Information about historic theaters, scenic art and stage machinery. Copyright © 2026 by Wendy Rae Waszut-Barrett, PhD
Garden drop design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, ca. 1905-1910.
This is part of the Twin City Scenic Co. Collection, Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries.
The Twin City Scenic Co. Collection, Holak Collection, Northwest Studios Collection and Great Western Stage Equipment Co. Collection are all part of an online searchable database. There are over 3000 images of historic designs produced by American scenic studios.
For the next two weeks, I am taking a break from my blog to complete an out-of-town painting project. I will return to posting on Aug. 24, 2020.
This spring I designed a permanent portal for the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. The next two weeks will be spent painting the three pieces. Based on historical samples and color palettes, the drops are quite large, and intended to reduce the 50’ proscenium opening for more intimate performances. The top piece (Grand Border) measures 12’h x 54’w and will be painted down. The side pieces (Grand Tormentors), 20’h x 18’w, will be painted up, on a vertical frame. I will post the process photos upon completion.
Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1920 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “June and July found us tied up with a lot of repaint stuff for the Junior Orpheum, all over the country, and there was some awful stuff sent in to be repainted, while there was some that was really good.” Junior Orpheum theaters were the Orpheum Circuit’s “popular-priced” vaudeville houses.
There are a few things to consider about Moses’ diary entry. The first is that stage settings were never meant to last. Repainting backdrops and flats were a common occurrence when theaters could not afford to purchase a new scene, or entire stock scenery collection. Due to the nature of the paints, the scenery did not just receive another coat of paint. The tempera paint was scrubbed down, effectively removed to leave a slightly stained piece of fabric that was ready for a new coat of paint.
Painted scenery was a major investment for any performance venue at the time. Scenic studio catalogues even offered the refurbishing of old flats and fabric as an alternative to purchasing new. From 1889 to 1894, Sosman & Landis catalogues included a “Special Notice.” The section noted, “When there is already a stock of Scenery on the stage, and it is desired to add some new scenes and wings, we can easily make them to fit the frames of present scenery, and they may be mounted on the backs of other ‘flats’ and ‘wings.’ We can do this work for you much better, and we think cheaper than you can have an artist do it on stage, and it will save you considerable trouble. If you intend putting any new Scenery this coming season, we hope we will hear from you, and we will try and make it to your interest to at least give us a trial order.” At the time, the firm advertised they had already supplied 1700 opera house, theaters and halls in the United States and Canada with stock scenery. By 1894, Sosman & Landis catalogues announced, “Over 4,000 places of amusement are to-day using scenery made by our firm.” By 1904, it was close to 6,000.
The Junior Orpheum Circuit was just one more client who opted to repaint existing stock scenery collections for upcoming touring shows and a variety of vaudeville acts.
Of the Junior Orpheum Circuit, the “Los Angeles Evening Express” interviewed Martin Beck, managing director of the Orpheum Circuit on April 9, 1920 (page 29). He explained the theater chain in seven cities that will be grouped under the name of the “Junior Orpheum” circuit. In the interview Beck stated, “In naming the theaters that are to make up the Junior Orpheum circuit, we intend calling them after the intersecting streets on which they are located. Thus, in Kansas City we have named that theater the Fourteenth-Main, and the one in Minneapolis has been called the Ninth-Hennepin. The Los Angeles theater will be known as the Hill and the name of the other street on which it will be situated. It is impossible to give the exact location of the Los Angeles theater at the present time, as the full title of the property has not been acquired.”
Mort H. Singer was the manager of the Orpheum Circuit. He explained, “By the establishment of the Junior Orpheum we will be able to book more and better material for the regular Orpheum system of theaters which has always been far above the best of any vaudeville circuit. Contract will be made for an entire year, and the acts will play first the regular Orpheum Circuit and then double back on the Junior Orpheum circuit, thus maintaining the same high-class performance on the Junior circuit and in the regular Orpheum theater. There will be no reserved seats in the Junior Orpheum theaters, and the admission charged will be at popular process. Patrons will be assured of more than three hours of high-class entertainment.” This reminded my of second run dollar theaters; same show, a little later, and a lot cheaper. Really quite brilliant from a business sense. You are able to extend the run of a show, and have a secondary venue simply based on volume.
Moses had previously worked with both Beck and Singer, so the Junior Orpheum selecting Sosman & Landis to refurbish all of their existing stock scenery is not a surprise at all.
