In 1922 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “The best contract we had this year outside of Masonic work, was the South Bend Orpheum Theatre for about $8,400.00.” This was certainly a sizable contract, today’s equivalent of $130,237.00. Moses was referring to the Orpheum Circuit’s new Palace Theatre in South Bend, Indiana. Located at 201 North Michigan Street, it is now known as the Morris Civic Auditorium.
The Palace Theatre in South Bend, Indiana.The Palace Theatre was featured in a souvenir program when the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis opened in 1928. Here os the link to the program: http://www.historic-memphis.com/…/orp…/orpheum-1928.html
This was the second Orpheum Theatre in South Bend, Indiana. South Bend’s first Orpheum Theatre opened in 1910; a vaudeville house with a seating capacity of 1,045. By 1921 plans were in place for a much larger venue, twice the size of the first Orpheum. That year businessmen from Chicago and Indianapolis established the Palace Theatre Corporation to develop the Palace Theatre in South Bend. The Palace Theatre and the adjacent Palais Royale were designed by Chicago architect, J. S. Aroner.
An announcement for the opening of the Palace Theatre, in the “South Bend Tribune,” 29 Oct 1922, page 27.
Announcements leading up to the opening referred to the Palace Theatre as “The Future home of Orpheum Theater Vaudeville, unrivaled in its ultra elegance, comfort and convenience.”” (South Bend Tribune 29 Oct. 1922, page 27).
On Nov. 2, 1922, South Bend’s Palace Theatre opened its doors at 7:00 pm on. Announcements described the Palace Theatre as “a colossal playhouse deluxe, dedicated to the patrons of wholesome and diversified amusement” (The South Bend Tribune, 29 Oct 1922, page 27). The Palace Theatre was a combination house, featuring not only live performances, but also photoplays. Photoplays were shown at 1:15, 3:45, 5:00, 7:45 and 10:15, with vaudeville acts at 2:30, 6:45 and 9:00 pm.
In 1928, the Palace Theatre in South Bend and other Orpheum Theaters across the country were included in a souvenir program published by the Keith-Albee-Orpheum Circuit for their newest theater in Memphis, Tennessee (Nov. 19, 1928). Of South Bend’s Palace Theatre, the program noted. “The Palace is the newest and most modern of the three theatres in South Bend operated by the Keith-Albee-Orpheum Circuit. This theatre, which is known as “The Pride of South Bend,” is a large, elaborate and singularly distinctive playhouse seating more than 2,600, with all the latest equipment, including a cooling plant, a playroom for children and many other innovations. It was opened November 2, 1922, supplanting the Orpheum Theatre, where vaudeville had been presented since 1910. Both Vaudeville and feature photoplays are offered on the Palace program. There are matinee and evening performances Monday to Friday, inclusive, and on Saturday and Sunday the performances are contiguous. South Bend is a thriving industrial center and the Palace is one of the most popular theaters on the Keith-Albee-Orpheum Circuit.”
John Charles Alexander (1843-1908) worked as both a stage carpenter and stage manager at the Tabor Grand Opera House in the Denver venue during the 1880s and 1890s. Some credited him as the Tabor Grand’s master mechanic. Alexander’s knowledge about stage machinery and scenic appointments was critical for other Colorado theaters I the region, especially those that became part of the Colorado Circuit (later known as the Silver Circuit). John C. Alexander and his son, Frank R. Alexander, not only worked at the Tabor Grand, but also worked at other Denver theaters, including the Broadway Theatre, Orpheum Theatre, Denver Theatre and Elitch’s Gardens. The Alexanders worked in a variety of capacities and were listed with various titles, including property man, fly man, stage carpenter, and stage manager.
John Charles Alexander
It is impossible to tell John’s story, without including that of his son, and vice versa. Even four years after his father’s passing, Frank’s story could not be told without mention of his father. On November 14, 1912, the “United Labor News” reported, “Frank Alexander, stage carpenter of Elitch’s Garden, has just returned from Larimie, Wyo., where he installed a full equipment for the new theatre in that city. Frank is the son of J. C. Alexander, who built the stage of the Tabor Opera House, and is one of the best carpenters in Local No. 7 of the Stage Employes. More power to you, Frank (“United Labor Bulletin,” Vol. 8, No. 41, May 16, 1914).
John C. Alexander’s son, Frank R. Alexander (center) , working as a stage carpenter
Building was in the Alexanders’ blood.
John Charles Alexander was the son of Robert Alexander (1804-1855) and Rebecca Russell (1807-1873). Born on July 4, 1843, John Alexander grew up in Toronto Municipality of Ontario, Canada. He was the seventh of nine children born to the couple, with his siblings being Eliza (1830-1848), Agnes (1833-1921), Samuel (1834-1864), Frances “Frank” W. (1837-1913), Robert (1838-1900), James (1839-?), Rebecca (1847-?), and Eliza Jane (1853-1909). Robert Alexander was a carpenter and four of his five sons followed him in the profession. John, Robert Jr., Frances, and James all emigrated to the United States and all entered a building profession. In 1884, brother Frank W. and John C. were listed in the Denver city directory. At the time Frank was a pattern maker for a foundry, a handy connection to have if your brother is stage mechanic, designing and building stage systems in the region. Keep in mind that stage mechanics were integral in the planning and construction of performance venues.
