Western Trips – Page 3 – Drypigment.net

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar: The Tabor Opera House, Leadville, Colorado. Cut Shutters Painted by T. Frank Cox, 1888.

The predecessor to cut drops were cut shutters. I had never encountered any until my trip to the Tabor Opera House last month. As an added bonus, the back of each piece was covered with cartoons by scenic artist and architect Tignal Frank Cox.

*Cut shutters at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado.*

*Cut shutter on floor before it was raised up.*

*Painted detail. Cut shutter painted by Frank Cox for the Tabor Opera House, Leadville, Colorado.*

Leadville’s Tabor Opera House was built by H. A W. Tabor in 1879. Two years later, he opened the Tabor Grand Opera House in Denver, Colorado. The renowned Silver King fell on hard times and lost both of these priced possessions. In Leadville, his opera house changed hands a few times during the 1890s.

The Tabor Opera House was renamed the Elks Opera House when the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (B.P.O.E.) purchased the building in 1901. Immediately after the purchase, the building was renovated. Part of the stage renovation included adding a fly loft, so that new scenery could be raised out of sight. Previously, the Tabor Opera House used wings, shutters, roll drops and borders.

Similar renovations were occurring all across the United States as this time. For example, in 1903, the “Idaho Springs News” reported a similar project: “The opera house will have a new stage and new scenery with which to greet the public at the opening performance. The stage will be enlarged, to be 40 feet high by 40 feet wide by 26 feet deep, which will enable the management to present all scenery carried by the companies. By the increased height the scenery will not roll but slide up. This mean larger shows for the public. The work is now under way” (4 Sept 1903). Two decades earlier, in 1883, the same renovation occurred to the Salt Lake Theatre. Henry C. Tryon, scenic artist for the Tabor Grand Opera House, ventured south and led the stage and scenery renovation. For more information about Tryon and the Salt Lake Theatre’s renovation, see today’s post (https://drypigment.net2020/11/02/tales-from-a-scenic-artist-and-scholar-part-1101-henry-c-tryon-and-the-salt-lake-theatre-renovation-1883/)

In 1902, new scenery was purchased from the Kansas City Scenic Co. for the Elks Opera House in Leadville. Fred Megan, a future business partner of Thomas G. Moses, represented the Kansas City Scenic Co. and secured the contract for new scenery. Kansas City Scenic Co. then subcontracted some of the project to Sosman & Landis in Chicago. The scenery delivered to the Elks Opera House was a massive collection; a substantial investment for the Elks’ new theater. During February 2020 I documented the Kansas City Co. and Sosman & Landis Co. scenery purchased for the renovated stage. This was the first phase of my project. I was hired to complete a condition report, historical analysis, and replacement appraisal for each scenic piece, as well as writing a collections care and management program for the collection.

When the new scenery was installed at the Elks Opera House, all of the older scenery was tucked away in the attic where it would remain for the next century. Occasionally, a piece or two would make its way to the stage floor, but it was not an easy task. Larger pieces needed to be lowered through a small attic door, forty feet above the stage.

*Cut shutter on stage after it was lowered from the attic.*

Several pieces were painted by the well-known theatre architect T. Frank Cox. Cox began his career as a scenic artist and spent over a year in Colorado. In January 1888, Cox painted several scenes for the Tabor Opera House, including these two cut shutters. What is wonderful about these pieces is that they carry his signature and several cartoons. In 1889, Cox traveled throughout Colorado and also marketed himself as a “lightning artist,” producing a series of rapid sketches on the stage.

*Signature by Frank Cox on the back of the cut shutter.*

*Cartoon by Frank Cox on the back of a cut shutter at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, CO.*

Cox’s cut shutters were placed mid stage at the Tabor Opera House; down stage of two exterior shutters. Shutters rolled together, a perfect solution for theaters that did not have room to raise backdrops out of sight. Wings and shutters slid on and off the stage in grooves to form scenic illusion on nineteenth and twentieth century stages across the United States.

*Two exterior shutter also painted by Frank Cox. These were the backing for the cut shutters.*

*Front view. Flat sheaves were placed on the bottom of shutters to help them effortlessly slide in top grooves during scene changes.*

Back view. *Flat sheaves were placed on the bottom of shutters to help them effortlessly slide in top grooves during scene changes.*

For more information about the historic scenery collection at the Tabor Opera House, visit www.drypigment.net and keyword search “Tabor Opera House.”