To be continued…
Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1919 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Adams Theatre occupied much of my time during the month of February.” The Adams Theatre opened in March 1919 and was located at 22 West Adams Avenue in Detroit, Michigan.
The president and treasurer of the Adams Theatre Company was John H. Kunsky. By the summer of 1919, Moses wrote, “A number of drops and a large picture set for Kunsky of Detroit was completed in June with success. This is the first work that we have done for him.” If he hadn’t written, “this was the first work we have done for him,” I might have thought it was a second delivery to the Adams Theatre. It is also possible that Moses worked with another Adams Theatre representative on the Adams Theatre project, just not Kunsky. However, it was likely that successful delivery of scenery to the Adams Theatre caused Kunsky to contact him directly for another job. Kunsky also owned the Madison Theatre in Detroit, a venue that opened on March 7, 1917. Moses mention of drops and large picture set delivered were possibly for that theater. The Madison Theatre was a sizable house with a seating capacity of 1800. The top floors of the building housed the Kunsky circuit’s main offices.
Kunsky was a mover and shaker in Detroit by this time. Kunsky was integrally linked to the movie theatre industry in the town, having brought a motion picture machine to Detroit in 1905 and opened the Royal theatre in 1908. The “Detroit Press” cited Kunsky’s history in Detroit in relation the Royal Theatre. The article reported, “John H. Kunsky started in business as Michigan’s first exhibitor in 1905, in the Casino theater, in Monroe avenue, remodeled from a store, and having a seating capacity of 125. Encouraged by the success of this venture, in company with others he gained a lease on the property at Monroe avenue and Farmer street, demolished the building and erected a new structure that was christened the Royal theatre and contained 200 seats. At the time it was said to be the largest and finest motion picture house west of New York, a statement that sounds strange in these days when seating capacity is counted in thousands, and the entire original equipment of the Royale would not inventory enough to give a modern house a fair start in the matter of decorations. Nevertheless, Detroiters marveled at so large a place devoted to a new-fangled idea that. It was predicted, was only a fad, and not a few local wiseacres predicted speedy failure for the enterprise. Mr. Kunsky had the true showman’s idea of giving the public plenty for its money. He promptly installed and “orchestra” consisting of a piano and drums. As an added attraction there was a singer who warbled ballads to the accompaniment of colored lantern slides. Detroiters used to go to the Royale to scoff and remain to marvel, for they not only found lavish appointments, as those things were reckoned then, but pictures that were worth watching. Gradually the business grew, and soon the house was firmly established, with seats at a premium most of the time. The Royal was one of the first, if not the first, picture houses to stage a longtime run. It screened ‘The Passion Play’ at an advanced price, admission being raised from 5 to 10 cents, and for eight weeks, with the aid of a special lecturer, it drew crowds. This helped to make the Royals the talk of the town, and to put the theater on a well-paying basis, even if its clientele came chiefly from the meek and lowly, the upper classes remaining skeptical. After a while it overcame this early prejudice, but it never was particularly conspicuous, because it was shortly followed by other and larger houses. Nevertheless, its career was a steady and profitable one, and from this modest little beginning on Monroe avenue came the Kunsky Theatre Circuit embracing 14 houses, that finds its highest expression in the magnificent new Capitol and the others circling Grand Circus park, to say nothing of the thousands of private houses scattered about the city and throughout the state, many of which drew their inspiration from the tiny place that is so soon to pass from existence.”
In the fall of 1919, Kunsky he announced plans for a new theatre on the northeast corner of Hamilton Boulevard and Highland Avenue. On Nov. 9, 1919, the “Detroit Free Press” announced, “Work is to be started almost at once on the erection of a handsome theatre on the northeast corner of Hamilton boulevard and Highland avenue, for John H. Kunsky. The building is designed by C. Howard Crane, architect, and Elmer Kiehler, associate, who in the last few years have designed more than 2oo theaters in the United States and Canada, their latest work having been Detroit’s new Orchestra hall. The new theater will cost approximately $250,000, will have capacity for 2,800 persons and will be the largest residential theatre in or near Detroit. It is announced that it will also surpass any other local theater in the attractiveness of its appointments. The front of the building, with length of 180 feet, is renaissance. The furnishing and appointments will be most luxurious, in many respects, its aid, surpassing those of Mr. Kunsky’s downtown theaters, the Madison and the Adams” (page 85).