When John Alexander was eighteen yrs. old, he moved to neighboring York. In York he married Ann Louisa McClusky (b. 1850-1888) and by 1870 and the two were living in Chicago. Interestingly, US Federal census reports list 1865 as John’s initial year of immigration to the US. By 1872, Alexander was working in Chicago as a carpenter, likely a stage carpenter. John and Ann celebrated the birth of their first two children in Chicago: Francis R. (1870-1924). Anna Mae (1873-1954). The small family briefly returned to Toronto where their third child was born 1877, Ethelia “Etta” Rebecca (1877-1958). By 1880 the US Federal Census listed John and Anna L. living with their three children in Buffalo, New York. Alexander was again employed as a stage carpenter. Within two years, the family moved west and was living in Denver, Colorado. The 1882 Denver City Directory listed J. C. Alexander as the stage carpenter at the Tabor Grand Opera House, residing at 266 Weston. John C.’s brother, Frank W. Alexander, was also listed in the directory, now working as a “doortender” at the Palace Theatre. John and Ann’s fourth child, John Milton Alexander, was born in Denver in 1883.
For the next five years the Alexanders moved from one Denver residence to another. Despite the series of moves, Alexander continued to work at the Tabor Grand Opera House from 1882-1889, with his title changing from that of stage carpenter to stage manager. The Alexanders’ life changed dramatically, however, in 1888 when Ann died in childbirth. At the time, she was 37 yrs. old. Her newborn daughter, Anna L. McCloskey Alexander, also passed away only a few weeks later. This must have been a devasting blow to the close-knit family.
Her obituary was placed in the Rocky Mountain News on March 22, 1888: “Anna Louise Alexander died on the nineteenth instant, after a brief illness. She was the wife of Mr. John C. Alexander, the stage manager for the Tabor Grand opera house. In her demise a most estimable lady is lost to a large circle of friends. She was a loving and faithful wife, and her motherly ministrations extended far beyond the portals of her own household. She was always generous and charitable, and her image will ever be held dear to those who were so fortunate as to have known her. She will be sadly missed by the employes of the opera house, who were wont to gather ’round her table and partake of the good cheer and hospitality which none better than she knew how to provide. She was 37 years old at the time of her death, and had been married sixteen years. She was the mother of three promising children, the youngest of which is four years old. She could look back on her sixteen years as a wife and mother as years of joy and happiness.”
John’s son, Frank R. Alexander, entered the theatre profession around this time and was officially listed as a property man at the Tabor Opera House in the 1889 Denver City Directory. For the next ten years, father and son often worked together at the same venue. However, between 1890 and 1891 there was a brief pause, a momentary parting the Tabor Grand. I believe that they left to work for William H. Bush during the planning and construction of his new hotel and theatre complex. Bush’s Metropole Hotel and the Broadway Theater opened in August 1890. On January 10, 1890 the “Solid Muldoon” reported, “Col. W. H. Bush’s Broadway Theatre and Apartment House, now being erected in Denver, will not be excelled or equaled in the Western country for a decade or two to come. The building will be ready for occupancy by August 1890, and then Denver can ‘point with pride’ to the grandest and most thoroughly appointed temple of amusement between the two oceans. The opening night should be made an ovation and benefit to Mr. Bush, whose energy and enterprise the ‘Queen City’ owes much more than so ordinary a demonstration calls for.” When it opened, Colorado newspapers proclaimed, “Good judges declare it one of the handsomest theatres in the world” (Delta Independent, 26 August, 1890, page 1). The “Delta Independent” described, “The interior finish and the furnishings are beautiful and the appointments are the most modern” (12 August 1890). The Broadway Theatre was in direct competition with the Tabor Grand. Bush and Tabor had a history.
The planning of the Tabor Opera House in Leadville began with William Bush, then owner of the Clarendon Hotel. Tabor was simply an investor. When Bush ran out of money, he asked Tabor for an additional investment. The final result was Tabor buying Bush and naming the new theatre the Tabor Opera House. Tensions increased between the two when Tabor built the Vendome Hotel in Leadville. The Vendome was a direct competition with Bush’s Clarendon Hotel.
Turn-about is fair play, and Bush funded a competing performance venue in Denver. The Metropole Hotel and Broadway Theatre complex directly competed with the Tabor Grand Opera House.
Metropole Hotel and Broadway Theatre, Denver, Colorado.Drop curtain painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Broadway Theatre in Denver. Denver Public Library Digital Collection.