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar – The Tabor Opera House, Leadville, Colorado. Painted Shutters by T. Frank Cox, 1888.

The Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado, was renamed the Elks Opera House when the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (B.P.O.E.) purchased the building in 1901. Immediately after the purchase, the building was renovated. Part of the stage renovation included adding a fly loft, so that new scenery could be raised out of sight. Previously, the Tabor Opera House used wings, shutters, roll drops and borders.

*Shutters painted by T. Frank Cox for the Tabor Opera House in 1888.*

Similar renovations were occurring all across the United States at this time. For example, in 1903, the “Idaho Springs News” reported a similar project: “The opera house will have a new stage and new scenery with which to greet the public at the opening performance. The stage will be enlarged, to be 40 feet high by 40 feet wide by 26 feet deep, which will enable the management to present all scenery carried by the companies. By the increased height the scenery will not roll but slide up. This mean larger shows for the public. The work is now under way” (4 Sept 1903).

*Front curtain for the Tabor Opera House by scenic artists at the Kansas City Scenic Co., 1902*

*One of the interior sets produced for the Elks Opera House by Sosman & Landis, 1902.*

*A shutter that has been wrapped in plastic and prepared for lowering to the stage floor. Tabor Opera House, Leadville, Colorado.*

*Lowering a shutter from the attic to the stage floor at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado.*

From September 21-27, 2020, I led a group of local volunteers for the second phase of the project, documenting the historic stage settings in the attic of the Tabor Opera House. Each piece was lowered to the stage floor and photographed. The most challenging pieces to lower were shutters, measuring 10’-0”w by 16’-0”h. Several pieces were painted by the well-known theatre architect T. Frank Cox. Cox began his career as a scenic artist and spent over a year in Colorado. In January 1888, Cox painted several scenes for the Tabor Opera House, including these two country shutters.

*Two shutters painted by Frank Cox that were lowered to the stage floor at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado*, *Sept. 2020.*

These shutters formed the backing for the stage setting. Rolled together, shutters were a perfect solution for theaters that did not have room to raise backdrops out of sight. Wings and shutters slid on and off the stage in grooves to form scenic illusion on nineteenth and twentieth century stages across the United States.

*Flat sheaves were attached to the bottoms of shutters.*

*Painted detail. Shutter by Frank Cox for the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado, 1888.*

TABOR OPERA HOUSE, LEADVILLE, COLORADO: Horizon Setting, ca. 1888.

From September 21-27, 2020, I led a group of local volunteers to document historic stage settings in the attic of the Tabor Opera House (Leadville, Colorado). Below are two horizon shutters and corresponding side wings. There were three sets of wings to accompany each set of shutters.

*Two horizon shutters and three side wings at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado.*

When the Tabor Opera House stage was renovated at the beginning of the twentieth century, new scenery was purchased from the Kansas City Scenic Co. The Kansas City Scenic Co. subcontracted some of the project to Sosman & Landis Scene Painting Studio in Chicago.

The older scenery, especially that painted by T. Frank Cox and associates in 1888, was stored in the Tabor Opera House attic. The old scenery sat for over a century, until last month when we lowered most pieces to the stage floor. Each piece was lowered thru a small opening high above the proscenium wall, stage right side.

*Door to the stage floor, approximately 40′-0″ below.*

*View of pin rail and attic door from the stage floor.*

*Cut-down wings attached to an attic wall at the Tabor Opera House.*

Unfortunately, when some of the wings were placed in storage the height was reduced so that they could be tacked up to an attic wall. Each piece was cut down from 16′-0″ to 10′-0″. Of the original six wings, two had their bottoms cut off and three had their tops cut off. One wing had both the top and bottom trimmed.

*Horizon wing with 6′-0″ cut off at the top.*

*Horizon wing with 6′-0″ cut off from the bottom.*

These pieces are a delightful look at American theatre history. Shutters created backings for nineteenth and early-twentieth-century stage pictures. Serving the same function as a backdrop, they slid together. Flat sheaves were attached to the bottom of the shutters to help them effortlessly roll together. Once joined, the centre seam was barely noticeable from the audience. Scenes were easily shifted, and often double-painted. The back of each shutter and wing holds another composition.