To be continued…
Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In January 1919, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Started the wood scene of the State-Lake Theatre job, which was a good beginning, rather hard to do in the Peltz and Carson Studio on account of the low ceilings, being obliged to paint one part on the upper floor and the balance on the lower floor. The studio was always warm and dry; in fact, too warm at times, which was almost as bad as not being warm enough. I was quite successful in my work at the State-Lake Theatre Everything came out quite good.”
The State-Lake Theatre opened on March 17, 1919, as part of the Orpheum Circuit. The venue was described as “Chicago’s two and one-half million dollar vaudeville playhouse” (“The Standard Union,” 20 Aug. 1919, page 8). Part of a 12-story office building located “in the loop,” it was on the corner of N. State Street and W. Lake Street. There was an enormous electric marquee on the building, measuring 96’-0” tall by 14’-6” wide; at the time, one of the largest electric signs in the world.
The auditorium boasted a seating capacity of 2,800, hosting 70,000 patrons each week during its heyday. Newspaper advertisements promised “Continuous Double Value Vaudeville and Photoplays at Single Prices,” with 4 shows daily: 11:00-2:45, 2:45-5:00, 5:00-8:00 and 8:00-11:00 (Chicago Tribune, 29 March 1919, page 19).
The theater later became part of the of the Keith-Albee-Orpheum Circuit and then the Balaban & Katz chain. Lake many other theaters, it eventually dropped all live performances and only featured movies by 1941. In 1984, the theater officially closed, with the interior being transformed into studio and office spaces for WLS-TV, a Chicago affiliate of ABC. Here is a lovely article about the theatre:
To be continued…
Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
During the spring of 1918, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “My fingers itch to get back on special scenery. This awful grind of stock scenery is and has been almost impossible.”
In 1918, many touring shows still contracted agreements that required theatres to provide stock scenery and props. Moses mentioned stock scenery in an article that he wrote for the Palette & Chisel Club Newsletter in 1927. It was part of a previously written article that Moses titled “Stage Scenery 1918.” Here is what he wrote:
“Thirty years ago most of the scenery was painted in the theatre, a room or paint bridge being arranged on the stage of adjoining room for that purpose. Each theatre furnished the necessary sets for the traveling company, which was headed by some big star. In the larger cities, the theatre employed a scenic artist and an assistant to keep regular stock scenery in good condition and to supply and special scene needed. While the regular stock scenery in each theatre was nearly complete there was always a call for some scene not to be found in stock. As the scene plot was sent ahead and turned over to the scenic artist, the required scene was built and painted. Often the scene was painted on an old drop, or over old framed wings.”
An 1894 catalogue listed various options for stock scenery delivered by Sosman & Landis. Moses painted stock scenery collections for theaters and opera houses nationwide. In 1895 alone, he was credited with painting stock scenery for the Valentine Theatre in Toledo, Ohio; the Lowell Opera House in Massachusetts; the Avenue Theatre in Pittsburg; the Broad Ripple Theatre in Indianapolis; the Hillsboro Theatre in Waterbury, Connecticut; and the Opera House in Racine, Wisconsin. By 1918, Moses was an old hand at stock scenery, and it must have seen mundane. After all, how many kitchen parlors or prisons does one ever want to paint.
The demand for stock scenery remained constant from the late nineteenth century to early twentieth century. The 1894-1895 Sosman & Landis catalogue divided stock scenery installations into three categories: traveling combinations, small opera houses and halls, and ordinary halls. Although I posted this information a few years back. Here are the descriptions.
Set No. 1 was for traveling combinations. These would be the larger performance venues that booked headliners and large-scale productions. Stock scenery for these stages included a drop curtain and at least eight backdrops depicting a fancy parlor scene, plain chamber scene, prison scene, wood scene, garden scene, street scene, rocky pass scene, and ocean view scene. In addition to the drops, there were 4 parlor wings, 4 kitchen wings, 6 wood wings, 2 front wings (tormentors), 1 grand drapery border, 3 sky borders, 3 set rocks, 3 set waters and 1 set cottage. In some cases, the parlor scene and kitchen settings were delivered as an interior box set; 4×8 flats that were lashed together with cord and cleats. Occasionally the interior flats were double-painted with a fancy interior on one side and a rustic interior on the backside.