Sparing no expense on his hotel and theatre complex, Bush brought in a band of Chicago professionals that specialized in performance venues and stage technology. Designed by Col. J. M. Wood (1841-1907), the Broadway Theatre was advertised as the first fireproof theatre in the west. Similarly, the Vendome Hotel was advertised as the first fireproof hotel in the west. I have explored the career of Wood in past posts, as well as his establishment of the architectural firm Wood & Lovell in 1891. For more information, visit: https://drypigment.net2019/01/09/tales-from-a-scenic-artist-and-scholar-part-610-theatre-architects-col-j-w-wood-and-sidney-lovell/. By 1892, Wood was credited with having “devoted a great deal of time and study to the comfort, convenience, acoustic qualities and effect in the design and arrangements of opera houses, theaters and concert halls” (“The Bay of San Francisco,” Volume 1, 1892). Wood had repeatedly hired and worked with Sosman & Landis, specifically selecting Thomas G. Moses from the firm. The team took Denver by storm, and another link connected the Queen City with the Windy City. Although Alexander lived in Denver, he also had roots with the Chicago theatre community. It would have made sense for all involved to bring Alexander and his son onboard for the Broadway Theatre project.
Interestingly, John C. Alexander was not listed in the Denver Directory during 1890, and by 1891 he was simply listed as a bartender. This may have been a calculated listing at the time. The John C. Alexander listed as a bartender in the 1891 Denver Directory is the same as the stage carpenter, simply based on his home address. In the same 1891 directory, however, Frank R. Alexander was listed as the stage carpenter for the new Broadway Theatre. Whatever the reason for both Alexanders to not being associated with the Tabor Grand in 1891, both were back by 1892.
The 1892 Denver Directory listed John C. Alexander as the Tabor Grand’s a stage manager with his son as a stage carpenter, Their work for the venue was short-lived and by 1897 both Alexanders were back at the Broadway Theatre, each working as stage carpenters. John C. Alexander became the stage manager for the Broadway Theatre in 1898. Keep in mind that the Sherman Silver Purchase Act was repealed in 1893, financially crippling Tabor and forcing him to eventually his theaters.
Drop curtain painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Broadway Theatre in Denver. Denver Public Library Digital Collection.Drop curtain painted by Thomas G. Moses for the Broadway Theatre in Denver. Denver Public Library Digital Collection.
One of the projects that I am working on right now is establishing artist provenance for each piece of scenery at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado. This means creating a biography for scenic artists and stage mechanics who manufactured scenery and stage machinery for the Tabor Opera House and Tabor Grand Opera House. When possible, I link a specific creator with an extant artifact. This week, the focus of my search was J. C. Alexander, a well-known stage carpenter in Colorado from 1883-1908. The story of his life and career took shape as I read dozens of articles about his projects in relation to the Tabor Grand Opera House and the Colorado Circuit.
I doubt that H. A. W. Tabor understood much about theatre stages when Tabor Opera House was built in 1879. The architects and contractors failed to include experienced theatre professionals in the early planning; always a crucial and costly mistake. Although Tabor hired a very skilled fresco artist (J. E. Lamphere) and a capable carpenter (Mr. Barber), their stage arrangements failed upon repeated use. This did not mean that Lamphere of Barber were unskilled, they simply did not specialize in scenic illusion, stage machinery and stage transformations.
By 1882, the Tabor Opera House auditorium and stage underwent a pretty substantial rebuild. The roof was lifted up for acoustics and the stage appointments completely redone. Of the stage work, the “Leadville Daily Herald” reported, “there will be a change for the better in regard to scenery, scene shifting and drop curtains. Those ridiculous hitches in scene shifting that have heretofore occurred on one or two occasions will no longer take place. An experienced stage man has been secured in the person of Mr. H. C. Sprague, who has had extensive experience in the east” (August 23, 1882). H. C. Sprague became the stage carpenter for the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, and J. C. Alexander became the stage carpenter for the Tabor Grand Opera House in Denver. Of the two, Alexander became integral in helping mechanically prepare venues for inclusion in the Colorado Circuit.
At some point between 1879 and 1882, Tabor realized that the key to securing touring shows was the backstage appointments. A specific set of stage accommodations attracted touring shows; you can’t put on a successful production without the necessary equipment. Regardless of the extravagance spent on front of house accommodations, it was the backstage area that mattered and attributed to securing popular productions.
Getting class acts to Denver, let alone to Leadville, was expensive. The only way to increase profits was to have the same production tour several venues in the area, or stop on their way to another location. This meant that the traveling costs were divided among the various theaters, reducing the overall expense for each house. Ultimately, western theatrical circuits saved money by sheer volume of venues. Simply offering multiple stops on a tour, however, was not enough to engage a touring company. The stage accommodations had to technically support each show.
