3 C\fVI IA]Q J/,, Ji X. jCws. r- u t P A ft r >• ■: -ti <; f Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from CARLI: Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois http://archive.org/details/iroquoistheatrerOOiroq Arranged and Published by THOMAS J. NOONAN. Historical Pictures from Collection of EDWARD FREIBERGER. Plates and Engravings F. G. JUNGBLUT & CO. Press of RAND, McNALLY & CO. PAI Dedicatory per/8rmancc November, 23, |L 1505 |j /HftBMBEffKD 9 IROQUOIS THEATRE. RANDOLPH, BETWEEN STATE AND DEARBORN STREETS, CHICAGO. ILL. Iroquois Theatre RANDOLPH, BETWEEN STATE AND DEARBORN STREETS CHICAGO ERECTED AND OWNED BY The Iroquois Theatre Company directors and proprietors William J. Davis Harry J. Powers A. L. Erlanger J. Fred Zimmerman Sam'l F. Nixon Marc Klaw WILLIAM J. DAVIS, HARRY J. POWERS, Resident Owners and Managers The Business and Working Staff Includes THOMAS J. NOONAN, Business Manager and Treasurer Edward J. Dillon | Bqx q Will J. Davis, Jr. J Helen H a g an , Se c r e t a r y J. E. G. Ryan, Press Representative Antonio Frosolono, Director of Mi G. N. Dusenberry, Doorkeeper Ed. J. Cummings, Master Carpenter Walter Hueston, Electrh Robert Murray, Engineer IROQUOIS THEATRE Randolph, between State and Dearborn Sts., Chicago. Beginning Monday, November 23, 1903. E,very Evening, Including Sunday. Wednesday and Saturday Matinees. KLAW <5 ERLANGER present MR. BLUE, BEARD The Great Spectacular Entertainment from Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London By J. HICKORY WOOD and ARTHUR COLLINS Adapted for the American Stage by JOHN J. McNALLY The Lyrics, unless otherwise indicated, by J. Cheever Goodwin. Music, unless otherwise indicated, by Frederic Solomon. Ballets by Ernest D'Auban. Produced under Stage Direction of Herbert Gresham and Ned Wayburn. Business Direction of Jos. Brooks. Edwin H. Price, Manager. SYNOPSIS OF SCENES. MUSIC AND INCIDE.NTS ACT I. Scene 1— The Market Place on the Quay, near Bagdad. (Bruce Smith.) Mustapha plots to separate Selim and Fatima and sell the beautiful Fatima to the monster Blue Beard. Blue Beard arrives; purchasess laves. Sister Anne falls in love with Blue Beard and spurns Irish Patshaw. Blue Beard seizes Fatima and takes her on board his yacht. Opening Chorus— a. "Come, Buy Our Luscious Fruits." b. " Oriental Slaves Are We." c. " We Come From Dalmatia." d. Algerian Slave Song and Chorus. aa. Grand Entrance Blue Beard's Retinue. Medley Ensemble. bb. Song — "A Most Unpopular Potentate," Blue Beard and Chorus, a. " Welcome Fatima." Song— "I'm As Good As I Ought To Be," Blanche Adams. Finale— "Then Away We Go." POWERS' THEATRE THIS WEEK W. H. CRANE IN "THE SPENDERS" ILLINOIS THEATRE THIS WEEK CHAS. FROHMAN PRESENTS "ULYSSES" u, n Cafe THE "ALTON" OCCUPIES THE SAME RELATIVE POSITION AMONG RAIL- WAYS AS THE IROQUOIS HOLDS AMONG THE THEATRES OF AMERICA Buffet Library AND Observation CITY TICKET OFFICE lOl ADAMS ST., CHICAGO Cars Scene2-0n Board Blue Beard's Yacht. (Bruce Smith.) Fatima with Selirn attempts to escape from Blue Beard's yacht, but is prevented. Selim jumps overboard. Opening Chorus— "There's Nothing Like The Life We Sailors Lead." Duet— Miss Rafter and Miss Adams. ■ /-.-,*•, •'Beautiful World It Would Be." (Harry Von Tilzer.) Harry Gilfoil. "I'm a Poor Unhappy Maid." I md Schwa Foy. Finale—" He's Com-." Scene 3 The tsle ol Perns. (H. Emden.) Fairy Queen appears to Selim, pro ' and the power of the Magic Fan to reii nih I is loved one and to protect im evil. , Land of Ferns, ill. Emdi Bal] nd waving of Mm- Magic Fan, by the Fairies and Grand ACT II. Scene 1— The Castle Terrace and Gardens. I McCleery. | Fatima believes Selim .load and agrees to marry Blue Beard. She gets the kej the Castle from Blue Beard, who enjoins her not to open the Blue Chamber. Opening Chorus "Daylight is Dawning." ,„.„,.,, • i ,., sva "Songbirds of Melody Lane," Beatrice Lidded, Elsie Romaine, and Chorus, (Ed- ^"''lv!'