There is need to clarify a few other terms detailed in the 1894-1895 Sosman & Landis catalogue too. Tormentor wings depicted painted columns with an “elaborate base and rich drapery at the top and side.” These wings were stationary ones that were set three or four feet back of, and parallel with, the drop curtain. The grand drapery border was painted to represent rich and massive drapery that matched the drapery on the tormentor wings.
Set No. 2 was for smaller venues, such as 200-500 seat opera houses and halls. Their stock settings included 1 drop curtain and five drops: parlor scene, kitchen scene, street scene, prison scene, and wood scene. In addition to the backdrops, there were 4 parlor wings, 4 kitchen wings, 4 wood wings, 2 front wings (tormentors), 1 grand drapery border, 2 sky borders, 3 set rocks, 3 set waters and 1 set cottage.
Set No. 3 was intended for limited spaces, such as an ordinary meeting hall for a social or fraternal organization. This option included 1 drop curtain and following drops: parlor scene, kitchen scene, street scene, and wood scene. In addition to the drops, there were 4 interior wings, 4 exterior wings, 2 front wings (tormentors), 1 grand drapery border, 2 front borders, and 2 sky borders.
The catalogue noted that the scenery was created with “extra heavy material painted in bright durable colors, by the best skilled Scenic Painters, and are warranted strictly first-class in every particular.” By 1894, Sosman & Landis advertised, “Over 4,000 places of amusement are to-day using scenery made by our firm.”
To be continued…
Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
Horace Tabor’s financial fall in the 1890s resulted in the sale of his two prized possessions, opera houses in Leadville and Denver. The Tabor Opera House in Leadville briefly became known as the Weston Opera House before J. H. Herron purchased it. Herron immediately sold the property to the Benevolent and Protected Order of Elks who renovated it. The fraternal organization began a massive building renovation in 1901. The $25,000 renovation by the Elks included a new stage with fly loft and enlargement of the auditorium. There were also many cosmetic changes made to the interior décor that included an elk’s head mounted on the proscenium wall. Gone was the original painted décor and characteristic of the 1870s theater.
The 1902 scenery collection delivered to the Tabor Opera House included at least six interior sets: two center door fancies, two plain interiors, a prison, and a Baronial Hall. Over the years, I have encountered dozens of examples of interior settings, especially in social halls and smaller venues. However, I have never encountered any on such an elaborate setting as at the Tabor Opera House. Not all interior sets at the Tabor Opera House are of the same quality, being produced by two different studios. The green gothic interior and yellow center door fancy are some of the best scenic art examples that I have encountered to date. They are products of Sosman & Landis, a firm subcontracted by Kansas City Scenic Co. in 1902.
Both firms shared work and artists over the years, but in was F. R. Megan, the Kansas City Scenic Co. salesman, who secured the Leadville contract.
I am going to start F. R. Megan. Frederick Rishel
[sometimes noted as Richell]
Megan was born in Galesburg, Illinois on May 5, 1873. His father was Dr. John W. Megan, an Irish immigrant, and his mother was Cornelia Wookey, a native of New York; they were married in 1871 in Knox, Illinois. [I have to admit, reading “Cornelia Wookey” makes it difficult not to think about “Star Wars”].
The first mention of Frederick R. Megan is in an 1896 Kansas City Directory; his listing notes “trvlg” [traveling] and rmg [rooming] at 1021 McGee. In 1897 Megan was performing and touring with the Barrett & Barrett Company (“Leonardville Monitor,” Leonardville, Kansas, 2 Dec. 1897, page 8). By 1900 the US Census lists Megan’s wife as Thenia Jones, born in Carroll, Arkansas around 1877. The couple was married in Jackson, Missouri, on April 14, 1898, likely while Megan was touring. The transition from performance to technical theater is not a great leap, as many 19th century touring companies required their performers to complete backstage tasks, including scene painting. Jesse Cox is only one example of a performer who ended up enjoying a successful career as a scenic artist.
On July 19, 1900, Fred and Thenia Megan celebrated the birth of their daughter, Anabel L. Megan; all were living in Kansas City, Missouri.
Megan continued to appear in the Kansas City Directory until 1918, with his first listing as Kansas City scenic Co. salesman in 1903. However, we know that he was already with the company in 1901, as newspapers published his association with the firm.