For example, when the Grand Central theatre opened in Leadville only a month after the Tabor Opera House, it became quickly apparent that the Grand Central had a far superior stage. The only way for the Tabor Opera House to overcome this deficiency was to connect with a larger metropolitan venue and become part of a circuit – the Tabor circuit. When Denver’s Tabor Grand Opera House opened in 1881, it became the life blood for Tabor’s much smaller venue in Leadville. Without the connection to the Tabor Grand, I doubt that the Tabor opera house would have weathered any of its Leadville competition. Even with featuring the same touring productions as the Tabor Grand, the Tabor opera house had to improve their scenic appointments, hence, the 1882 renovation. The improvements necessitated the involvement of a stage carpenter and scenic artist intimately familiar with the demands of touring companies. Enter Henry E. Burcky, J. C. Alexander and H. C. Sprague. Keep in mind that “stage carpenter” is interchangeable with stage mechanic and stage manager at this time.
After the 1882 renovation of Leadville’s Tabor Opera House, the Tabor Grand Opera House began to hire out the services of their stage carpenter and scenic artist (Burkey and Alexander). This was an attempt to improve regional stages, thus establishing appropriate stops on a western circuit – the Colorado Circuit. In 1885, Alexander and Burcky transformed DeRemer’s rink into the new DeRemer Opera House. One article published in the “Colorado Weekly Chieftain” on Dec. 29, 1885, interviewed Alexander about a possible stage renovation.
John Charles Alexander
The renovation would allow Pueblo to host the same touring shows featured at the Tabor Grand Opera House. There was incentive for both of Tabor’s theaters, as well as the Pueblo community. Here is the 1885 article in its entirety:
“On Sunday, Mr. J. C. Alexander, the stage manager and master mechanic of the Tabor Grand opera house, Denver arrived in the city for the purpose of taking a look at DeRemer’s rink and giving an unbiased opinion as to what could be done towards converting it into an opera house. Mr. Alexander was astonished and greatly pleased at the building, it was so much superior in every way to what he expected to see. The building is both longer and wider than the Tabor Grand, and all it lacks to make room equal to the Tabor Grand auditorium in every way is height. Desiring to get Mr. Alexander’s unbiased opinion regarding the proposed scheme, a Chieftan reporter tackled him yesterday afternoon. We inquired if he thought the rink could be converted into a first class opera house.
“Certainly, sir,” said Mr. Alexander, “It can be converted into an opera house second only to the Tabor Grand in Colorado. I have studied this hall thoroughly that last few hours, and I can tell you it can be made into a splendid theater – a theater where any company visiting Colorado can play and show all of their scenery. “Here,” said he, “you will see we have a working stage of 40×76 feet between walls, with the same width of proscenium opening as the Denver stage. It can be and will be furnished with five sets of working grooves, same as the Tabor, to fold back the fly galleries and give a clear working space in width of 48 feet. We also have a clear working height to the rigging loft of 26 feet, five sets of border lights and the footlights complete the same as we have at the Tabor. To start in with Mr. DeRemer proposes to put in eleven sets of complete scenery, besides a beautiful drop curtain. The eleven sets of scenery, as the house progresses towards completeness, can be painted on the reverse side, thus giving twenty-two sets of beautiful scenery. Here also we will have ample space for scene room, property room and eight dressing rooms. With these improvements any special bit of scenery painted for the production of a special play at the Tabor Grand, will be sent over the Colorado circuit, the completion of this improvement making it possible to set the Tabor scenes at Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Leadville, but Pueblo to the greater advantage that elsewhere on the circuit, because here you will have the largest and best appointed theater on the circuit, and be possessed of every facility to produce attractions as they should be produced. The people of Pueblo will never have such an opportunity to get a good opera house again. I will tell you why. They are only asked to make a temporary loan of $3,000 towards making all these improvements. Now the fact is the improvements contemplated will cost nearer $6,000 than $3,000, yet I understood Mr. DeRemer to say that if the people put up the $3,000 asked for the improvements will be made as contemplated regardless of the extra cost. He further tells me that he will expend every dollar of surplus earnings of the house in making improvements in the building. The fact is that people ought to advance $6,000 at once instead of $3,000.
“How many people can be seated in this building as now planned.” Asked the reporter.
“About 900,” replied Mr. Alexander, “or nearly 200 more than can be seated on the first floor of the Tabor Opera House. The seats will all be elevated and nicely arranged provided the project can be carried out, and there will not be a bad seat in the house. The height of the stage will be three feet ten inches from the floor and everything will be permanent about the stage, it can be dug out underneath after it is started and the pit and traps put in. In the same way the roof can be raised at any time, and these things I am assured will be done as fast as possible. If this scheme goes through the Tabor Grand has agreed to play all its attractions here permanently. That is why I am here and taking such an active interest in the way the work of improvement is to be done.
“Could a building about 130×52 feet be converted into a first class or even possibly good opera house, Mr. Alexander,” inquired the reporter.
