW YORK.” New York Studios was the eastern affiliate of Sosman & Landis managed by David Hunt. This would have been the initial connection between Cook and Sosman & Landis. Moses was also working in New York from 1900-1904. The design also includes a note in pencil, along top edge: “Palace Drop Ansel Cook, Scollay Squ. Theater. Died aft 1915.”
This notation suggests that Cook passed away by 1915, however, I have been unsuccessful in locating any obituary for him during that year.