In 1903, however, Megan established his residence at 507 Monroe, where he would continue to reside from for over a decade before moving to 4136 Warwick Boulevard. Although he continued to be listed as a traveling salesman for the Kansas City Scenic Studio Co. by 1920, Megan was listed as Government Supervisor. Many scenic artists worked for the government on painting projects during WWI, especially in regard to the development of camouflage painting. The 1920 US Census listed Megan and his wife Thenia as living a 16th Street in Washington, D.C., although Kansas City Directories still included their entry.
Megan’s 1918 WWI draft registration card describes him as tall and medium build, with blue eyes and grey hair. He was 45 years old at the time. On his draft card Megan listed his occupation as traveling salesman for the Kansas City Scenic Co,, located at 24th and Harrison Streets in Kansas City, Missouri.
And then there is Megan’s connection to Thomas G. Moses. After the death of Joseph S. Sosman in 1915, Sosman & Landis stockholders elected Moses company president. He was a gifted artist and charming salesman, but was not intricately connected to the same theatre and Masonic networks as his predecessor. The company started to slip, losing projects to smaller companies with the necessary connections. In the post-WWI years, Moses began to realize that Sosman & Landis would not survive. By 1923, Moses wrote, “On our return to Chicago we had a little chat with Fred Megan about buying into the company and getting Hoyland and Lemle out. D.S. Hunt is also bobbing about for the lease of the studio.” It is this connection with Megan that has always peaked my interest. Megan was the consummate salesman, having entered the studio scene early in his career. The opera house in Leadville was one of his first big projects for Kansas City Scenic Co. that brought in Sosman *& Landis as a subcontractor.
In 1923, Megan and Moses teamed up and leased the old Fabric Studio in Chicago while they waited to purchased the Sosman & Landis name. By 1924, Megan was on the road most of the time, with Moses making models in his studio and painting scenery. This is how Sosman & Landis had most successfully operated since the beginning- with Landis on the road and Sosman in the studio. Now Megan was on the road and Moses was in the studio. Moses and Megan would close the contract for the Salt Lake Consistory scenery [Scottish Rite] during 1926. They would also deliver scenery to the Oakland Scottish Rite in 1927 under the name of “Sosman & Landis.” Moses and Megan continued working together until 1931. In 1933, Megan was listed as the Sosman & Landis manager in Chicago, residing at 819 Dobson in the Evanston, Illinois, Directory.
At the time of Megan’s passing on April 16, 1946, his “usual occupation” was listed as that of a “paint contractor.” At the time of his death, he was married to Edith Wilkson and was living in La Joya, Texas. The cause of his death was a heart attack.
To be continued…
Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar. The Colorado Springs Opera House and the Scenic Artists Robert Hopkins, 1881.
Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
Yesterday I explored the drop curtain created by Robert Hopkins for the Tabor Grand Opera House in Denver, Colorado. On Thomas G. Moses, Edward Morange, Hardesty Maratta, and John Young visited the Tabor Opera House in Denver to see the drop curtain by their friend Robert Hopkins in 1884. Moses wrote, “We all attended the theatre, the famous Tabor Grand, and we found it all we had expected it would be, nicely decorated and fine woodwork. The Drop Curtain was very good: an old ruin with some poetical feeling that pleased everyone. It was painted by an old friend of mine, Mr. Robert Hopkins, of Detroit, Michigan. This is a favorite subject of his, he having done a similar one in Detroit” (The palette & Chisel, Vol. 1, No. 3, March 1928).
So who was Robert Hopkins? He was a scenic artist from the Midwest who began his career in Detroit, and later was associated with other large metropolitan areas through his work. Hopkins came from a family with four consecutive generations of Detroit artists named Robert Hopkins. The patriarch of the family specialized in marine scenes and never appears to have left the Detroit area. I believe that it was his son, Robert Hopkins, Jr. who ventured to Chicago and continued to travel west for theatrical opportunities.
Robert Hopkins, Jr. was born in 1856, the same year as Thomas G. Moses. As Moses sporadically worked in Detroit throughout the duration of his career, it is likely that their friendship began with the Hopkins family in Michigan. Unlike Moses who started his artistic career at the age of 17, Hopkins was already actively working and listed as a painter by 15 years old. The 1870 census listed Scottish artist Robert Hopkins Sr., age 37, as an artist and his son Robert Jr. as a painter. Hopkins Sr. was married to Evaline, age 38 at the time, with four children: Sophia (age 17, b. 1854), Robert Jr. (age 15), William G (14), Marshall (8) and George Ruby (17). During this time, the family was listed as living at 664 Detroit Ward 5, E Wayne, Michigan.