“No, sir,” said Mr. Alexander; “it could not, and for the very obvious reason that such a building would lack one of the great things which a theater mush have – and width, What kind of a stage you put within fifty-two feet? What kind of scenery could you put up? Such a structure would be an abortion, so far as using it for theatrical purposes is concerned. The only way to convert a building fifty feet wide into a theater would be to tear down the structure, rebuild it and add about thirty feet more to its width.
Leaving Mr. Alexander the reporter hunted up Mr. J. R. DeRemer and Mr. George M. Haight, to find out what truth, if any, there was in the statement that the improvements to be made in the rink would cost $6,000.
“Yes,” said Mr. Haight, “Mr. Alexander thinks the improvement will cost much but if the people put up the three thousand dollars asked we will make the improvements at once.
“Yes,” said Mr. DeRemer, “and you can just tell the people that whatever Mr. George M. Haight says about this matter goes. He represents me in this matter fully and I will carry out whatever he agrees to do. It is estimated these improvements will cost $6,000, but we have only asked for $3,000, and as soon as that sum is subscribed we will commence this work with a vim. I will say further that every surplus cent of earnings of this house will be used to improve and beautify the structure until Pueblo has a first class opera house. I don’t think I can say any more, It now remains to be seen whether the people want an opera house. The people, however, are asked for but $3,000, as a temporary loan. The only feasible plan to secure an opera house is to make up this $3,000 fund at once. All other propositions are chimerical and impossible. If we can’t raise the sum asked by DeRemer we can’t raise anything for an opera house, but we believe this sum can be raised, and we hope to announce it has been subscribed before the week is out, Of the sum asked there only remains $1,000 to be raised. Now don’t refuse to put your name down when called upon. We can all afford to help this project along liberally and it is our duty as good citizens, with the prosperity of the town in view, to do so cheerfully and promptly.”
On January 7, 1886, the “Colorado Daily Chieftain” announced. “If the people of Pueblo want a first class opera house, let them wait on Mr. J. R. DeRemer or Mr. George M. Haight to-day and subscribe a loan of $525 towards the DeRemer opera house project, and our word for it, work will be commenced tomorrow. It this is not done very few of the Tabor Grand attractions will visit Pueblo in the future.” That almost sounded like a threat, but the money was soon raised and on February 3, 1886, DeRemer’s Opera House opened to the public. The “Colorado Daily Chieftain” reported, “During the past few weeks many people, of course, have visited what was formerly known as the finest skating rink in the west and watched the transformation in progress, but for all that there were few people present at the opening last night who were not surprised and astonished at the beautiful appearance of the interior of the new theaters…the stage is the largest in the state beside the Tabor Grand at Denver. It is furnished with all the scenery paraphernalia required in all first class opera houses. This work has all been done under the personal supervision of Mr. Maynard, assistant stage manager at the Tabor Grand…Pueblo is now accredited with the best equipped and largest opera house outside of Denver and in the state…Pueblo ought to be proud of DeRemer’s opera house; it is a first class place of amusement now, and in time we feel certain it will be excelled by few in style and finish.”
There were many more changes to go, including the raising of the roof to make it three stories high, but the house was open. Once the roof was raised, the seating would be divided into a parquet, dress circle, balcony and gallery.
Tomorrow, I will continue to explore the life and career of John C. Alexander.
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.
In 1920 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Marshall also closed up a
contract with the Ascher Brothers, so we have plenty of business.”
Fred Marshall was a scenic artist and salesman who would
later represent the United Scenic Artists’ Association of New York City. Born in
Woodridge, New Jersey, on March 24, 1895, he was the son of Louisiana native
and mural artist, Frederick Marshall, Sr. (b. 1851).
Marshall was first mentioned in
Moses’ memoirs in 1918. When Moses resigned as President of the Sosman and
Landis Company on Sept. 1, 1918, he joined New York Studios. Moses fully expected
to get a studio and an office to do business as part of the contract, but
finding space was an unending problem. Moses
wrote, “Marshall of the New York Studios and I had to hustle out for a
studio. Got an office in the Consumers
Building. I did two borders for the
Chateau Theatre at the old place. We
tried very hard to buy out the old place, but they want too much money. I was willing to make a big reduction on my
claim, but it was no use. We have to
find a studio.” He worked closely with Marshall in 1918 and again in 1920. Unfortunately,
Moses would only last with New York Studios for a year before signing another
contract with Chicago Studios.
Marshall became a real mover and shaker in the world of
American scenic art world. However, in
1920, he was a young man of young man of 25 working as a studio salesman. The
contract that he landed that year was with Ascher Bros., managers of the Ascher
Theatres chain. In 1920, Ascher Theatres
included the Oakland Square Theatre, Metropolitan Theatre, Frolic Theatre,
Columbus Theatre, Peerless Theatre, Kenwood Theatre, Chateau Theatre, Lakeside
Theatre, Terminal Theatre, Albany Park Theatre, Adelphi Theatre, Calo Theatre,
Milford Theatre, Lane Court Theatre, Midway Theatre (Chicago Eagle, 6 March
1920, page 9).