*Flat sheaves attached to the bottom of shutters and wings allowed each piece to easily roll on and off stage during scene changes.*

Shutters and side wings were a perfect solution for theaters that did not have enough fly space to raise backdrops out of sight. Shutters masked the upstage area and wings masked the side stage area, while each supported painted illusion on the stage.

Wings and Shutters were standard stage settings for many American nineteenth and early-twentieth century stages. The Tabor Opera House shutter scenes are painted on linen fabric and tacked to pine frames. The scenic paint was a mixture of pure color (dry pigment) and diluted animal hide glue.

For more information about the historic scenery collections at the Tabor Opera House, visit www.drypigment.net and keyword search “Tabor Opera House.”

*Painted detail of sky and water on shutter.*

Tabor Opera House, Leadville, Colorado: European Street Scene Shutters, ca. 1888.

From September 21-27, 2020, I led a group of local volunteers to document historic stage settings in the attic of the Tabor Opera House (Leadville, Colorado). Below are two shutters, dating from 1888. Shutters created backings for stage picture when rolled together, forming a perfect solution for theaters that did not have room to raise backdrops out of sight. Shutters paired with side wings to mask the off stage areas. Wings and shutters slid on and off the stage in grooves to form scenic illusion on nineteenth and twentieth century stages across the United States.

The scenes are painted on linen fabric and tacked to pine frames. Pure color (dry pigment) was mixed with a binder of diluted hide glue and applied to the linen.

Two shutters that form a European Street Scene at the Tabor Opera House.

Painted detail on shutter at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado.

The shutter was stored in the Tabor Opera House attic when the stage was renovated from 1901-1902. In 2020, the shutter was documented and lowered to the stage floor.

Lowering a shutter from the attic to the stage floor.

Flat sheaves were attached to the bottoms of wings and shutter, allowing them to effortlessy roll on and off stage.

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar: The Tabor Opera House, Leadville, Colorado. Painted Shutters by T. Frank Cox, 1888.

From September 21-27, 2020, Dr. Wendy Waszut-Barrett led a group of local volunteers to document historic stage settings in the attic of the Tabor Opera House, Leadville, Colorado. These stage artifacts should be considered much more than “old scenery.”

Much of the historic scenery collection is comprised of large-scale artworks painted by nationally recognized artists.

Below are two shutters painted by scenic artist and theatre architect Tignal Frank Cox for the Tabor Opera House in 1888. These shutters formed a backing for the stage picture. Rolled together, shutters were a perfect solution for theaters that did not have room to raise backdrops out of sight. Wings and shutters slid on and off the stage in grooves to form scenic illusion on nineteenth and twentieth century stages across the United States.

*Painted detail. Shutter by T. Frank Cox, 1888.*

*Painted detail. Shutter by T. Frank Cox, 1888*. *Notice the two flat sheaves at the bottom that allow the unit to effortlessly roll.*

*Flat sheaves allowed shutters and wings to roll.*

The two shutters are also double-painted, with a rocky mountain scene on the back. Here is a link to the backside composition: https://drypigment.net…/travels-of-a-scenic-artist-and…/

Tabor Opera House, Leadville, Colorado: Double-painted Garden Setting, ca. 1879-1890.

Here are two double-painted flats created for the Tabor Opera House. One side depicts a rocky mine setting (with diamond dust for silver veins) and the other side depicts a garden setting.

The rocky mine setting included three pieces; one was double-painted with clouds and the other two double-painted with a garden scene.

All three pieces were created between 1879-1890.When the Leadville Elks (BPOE) purchased the building and renovated the stage and auditorium (1901-1902), the original scenery was replaced with new; the older collection tucked away in the attic.

In September 2020, I led a group of volunteers to document the attic scenery and lower many pieces to the stage floor. I have yet to identify the scenic artist for this particular piece, or exact date. For more information about historic scenery collections at Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado, or the Tabor Grand Opera House in Denver, use the keyword search function at www.drypigment.net

Tabor Opera House, Leadville, Colorado: Double-painted Cloud Stage Setting, ca. 1879-1890.

Here is a double-painted flat from the nineteenth century; one side depicts a rocky mine setting (with diamond dust for silver veins) and the other side depicts a cloud setting (with gold paint outlining the clouds).

Double-painted flat, ca. 1879-1890. Tabor Opera House, Leadville, Colorado. Scenic artist currently unknown.