In 1875, Moses recorded that he worked on scenery for the “Naiad Queen” under the “celebrated Robert Hopkins.” Hopkins was a close friend of C. Lou Malmsha (1847-1882), another well-known artist whose career soared, but he passed away at the young age of 35. Malmsha seems to half left an indelible mark on all who knew him. Moses worked as both Malmsha’s assistant and under the direction of Hopkins at the in the beginning and this experience certainly shaped his approach to scenic art. Less than a decade later Hopkins was credited as producing the scenery for Detroit Opera House, according to Harry Miner’s American Dramatic Directory for the 1882-1883.
It remains unclear as to whether Moses worked with the elder or younger Hopkins in Detroit. Although it seems reasonable that it would be the elder Hopkins, fame struck many scenic artists at an incredibly early age in the 19th century; sometimes it just took one show. I believe Moses was referring to Robert Hopkins Jr. Keep in mind, less than a decade later Moses left Sosman & Landis for the first time to form a new scenic studio with Lemuel L. Graham, future founder of Kansas City Scenic Co. Moses’ ascent to the top of his professional was relatively quick too, he was just a few years behind Hopkins despite their same age.
Like many itinerant artists at the time, the Hopkins traveled from town to town and tried to secure as many painting contracts in an area before departing. What I have noticed is that when a scenic artist came to town to paint scenery for one theater, other venues took advantage of their arrival. This means that a talented artist was immediately approached after arriving in any town or territory. If their name was associated with a popular touring show, the arrival was even more anticipated and people lined up with projects. During 1881, Hopkins seems to have settled in Colorado for a spell, before returning east. Hopkins produced scenery for both Tabor’s Grand Opera House in Denver and the new opera house in Colorado Springs.
Of his 1881 Colorado Springs project, “The Leadville Daily Herald” reported, “Mr. Robert Hopkins, of Chicago, an artist of large experience, has had charge of the scene painting, and it, together with the arrangements for shifting, are equal to that of any stage in the country. There are thirteen sets of scenes, supplied with all the accessories to make each complete” (April 19, 1881, page 1).
Colorado Spring’s “Daily Gazette” reported, “The appointments of the stage will fully equal and in the best metropolitan establishments. The scenery is of the most elaborate and tasteful description and is painted by the well known artist, Mr. Robert Hopkins” (Colorado Springs, 19 April 1881, pages 1-2). Hopkins was mentioned again in the section entitled, “Stage Arrangements,” providing a little my information about the scenic artists and the stage house for the April 9, 1881, opening of the opera house in Colorado Springs:
“The stage is very large considering the size of the theatre, and the finest scenic effects can be produced upon it. The proscenium arch is 24×24 feet, thus giving ample room. The drop curtain is an exceedingly handsome bit of work, representing a Venetian scene. The decoration of the theatre and the painting of the scenes are under the direction of J. B. Sullivan & Bro. of Chicago, The artist in charge of the scene painting is Mr. Robert Hopkins, who is the general designer of the decorations. These designs are entirely original, having no duplicates in any theatre. The scenery and the arrangements for shifting it are equal to that of any stage. The scenes are shifted upon the Breach system, by means of counter-weights. There are thirteen separate sets of scenes, which are supplied with all the accessories to make each compete. Following is a partial synopsis of the scenes: garden scene, set cutwood flats, garden flat, vases, borders, statuettes, set arbor, walls, balustrades, ancient street scene, modern street scene, street arch, cave scene with accompanying wings, kitchen scene, plain chamber, palace scene, interior gothic scene, garret scene, prison castle, open wood, dense wood, rocks, grounds waters, set trees, horizon, numerous landscapes. There are over 200 pieces in all and the scenery will be so arranged that each scene will be complete from wing to wing that there rarely be need of pillar for instance, to enclose a wood scene, the scene being all woodland scenery within the stage borders, it will be a picture in a frame.”
This was a comparable scenery collection to that delivered to Tabor’s Grand Opera House in Denver during 1881. It signifies a standard of excellence for western theaters, as well as significant profits for a scenic artist.
To be continued…
Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
For additional installments, go to www.drypigment.net
One cannot explore the history of Leadville’s Tabor Opera House without taking into consideration Horace Tabor’s second theater, the Tabor Grand Opera House in Denver. It provides additional context for Tabor’s first theatre.