On Nov. 6, 1920, the “Post-Crescent” reported of a new theater
in Manitowoc – the Capitol (Appleton, Wisconsin, page 7): “The new Capitol
theater being built by George Bros. Co. upon its completion will be leased to
Ascher Bros., well known lessees of vaudeville and motion picture houses of
Chicago. This was announced following a visit to Manitowoc of Lewis P.
Newhafer, general manager of Ascher Bros., and J. J. Cotter, mechanical expert
who conferred with the builders. The theater will be opened the latter part of
December. It will be used as a movie, as well as a legitimate playhouse. George
Bros. are spending $200,000 on the venture.” I think that this is the contract
that Marshall landed that year.
Aschers Capitol Theatre in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.Aschers Capitol Theatre in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.Aschers Capitol Theatre in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
The George Bros. would have been responsible for the
construction of the building, but not the scenery on stage; that would have been
the responsibility of the lessees – the Ascher Bros. Therefore, Marshall would
have negotiated the scenery for the Capitol in 1920, meaning that Sosman &
Landis delivered the scenery to Manitowoc.
I even photographed some snippets of the original scenery,
tucked away in the nooks and crannies; high quality stuff. What a small world.
Extant flat at the Capitol Theatre in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.Painted detail Extant flat at the Capitol Theatre in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.Painted detail. Extant flat at the Capitol Theatre in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.Painted detail. Extant flat at the Capitol Theatre in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
John H. Kunsky had made his
fortune investing in movie houses.
John H. Kunsky
In 1950, George W. Trendle
recalled that the Kunsky Theatre Circuit had 16 movie houses in Detroit by 1929.
It was that year that that Trendle and Kunsky sold to Paramount (Daily News,
NY, 5 March 1950, page 562).
In 1922, the “Washington Times”
published a definition by John H. Kunsky for the query, “What is the Moving
Picture” (Washington, D.C., 13 Feb 1922, page 16). Kunsky had a vested interest
in selling the purported benefits of moving pictures. This is such a wonderful
example of how the world of entertainment was changing and how silent movies
were perceived by the American populace.
“The newest thing of great
importance in the world is the MOVING PICTURE. It offers the most direct road
into the human brain and thought. What it IS, what it DOES, what it is DESTINED
to be – all those questions important to everybody interested not merely in
moving pictures, but in EDUCATION and in the human race of the future.
Some will say that the moving
picture does instantaneously what the spoken or written word does slowly.
Others will say that it is actual presentation of life and emotion before the
very eye of the beholder.
A very good definition of the
moving picture, as you will agree, is given by John H. Kunsky who has just
built the Capitol Theater in Detroit, one of the most magnificent theaters
anywhere. Writing for the Detroit Times, Mr. Kunsky says:
WHAT A THEATRE DOES.
By John H. Kunsky.
Throughout history the human
race, worried with its problem and its struggles for life, has sought
relaxation, a change in the mind’s work that means rest for the brain. The
Greeks had their public baths, in which they met and talked; their public
squares, their famous philosophical promenades.
The fighting Romans had their
great arenas, in which men and beasts, and even ships on real water, fought to
amuse the mob.
In the middle ages they had
bear-baiting, their dog fights.
The Spaniards still have their
bull fights.
The Americas, as a nation, far
removed from the brutality of the gladiatorial arena, or the bill rig, find
their mental rest and their mental pleasure in the theater. And in the modern
theater and its work you find reflected the national personality, its interest,
its culture.
WHAT IS THE MOVING PICTURE?
The question is not asked now as
it once was when men doubted whether ‘the movies,’ so called would last.
The moving picture is SIMPLY THE
SHORTEST ROAD INTO THE HUMAN BRAIN.
It enables the actor to display
all of his skill, and the spectator instantly can see all that the story has to
tell.
You can do with the moving
pictures all that can be done by the living actor, and a thousand times more.
If you say that the voice of the
living actor is missing from moving picture, I will admit it, and regret it.
But I will answer that the absence of the actor’s voice increases the activity of
the spectator’s imagination, and the work that goes on inside the mind of the
spectator’s imagination, and the work that goes on inside the mind of the
spectator is worth infinitely more that the spoken word of any living actor.
To arouse thought, stimulate the
imagination, transport vast audiences as by magic, to all parts of the world,
is a great, useful and education work. And that is what the moving picture
does. An entire week of work by living actor and of close attention by
spectators could not show as much as can be shown by the moving picture in two
short hours.
Gigantic crowds of thousands
such as no stage on earth could possibly hold are shown and brought before
crowds in absolute reality on the screen.
The moving picture is a great
educator, and no man can say what good is done to this and to other nations in
which the moving pictures with its dramatic story is part, as it were, of the
daily mental diet.”
In 1919, Thomas G. Moses delivered
scenery to two Detroit movie houses owned by John H. Kunsky. A decade later, the “Detroit Free Press” published
an article about Kunsky and his chain of theaters. It provides a good
perspective when considering the declining demand for painting scenery during
the second and third decades of the twentieth century.