!' That n Made Milwaukee Famous." (Harry Gilfoil.) Bonnie Maginn and Pony Ball* I Sister Anne and the Pet Elephant. [n the Pale Moonlight." (Jerome and Woodward.) "Ma Honey." (Hoffman.) Bonnie Maginn and Chorus. Scene 2 Chamber of Curiosities. (McCleery.) Conquered by curiosity, Fatima opens the Blue Chamber and discovers Blue Beard's awful secret. blue Beard's wives discovered. S< one 3— Home of the Old Woman Who Lived In a Shoe. (E. Albert.) The disobedient children. Song— " Wake Up Mammy," Maude Nugent. ' Song— "Mother Eve." (Schwartz.) Eddie Foy, Pony Ballet, and Chorus. Scene 4— Hall in Blue Beard's. Palace. (E. Albert.) Dancing- Specialty by Frank Young and Bessie De Voie. Music by C. Herbert Kerr. Scene 5— Triumph of the Magic Fan. (H. Emden.) Tableau 1— The Land of Palms. Tableau 4-Japan. Tableau 2— Egypt Tableau 5— Parisian Rose Garden. Tableau 3— India. Tableau 6 -Spanish Rose Garden. Electric Apotheosis. THE GRIGOLATIS TROUPE OF AERIALISTS Nellie Reed, Premiere, and Grand Corps de Ballet. ACT III. Scene 1— Hall of Pleasure in Blue Beard's Palace. (E. Albert. | Scenes of revelry in Blue Beard's absence. Opening Chorus-" Let Us Be Tolly As Long As W T e (an'' "Spoony Mooney Night." (Gus Edwards. ) Bonnie Maginn and Chorus. Pony Ballet Specialty. Music by Jean Schwartz. "Julie." (Wm. Jerome and Jean Schwartz.) Herbert Cawthorne and Chorus. Blue Beard returns unexpectedly. _ Sister Anne gives evidence of temporary insanity. Imagines herself Ophelia. Song- "Hamlet Was a Melancholy Dane," Eddie Foy. (Wm. Jerome and John Blue Beard discovers that Fatima has disobeyed him and threatens her and her friends with death. .Scene 2— Below the Ramparts. (HicKS and Brooks.) Blue Beard gives Fatima one hour in which to accept his offer of marriage or per- ish with her friends. Selim summons Fairies' aid. Attack on the castle by the Fairy Army. Fatima and her friends in peril. Scene 3— The Fairy Palace. (Bruce Smith.) Blue Beard is overthrown and the lovers are reunited. Entrance and triumph of the Fairy Army. Grand Transformation Scene. Trains of Quality €€ 20th Century Limited " CHICAGO-NEW YORK IN 20 HOURS Leave CHICAGO, daily 12.30 p.m. Arrive NEW YORK, daily 9.30 a. m. "The La%e Shore Limited CHICAGO-NEW YORK, 24 HOURS CHICAGO-BOSTON = 26^ HOURS Leave CHICAGO, daily 5 30 p. m. Arrive NEW YORK, daily 6.30 p. m. Arrive BOSTON, daily.. ..9.03 p. m. »» CITY TICKET OFFICE 180 CLARK STREET A. J. SMITH, Gen'l Pass'r and Tkt. Agt., CLEVELAND, OHIO C. F. DALY, Chief Assistant Gen'l Pass'r Agt., CHICAGO, ILL. CAST OF CHARACTERS MR. BLUE BEARD - HARRY GILFOIL SISTER ANNE..... EDDIE FOY FATIMA MISS BLANCHE ADAMS SELIM ADELE RAFTER IMER DASHER BONNIE MAGINN ABDALLAII NORA CECIL MUSTAPHA -. - ROBERT A. EVANS IRISH PATSHAW. HERBERT CAWTHORNE 1 1 ATRAC J. SARONY LAMBERT KORAFAI BESSIE DE VOIE ABADDIN SAM REED ABUMUN FRANK YOUNG MIRZA MISS DUPONT ZAIDEE . i / MISS WYNNE ZAIDEE \ f --- MISS WAX. \L AMINA I \ .MISS RICHARDS ZARA ' Blue Beard's Six ' MISS BEAUTE NADIE ( Pretty Wives. " ....MISS WILLIAMS BECA \ I MISS ROMAINE ZOLI J i MISS BRAND! LAIDOFF \ ( BERTEWING DUNFOR I \ .L. A. MASSETTE KNOUSE... \ Blue Beard's Six ' C. W. NORTHRUP BADUN C Ugly Wives. ", JOHN YAU> BACNUM I i E.Z.MORA PASSAI ' ' CHAUNCEY HOLLAND STELLA, Queen of the Fairies.... MISS ANABELLE WH1TFORD Elephant and Head Tricks by Lambert and Gallagher. PONY BALLET: SKI-PIE MCNEIL, LOUIE HAUMAN, ADA ROBERTSON, BEATRICE LIDDELL, ELIZABETH HAUMAN, EVA MARLOWE, DOROTHY MARLOWE, CAROLINE POLTZ. Costttmes designed by Comelli, London. Made by Alias, Auguste, Simmons. Baruch, D'Allessandri, and Harrison, London, Paris, and Berlin. Costumes for Specialties, " Ma Honey," " In the Pale Moonlight," 4k The Old Woman Who Lived In a Shoe," and the Pony Ballet, designed by F. Richard Anderson ; made by Klaw & Erlanger Costume Company, Shoes by Cammeyer. Tights by the Brooklyn Knitting Co. Wigs by Clarkson London, and Hepner, New