Leadville’s Tabor Opera House opened in November of 1879. By March 1880, Tabor announced that he had purchased land in Denver at Sixteenth and Curtis Street with plans for another opera house. As with many theater owners and architects of the time, they visited other opera houses for inspiration. Known as the Tabor Grand Opera House, to differentiate from the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, the building was designed by Edbrooke and F. P. Burnham of Chicago, with a seating capacity of 1,500. Construction for his second opera house construction began by the summer. Estimates for the new opera house were projected at 750,000 to 850,000, today’s equivalent of over $18,000,000. The theater opened on August 1, 1881, with Emma Abbott and her Grand English Opera Company. Abbott was paid a staggering $20,000, plus railway fares, for a two-week engagement (Topeka Daily Capital, 3 Aug 1881, page 7).
Of the new theater, the “Times-Picayune” reported, “The stage is constructed and fitted up on a scale that would cause envy in many Eastern theatres. The decorations in the body of the theatre itself are of the most beautiful description, and one can see at a glance that expense was not considered in the least” (New Orleans, 6 Dec. 1881, page 9).
I first learned delved into the history Tabor Grand Opera House after reading an article by Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934) for the Palette & Chisel Club newsletter. In the 1920s, he wrote a series called “Tom’s Travels.” In 1884, Moses was on a sketching trip with three other scenic artists, traveling from Chicago to Breckenridge, Colorado. Their sketching trip was to gather source material for future stage settings and hone their artistic skills. None of the young scenic artists had ever seen mountains before this trip.
Moses mentioned their stopping by the Tabor Theatre in Denver, Colorado, (Tabor Grand Opera) to see the drop curtain produced by his friend and fellow scenic artist, Robert Hopkins. Of his trip to Denver, Moses wrote: “We all fell in love with the city. It is beautifully situated, rather hilly but well laid out; fine buildings, very ornate homes, built by men who had more money than taste. We all attended the theatre, the famous Tabor Grand, and we found it all we had expected it would be, nicely decorated and fine woodwork. The Drop Curtain was very good: an old ruin with some poetical feeling that pleased everyone. It was painted by an old friend of mine, Mr. Robert Hopkins, of Detroit, Michigan. This is a favorite subject of his, he having done a similar one in Detroit” (The palette & Chisel, Vol. 1, No. 3, March 1928).
While looking for additional information about the Tabor Grand Opera, I discovered a photograph of Hawkins’ drop curtain; it is part of the Denver Public Library’s online collection. Now what is interesting to consider about the Tabor Grand Opera is that Hawkins painted the drop curtain, while Henry E. Burcky is credited with painting stock scenery collection.
At this time, it was not unusual for the drop curtain and stock scenery to be separate contracts. In many instances, the front curtain was considered a project in itself, taking much longer than most other scenery delivered to a theater. Many nineteenth century articles solely focused on those artists who specialized in drop curtains. In 1894, the “Philadelphia Inquirer” included the illustrated article – “Well-Known Drop Curtains in Philadelphia Theatre” (16 Dec, 1894, page 45). The article reported, “The drop curtain is the most expensive piece of furniture in any playhouse. Managers are more solicitous about the care of a handsome curtain that almost any other appointment in their theatres. They are usually painted by artists of wide fame in a particular branch of art which they represent, whose charges for the work range from $1,000 to $3,000.” That amount is today’s equivalent of $29,000 to $89,000 for the front curtain. This also puts the $1,000 Royal Gorge backdrop purchased for the 1879 Tabor Opera House in perspective.
So consider the 1879 backdrop at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, and the 1881 drop curtain painted by Robert Hopkins for the Tabor Grand Opera; these were incredibly expensive items for each theater, likely the most expensive appointment in the theater. We known that Tabor did not spare any expense and the painted scenes beyond the curtain line would have been no exception. Painted scenes on the stage transported audience members to other worlds, with the painted front curtain (drop curtain) being the portal. In most cases, the front curtain established set the tone of the painted décor of the space, being the most unifying aspects of all other painted elements. Restoring any theater is incomplete without this original element, and I sometime wonder if todays’ architects are unaware of this aspect.
To be continued…
Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In “The History of the Tabor Opera House, a Captivating History,” author Evelyn E. Livingston Furman described the first scenery delivered to Leadville’s Tabor Opera House in 1879. Keep in mind that H. A. W. Tabor was consistently purchasing the best for his first opera house in Leadville, Colorado. For most features he ordered the best that money could buy. One only has to only look at the opera chairs, complete with plush seats and hat racks beneath, top of the line from the Andrews Company.