From the “Detroit Free Press,” July 22, 1928, page 11.
Here is the “Detroit Free Press”
article from July 22, 1928 (page 11):
“More than 20 years ago, in
1905, John H. Kunsky brought the first motion picture machine to Detroit. It
was a cumbersome affair, far from reliable, but it served its primitive
purpose, and the first Kunsky theater – formerly a store – prospered.
As the idea of motion pictures
took hold upon the public, the firm benefitted. There came into being in 1908
the Theater Royale, the first 10-cent theater Detroit every had seen and the
first link in the Kunsky chain. On one occasion a charge of 25 cents was made
during the showing of ‘The Passion Play,’ the first ‘super-feature’ of multiple
reel length.
In quick succession there
followed the Majestic and the Empress. As they too, prospered, there came into
being the Garden, located in the then residential section of Woodward and
Selden, the forerunner of the chain of de luxe suburban and residential
theaters sponsored by the Kunsky Theater corporation.
The Hippodrome, and the Columbia followed, in short order, the latter still being operated by its founders, but none met with the huge success of the Liberty, the first , with its 15-piece orchestra under Eduard Werner, its organ, and pleasant atmosphere, did much to popularize the motion picture with the so-called ‘silks and satins.’
In 1914 the Kunsky chain took
over the old Washington theater previously operated by a none-too-successful
stock company. This was the beginning of the march toward Grand Circus park,
and so profitable was the venture that in 1916 the Madison was erected.
Other followed quickly. In 1917
the Adams came into being followed by the Capitol; in 1925, by the State; and
in 1926 by the Michigan.
Meanwhile the suburban field had
not been neglected. More and more attention was given to providing
entertainment in the residential sections, until now the chain owns and
operates the Birmingham, the Redford and the Royal Oak, all opened during the
last 10 months; the Strand, the De Luxe, the Alhambra, and the Columbia, in
addition to its five big downtown theaters.
Unusual attention has been given
to making the anniversary celebration a big one. Jackie Coogan, child cinema
star, is appearing in person at the Michigan, with Frank Beaston’s Publix show ‘Sunshine
Days,’ while Eduard Werner and Arthur Gutow offer musical specialties and Laura
La Plante stars on the screen in ‘Home, James.’
The Capitol brought on Lou
Holtz, ‘Scandals’ star, especially for this occasion, to appear with Del
Delbridge in a lavish Publix stage show ‘Fine Feathers;’ Samuel Benavie and Don
Miller assist musically, while on the screen William Boyd stars in ‘The Cop.’
The Adams offers Norman Keery in
‘The Foreign Legion,’ with Lewis Stone and Mary Nolan, with symphonic accompaniment
by the Adams Symphony orchestra, while two talking pictures, ‘The Jazz Singer,’
starring Al Jolson, and ‘The Lion and the Mouse,’ with Lionel Barrymore and May
McAvoy are seen and heard at the Madison and the State respectively.”
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 with scenery by Thomas G. Moses, representing New York Studios.
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.
From the “Chicago Tribune,” March 17, 2019, page 10.From the “Chicago Tribune,” March 29, 1919, page 19.
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:
In 1917, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Another
‘Katz’ show, $1,050.00, and one vaudeville act from Brazee $300.00, and from
Banda Rosa for $445.00, a big act.” There were hundreds of projects that
filtered thru the Sosman & Landis shops during 1917. We may have entered a
war, but the theatrical business was still booming, having yet to feel the full
effects. The three projects mentioned by
Moses all hit the shops simultaneously that spring. Each project brought in a
little more income to keep the stockholders happy.
I am going to start with Moses’
mention of a vaudeville act setting for J. C. Brazee.
In 1917, Sosman & Landis
provided the scenery for Brazee’s production of “The Honey Bees.” The
“Spokesman-Review” reported, “Brazee is a great believer not only on adequate
but artistic scenery. His big set for ‘Honey Bees,’ for instance, is an
interior of the ‘Honey Bee’ seminary with a flower garden in the rear. It is
the work of Sosman & Landis, scenic artists of Chicago, and was painted for
the act” (Spokane, Washington, 11 Nov. 1917, page 45). “The Victoria Daily
Times” commented, “The most elaborate set is an interior view of the ‘Honey Bee
Seminary’ with a flower garden in the rear, a scenic masterpiece of Sosman
& Landis, of Chicago, which is winning high praise in every city
visited” (4 Dec. 1917, page 8).
Advertisement for “The Honey Bees,” with scenery by Sosman & Landis, from “The Calgary Herald,” 20 Oct 1917, page 8.
J. C. Brazee was a producer for the Pantages Circuit. On
Oct. 15, 1917, the “Edmonton Journal” reported, “J. C. Brazee, a standby among
producers who builds acts for the Pantages circuit, having sent out ‘Broadway
Revue’ and ‘At Ocean Beach,’ both which scored big hits, has a new offering
entitled ‘The Honey Bees,” which will headline the Pantages bill for this week.