York. Electrical effects by H. Bissing & Co. EXECUTIVE STAFF Business Manager Mr. Samuel Harrison Stage Manager : Will Carleton Assistant Stage Managers ...Wm. Plunkett, Carl Kahn Musical Director Herbert Dillea Ballet Mistress Mme. Sarraco Mechanical Department Max. Mazzanovich, J. Andrew and Wm. Owens Properties Wm. Price Electr i cian Wm. D unn Wardrobe Mistress Mrs. Quist Assistant Wardrobe Mistress Mrs. Kelly Wardrobe Man Bert Ewmg Armorer Wm. Shermna THE THEATRE By Charles E. Nixon THE pioneer days of players using the vernacular were anything but "palmy." These poor wandering Thespians were opprobriously called "vagabonds," and when they attempted to give performances in the larger towns, the author- ities, under pressure of the prevailing sentiment, were ever trying to for- bid them. As a result of petty persecution and municipal meddling, a great change eventually came about, bettering both the drama and its expositors, for the players wisely abandoned strolling and- pre- pared to establish themselves permanently 13 MR. B. H. MARSHALL Undesirable tenants, the actors were forced, as a makeshift, to build houses of their own beyond the town limits. Fairly familiar with the classic drama, they had neither the means nor the motive for reproducing" the imposing slave-built theatres of antiquity, seen amid the ruins of Rome and Athens. As the strollers had been accustomed to performing in the court-yards of humble inns or feudal castles, a simple enclosed court served their modest architect- ural ambitions. Their most popular model was square eighty feet in each direction, the central por- tion open to the sky. The enclosure was a quadrangle of galleries that were divided into " rooms " for the wealthy and aristocratic class. Currently these " rooms" would flank the stage and be called boxes; as it was then the lords and ladies occupied the galleries exclusively. The ground floor was so in reality, for it was merely a yard wherein the ordinary spectators had to stand. Projected into this space was a platform forty feet square which served as a stage. Along* the base of the rear, gallery spanning this stage were hung tapestries to shield the space behind, which might be used as a dressing-room. The gallery was for the use of actors and stage service. Its elevation served as an upper room, a balcony, a beetling cliff, or the drawbridge of some besieged castle to be valiantly defended. This stage was considered so spacious that spectators could hire stools and sit at the right or left, viewing the play and players at close range. This severely simple platform, minus scenery or 14 furnishing, save the arras at the back and its quaking balcony, had of necessity to represent all the se- quence of places that the imaginative play- wright could demand. This poverty of re- source may have pro- -,-,,.-, j DRESS CIRCLE PROMENADE voked the dramatist and plagued the actors. Yet the inadequacy and provoking plainness appeared to be acceptable to the majority of the uncritical spectators in the golden Elizabethan age. This condition of simplicity was not, however, relished by all the patrons of the playhouse. The censorious Sidney, familiar with better conditions on the stage of Italy, protested against the stage on which the scene would seem to change continually, simply because there was no scenery to be changed. Sidney wrote of it as he saw it: "The player, when he comes in, must either begin with telling where he is, or else the tale will not be conceived. Now shaM you have three ladies walk to gather flowers, and then we must believe the stage to be a garden. By and by we hear the news of a shipwreck in the same place ; then we are to blame if we accept it not for a rock. Upon the back of that comes a hideous monster with fire and smoke ; and the miserable beholders are bound to take it for a cave ; while in the meantime two armies fly in, represented with four swords and 15 