The rocky mine setting included three pieces, but only one was double painted with clouds. The other two flats were back painted with a garden scene and will be posted tomorrow. All of these pieces were created for the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado, ca. 1879-1890.When the Leadville Elks (BPOE) purchased the building and renovated the stage and auditorium (1901-1902), the original scenery was replaced with new; the older collection tucked away in the attic. In September 2020, I led a group of volunteers to document the attic scenery and lower many pieces to the stage floor. I have yet to identify the scenic artist for this particular piece.

Metallic gold outlines each cloud, causing the scene to sparkle under stage lights.

For more information about historic scenery collections at Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado, or the Tabor Grand Opera House in Denver, use the keyword search function and type in “Tabor.”

CPR (Colorado Public Radio) Article About My Visit To The Tabor Opera House

From September 20-28, 2020, I visited Leadville, Colorado. My mission was to document the historic scenery in the Tabor Opera House attic. This was the second phase of a project began last February. Six months ago, I examined all of the scenery stored on the Tabor Opera House’s stage. Last month I returned to document the scenery placed in the attic after the Tabor Opera House was renovated, 1901-1902.

During my stay, I was interviewed by Nancy Lofholm at Colorado Public Radio. Lofholm wrote, At The Historic Tabor Opera House, The Old Stage Scenery Is Now The Big Show from September 29, 2020:

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Day 7 at The Tabor Opera House. September 27, 2020.

We finished the attic scenery documentation today, cleaning and measuring the last nine borders by noon. The 28’-0” wide borders had holes for only two operating lines, much different that the current ones designed for use with three operating lines. The nineteenth-century borders depict blue sky, treetops and a fancy pink interior ceiling. These were intended to accompany the wing and shutter sets for the 1879 stage; the borders measuring just 2’-4” in height. This narrow strip of painted fabric would have been just enough to conceal the gas jets above the stage. No sandwich battens at the top of the borders either, just a 4” board and double rows of tacks. I have encountered this technique several times. It is astounding that these tattered border curtains managed to survive in the attic for over a century without irreparable damage, but it is a testament to a long succession of stewards.

Carl, Mary Ann and Greg placing a wood border for documentation

The most recent scenery collection stewards for the Tabor Opera House include Mary Ann Graham-Best, Carl Schaefer, Tammy Taber, as well as many, many other volunteers. Those who I have worked during this month and last February Mary Ann, Carl, Tammy, Kan, Theresa, Ruth, Curt, Janel, Greg, Allie, Derrick, Jen, Mike, Scott, Eric, Theresa “T”, Robin and Donna. My apologies if I missed anyone.

Volunteers for Day 7 at the Tabor Opera House, Leadville, Co. (Left to right) Ziska, Mary Ann, Wendy, Tammy, Donna and Carl; we were holding out breath, so don’t panic.

This trip, Michael Powers also traveled with me to volunteer; his work in the attic with Carl helped make lowering the scenery from attic to stage floor safe and secure. Without their support, much of the scenery may be still sitting under a layer of dust, undocumented. The scenery has managed to survive despite a massive renovation (1901-1902), the Great Depression and a series of other financial obstacles. The survival of a historic venue is dependent upon strong leadership leader and community support. A small band of theatre people is not enough, you need the support from those outside of our industry too.

Evelyn E. Livingston Furman was one of the great leaders and scenic stewards for the Tabor Opera House. She also wrote “The Tabor Opera House: A Captivating History.” In the publication, Furman includes some details of the early scenery. Her words leave a legacy.

There are a few things to keep in mind as we explore the nineteenth century scenery delivered to the Tabor Opera House…In 1879 Horace A. W. Tabor purchased wing and shutter scenery for the Tabor Opera House. Some of the earliest scenes included a mountain setting (Royal Gorge), forest, garden, palace, plain chamber with balcony, and a prison. We know that more scenery was delivered in 1888, and included a horizon (seascape), European street setting, rustic country setting, rocky pass, and Eastern street scene. This is the same time when some of the original stock scenery were repainted and a few new scenes were added to the original wings, shutters and roll drops. Only eight shutters that remain, some double painted. The six surviving settings include a rocky pass, rustic country landscape, cut woods, European street scene, Eastern street scene, and winter scene. These all have flat sheaves that make the settings glide across the stage floor on wheels. In 1890, a series of eight jungle wings were also added to the stock, built by William J. Moon and painted by H. E. Burpey.