Mr. Brazee’s new offering is said to measure up to the high standard he
established in the past as far as comedy and musical numbers go and is claimed
to surpass anything of that kind yet offered at the Pantages theater in the way
of scenery” (Edmonton, Alberta, page 11). This was likely the vaudeville act
with scenery produced by Sosman & Landis that year. The article continued,
“‘The Honey Bees’” is a novel introduction of bee titles into a program of a
girl act in which the scenery is suggestive of the bee industry and a girl’s
school is called the ‘Busy Bee Seminary.’ The chief comedian is styles the
‘King Bee’ the matron of the seminary is called the ‘Drone Bee,’ the prima
donna is known as the ‘Queen Bee,’ the Soubrette as ‘Honey Bee,’ and the chorus
of girls are ‘Busy Bees.’ The act lends itself to this novelty assignment of
names inasmuch as the girls are ‘honies’ and theatregoers insist that if all
vaudeville attractions were of equally high merit there would never be
complaints of being ‘stung.’”
by Sosman & Landis, from “The Edmonton Journal,” 15 Oct 1917, page 11.
“The Daily Colonist” reported, “‘Honey Bees’” carries one lone man,
completely surrounded by girls. The fortunate individual is Billy Browning, a
comedian strange to Victoria, but well known in the East. All Browning has to
do in ‘Honey Bees’ is to impersonate a mail carrier, a Swede Janitor, a stuttering
‘boob’ and a Frenchman — work enough for
four men — yet Browning is said to negotiate all the roles without turning a
hair” (May 12, 1917).
The original Strand Theatre interior in Pasadena, California. This is how it looked when Thomas G. Moses worked there on his California vacation in 1915.
In 1915, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “June 1st, Mama and I
started for our first California trip that had no business attached to it, but
I found a little when I reached Pasadena, a little misfit at Root’s Strand
Theatre. Fixed it up and settled in
full. This trip I have written up in
detail elsewhere.” Moses recorded all of these trips in his travelogues, their
whereabouts remain unknown.
The “little misfit” was at J. M. Root’s Strand Theatre,
located at 340 E. Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, Strand’s was across the
street from the newly built Maryland Hotel. Root managed a circuit of large
vaudeville theaters in Iowa and was a member of the Western Vaudeville Managers’
association in Chicago. He was also a major stockholder in two film agencies. Root’s
900-seat movie house was built by Frank Dale for $100,000 and opened on
November 25, 1914. Sosman & Landis delivered the scenery for the theater. After
the grand opening, the “Los Angeles Times” reported, “Most auspicious was the
opening Wednesday night of the beautiful Strand Theater on East Colorado
street, near Euclid avenue. The management gave to the public, which was there
in a multitude, ‘The Nightingale,’ by Ethel Barrymore, one of the greatest of
modern actresses. A feature of the programme was the music by the Strand
Symphony Orchestra. The theater itself is a thing of beauty, finished in the
handsomest of marble and onyx. A fireproof structure, it is built of brick,
concrete and steel. It has a seating capacity of 900” (page 17). The
cinema’s picture booth was also noted as the largest in California, equipped
with four separate machines, including a Martin rotary converter that changed
alternating current into direct current without the use of mercury tubes. The Strand
Theater’s boasted a large woman’s retiring room near the inside entrance. It’s lobby,
ornamented with Mexican onyx and solid mahogany. Other décor included large
Corinthian columns inside lobby and friezes of musical cupids on wall panels.
The 1918 Pasadena City Directory listed the Strand Theatre
as “Where You See It First and See it Best,” For All the Family, Best Pictures,
Best Music, 340 E. Colorado near Euclid av Phone Fair Oaks 833” (page 423).
Of Moses’ trip, the Oakpark, Illinois, newsletter mentioned
his trip. On Saturday, July 24, 1915, the “Oak Leaves” reported, “T. G. Moses
Sketching in West Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. Moses of 233 South Euclid, who are on
a seven weeks’ tour of the west, are enjoying the rare scenery of mountains and
valleys. Meanwhile Mr. Moses is making sketches of the Grand canyon, Yosemite
valley, Mt. Hood, Ranier, Pike’s Peak and scenes in New Mexico, for painting
which he contemplates placing on exhibition at Grable’s Art and Gift shop, 112
North Oak Park avenue, upon his return in the early fall” (page 28).
At the end of 1915, Moses commented, “This year’s trip will
always be remembered by Mama and I as one of our finest vacations. I didn’t do quite as much in the way of
painting as I should have, but I made a number of pencil sketches and color
notes, and I can rely on my very vivid imagination for general scheme of
color.”
I am always wanting more time to paint when away, capturing
the moment with my brush instead of a camera. There is always the plan to paint
the scenes once I home, but life and work point me in a different direction,
redirecting my focus.