bucklers, and then what hard heart will not receive it for a pitched field." The undertakings advanced by the heroism of the poor persecuted players in the elder day of the Eng- lish drama, the practical and progressive managers have improved and perpetuated and the modern architects have beautified. During the past decade theatrical architecture has made wonderful advance in this country. Inconsiderate travelers may remark m contrast to local achievement, the Grand Opera of Paris, the Royal Opera of Vienna, or the wonderful stages of Bayreuth or Budapest, overlooking the pertinent fact that such structures are subvented institutions under governmental jurisdiction or royal patronage, while all the opera houses and theatres in America are private enterprises, and, generally speaking, provide better entertainments and far better accommodations for the public than the most pretentious of the famous foreign opera houses. The American public now, more than ever before, demand elegance of environment for their amuse- ments, as well as provisions for comfort and security ; yet the opportunity for architectural compliance with these exactions is restricted by reason of the enormous land values in the heart of great centers of civiliza- tion, the most advantageous locations for theatres. The latest and most noticeable achievements in theatrical construction, not reckoning the cost to secure the finest results, are significant in the re- cherche New Amsterdam Theatre in New York, the finest concrete example of L' Art Nouveau in the world; the beautiful Nixon Theatre, now approaching 1R. WILL J. DAVIS completion in Pittsburg, and last but not least, the Iroquois in Chicago, the finest and most complete of its many modern houses devoted to the drama. The desirable site chosen for the Iroquois is close to that associated with the very beginning of things theatrical in this municipality nearly sixty years ago. It is located within " The Loop," is more readily accessible from traction and railw T ay lines than any other Chicago theatre, and has a frontage on three thoroughfares, with many avenues for exit. The practical part of its promotion as an elegant edifice as well as a perfect theatre show the result of skill added to good judgment in unstinted financial outlay, with a determination to secure the best as befitting such an important artistic adventure. Every penny of the large expenditure represented in the Iroquois was made in the theatrical business. Mr. Will J. Davis and Mr. Harry J. Powers, as the result of ripe experience, understood exactly what was needed. The judicious character of their invest- ment is unquestionable and the artistic addition to the city most advantageous. Associated with the Chicago managers are Messrs. Klaw and Erlanger of New York, and Messrs. Nixon and Zimmerman of Phila- delphia, both firms being large producers as well. The George A. Fuller Company is second to none in handling building enterprises of magnitude, and in carrying them to completion in spite of all ob- stacles that the uncertain temper of the times may impose. It may be recalled that this corporation carried the Illinois Theatre to completion under con- ditions that seemed prohibitive, and has been equally is MR. HARRY J. POWERS successful in completing the Iroquois at a time when other builders have been seriously delayed or entirely abandoned constructions, discouraged by the attitude of labor and contract conditions. Mr. Benjamin H. Marshall, the architect, has shown admirable capability as a modern theatre builder, and in this instance has again given Chicago its most beautiful temple of the drama. The Illinois Theatre was the first monumental structure of the kind in Chicago, and the Iroquois is a surpassing second, as the entire building is devoted to theatrical purposes. The Iroquois presents the most imposing and attractive facade to be seen in this city of modern structures, and