The opera chairs, and everything else for the Tabor Opera House were purchased and transported before the railway stopped in this mountain community.
I cannot imagine that the focal point of the stage would have been treated any less. My guess is that the scenery cost was also considered top-of-the line goods. Furman notes explains that one backdrop, a scene depicting Royal Gorge, was purchased for $1000; that is the equivalent of a $25,000 today. An interesting aside before I move on with the remainder of the 1879 scenery: in 1880, “Western Magazine” mentions Royal Gorge as “located on the Leadville branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad” ( Vol. 4, page 176).
Furman explains that ten sets of scenes were delivered to the Tabor Opera House in 1879. This was a standard size stock collection for many smaller venues. Larger theaters ordered as many as 25 to 35 sets, while smaller musical halls may only purchase four sets.
By 1884, “Harry Miner’s American Dramatic Directory” noted there were 12 sets of scenery, increasing the original installation by two sets. This is also common, as new theaters continued to increase their stock, even within the first decade. We also know that scenery was again delivered in 1888 by scenic artist Frank Cox. So how do we know what’s up in the attic? We don’t, not yet, at least.
The original 1879 pieces are purportedly stored in the attic, but with an ever-expanding collection before the 1901 renovation it is hard to know what comprises the original collection. There is wing and shutter scenery, as well as roll drops, in the attic that pre-dates the 1902 Kansas City Scenic Co. scenery; of that there is no question. I dug through much of it and documented what I could on my 49th birthday. I know, without any doubt at all, that the wing and shutter scenery in the attic pre-dates the 1901 building renovation, and I can easily identify the 1902 scenery, as it is too tall for the original stage, and many pieces even included studio stencils on the back.
In theatrical guides, the height of the original grooves for the Tabor Opera House stage was listed as 16’-0”. The height of the proscenium varied in publications from 17’-0” to 20’-0”. All of the 1902 scenery is 18’-0” tall.
Other 1879 scenery mentioned by Furman include a forest scene, a garden scene, a palace scene, a plain chamber scene with a balcony, and a prison scene. Amazingly, we uncovered what is likely the original balcony last week, albeit in very poor shape. It seems to be the appropriate age, complete with rough-hewn lumber and very unlike the 1902 scenery. Our roll drop discovery with the Palace composition was also constructed of rough-hewn lumber.
Furman also recorded a set of double-painted flats: one depicting a New England Kitchen and the other a Baronial Hall scene on the other. I knew exactly what she was talking about as two of those flats were on stage last week; I knew that the rest were in the attic. However, we noticed that the Baronial Hall side (a Gothic interior) was over painted. Although it was an identical composition below, the flat had been repainted. This absolutely fascinated me, and I took several photographs of the under-painting that depicted an identical composition with slightly different coloration. Although exciting, it throws a wrench into the works. It will be harder to determine what is original painting.
Theatre scenery was, and remains, ephemeral in nature. Repainting and replacing are all part of our process; stock sets were never intended to be permanent. Those that remain are really the anomaly.
Finally Furman mentions three sets of wood wings for the exterior scenes and a mountain stream scene. I located the mountain stream scene shutters, and it is beautifully painted.
I also located a few wood borders. What I did notice about the collection in the attic, is how quickly the painting falls apart. It was during this time that the American scenic art wars were in full swing; those who used a series of glazes to paint stage settings versus those who used opaque washes. Opaque washes were employed in many Midwestern scenic studios and their artists, and condescendingly referred to as “slap dash.” Looking at the scenery in the attic, slap-dash certainly comes to mind. Unlike the refined techniques employed on the Sosman & Landis interior settings below, the wings, shutter, and borders in the attic appear in stark contrast. This is a fascinating time to examine the aesthetic shift that was occurring n the American stage.
In the attic during 2018, I noticed there was a grand border and two matching torms, complete with marble columns and draperies. I caught glimpses of fancy interiors, Gothic exteriors, garden walls with colorful vines, brilliant wood borders and so much more. The Tabor Opera House is a treasure trove of scenic art and stagecraft. Their collection shows the delightful transition from itinerant artists employing the slap-dash on site to mass-produced scenery produced at a major scenic studio and shipped from a distant location. I am left with great anticipation to catalogue what’s in the Tabor Opera House attic this spring.
To be continued…