The technical specifications for the Tabor Opera House stage paints a pretty picture, including a 6” rake. The 1884 issue of “Harry Miner’s Dramatic Directory” noted that the Leadville’s Tabor Opera House had a seating capacity of 800. H. A. W. Tabor’s second theater, the Tabor Grand of Denver, boasted a seating capacity almost twice that – 1,500. Tabor’s second theater was much larger than that in Leadville. The proscenium opening in Leadville was 23 feet wide by 17 feet high , whereas the proscenium opening in Denver was 34 feet wide by 33 high.

The size of the Tabor Opera House stage in Leadville measured 34-feet deep by 60-feet wide. The Tabor Grand Opera House stage in Denver measured 45-feet deep by 75-feet wide. The grooves (for wings) measured 16 feet in height at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville and 20 feet in height at the Tabor Grand in Denver.

“Harry Miner’s Dramatic Directory” also listed that Leadville’s Tabor Opera House boasted 12 sets of scenery, whereas the Tabor Grand had much more, 50 sets of scenery. The two venues were drastically different when examining the types of stage scenery and machinery. In Leadville, the Tabor Opera House used wings, shutters, and roll drops, there was only 19 feet from stage to rigging loft. In Denver, there was a grid 66 feet above the stage floor, accommodating a series of leg drops, cut drops and backdrops., in addition to grand interior setting.

At the current Tabor Opera House, there is a significant amount of used scenery produced for an earlier, and larger, venue. These pieces likely belonged to the Tabor Grand, and the scenes include borders, interiors settings and at least one set piece (step unit). There also pieces left on site from touring shows.

In short, there is a treasure trove of scenic art and stagecraft, depicting the delightful transition from Nineteenth-century itinerant artists painting stock scenery on site to early twentieth-century studio artists painting scenery at a distant location.

I have about four weeks of work in front of me once I return this week. It will take a while to decipher the information collected on site, compiling historical analyses, conditions reports, appraisals and a collections care and management program. Although I have written about 700 pages pertaining to the 1902 collection delivered by Kansas City Scenic Co. and Sosman & Landis Scene Painting Studio, there is much more to go. I am taking three days off to return home and then will resume “Tales of a Scenic Artist and Scholar,” about the life and times of Thomas Gibbs Moses (1856-1934)

To be continued…

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Day 6 at The Tabor Opera House. September 26, 2020.

For additional installments, go to www.drypigment.net

Saturday was our last big day to lower scenery from the attic at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado. It was the sixth of seven workdays in a row. We did manage to hit our goal of lowering all remaining shutter scenes, plus a few other pieces, to the stage floor. The attic looks positively bare. Only eight borders remain for me to document today. That being said, some scenic pieces still remain in the loft above the attic and on platforms high above stage right and stage left. Documenting the final shutters, wings and borders will have to wait until next time. The amount and the scope of the scenery at the Tabor Opera House is staggering.

Two rocky pass shutters pieced together on the stage of the Tabor Opera House after spending a century in the attic. The shutters were painted by Frank Cox in 1888.

The backside of the rocky pass shutters. This scene was also painted by Frank Cox in 1888.

Two shutters forming a European street scene. The Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado.

Two horizon shutters and three wings. There are five remaining wings, but all have been cut down; one is missing.

The biggest surprise this week was discovering a marked piece of scenery from the Tabor Grand Opera in Denver. This was Tabor’s second theater. There are some interior set pieces and borders obviously created for another, and much larger. There are also a few pieces from touring productions that never left the Tabor during the nineteenth century. It will be fun to track down more information in the upcoming weeks.

The majority of the work this week was completed by volunteers without any background in theater. Their careers varied from nursing and teaching to law and public service. Some were born in Leadville and others not; all were passionate about the project.

Volunteer crew on day 6 at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado.

Painted border, likely created for another venue due to size. This border matches the palace interior setting that we assembled earlier this week.

Painted scenery produced for the stage a century ago continues to have a broad appeal to the general public. Well painted scenes still cause people to gasp, as did much of the scenery at the Tabor Opera House. It is just magical.

Painted detail from the rocky pass shutters. Note the seam between the to shutters.

For the next few weeks, I will continue to post images from this week’s documentation, focusing on individual scenes and painting techniques. More tonight.

To be continued…