will impress even the most superficial observer by its beauty and grandeur. The style, architecturally, is French renaissance, which has a strong suggestion of the classic. This mingling of the heroic and lighter lines is artistically adroit, and the result very satisfactory. The Randolph Street front is of Bedford stone deeply recessed (sixty feet wide and eighty feet high), the admirable proportion and architectural treatment making it appear larger than it really is. The central feature is a deep French coved arch thirty-five feet in width and fifty-two feet high, flanked on either side by stone columns four feet in diameter and thirty-eight feet high, weighing thirty-six tons each. Next to these in cor- rect architectural spacing is an engaged pilaster four feet wide that returns back of the columns, acting in double function. The front view gives the impress of double free columns on either side of the 30 arch, adding grace and strength to the uplift of the edifice. These columns and pilasters rest upon a mammoth pedestal of St. Cloud granite sixteen feet square. The width of these bases will serve as bulletins of attractions, for which a space five feet square is recessed and framed in carved leaves of laurel, the top center being a rich cartouche. The columns and pilasters are surmounted by a cornice nine feet high, running across the entire front from pilaster to pilaster, breaking back to the face of the 81 MR. SAMUEL F. NIXON MR. J. FRED. ZIMMERMAN MANAGER'S PRIVATE OFFICE arch at the top of either column. These returns are sustained by elabo- rately carved massive brackets of French pattern. The upward continuation of the cor- nice forms a pediment or gable, the apex of which is seventy-five feet above the pavement. Above its crown moulding- is a parapet. Surmounting the center as a terminal is a monolith of stone twelve feet wide and fifteen feet high. The massive character of the masonry will be appreciated when it is stated that this upper wall is fourteen feet thick. The ornamentation of the pediment is emble- matic, showing the semi-recumbent figure of a woman heroic in size, representing Tragedy, and the figure of a jester, typifying Comedy. They support a richly carved cartouche as the central ornament. The sculptors of this large group are Beil and Mauch, and the carver, Joseph Dux. The figures are cut out of the solid stone projection, the relief being 3^2 feet from the face of the pediment. The size of these sculptures may be judged by the fact that the ornamental head forming the keystone of the arch ten feet below them is 3^ x 4 feet. Springing up within the arched entrance are a pair of stone pilasters thirty-four feet high, support- ing a cornice spanning the arch at the beginning of the curve. The upper members of this gable are 23 cut out as a broken pediment, allowing - space for the sculptured bust of a noble Iroquois that Mr. Davis selected as typical from his large library Americana. Back of this arch is an elaborate screen of orna- mental iron work (in which the Winslow Brothers have fairly outdone the Germans in their handicraft). This screen is set with heavy plate and jewel glass, giving light and airiness to the inner lobby and outer front. Five pairs of wide mahogany doors with glass panels give entrance to a vestibule 20x40 feet, with an eighteen-foot ceiling beamed and pan- eled with marble. This is elliptical in shape, allow- ing room for ticket and other offices on either side, their windows being an attractive feature of the otherwise plain solid construction. At the east end ornamental iron stairs lead to the business offices of the house and to the third floor above, the manager's private office. A second series of swinging doors admit to a foyer truly palatial (sixty feet wide and eighty feet long), with a colonnade of pavonazzo pillars carrying the ceiling upon groined arches sixty feet above the tessellated floor. It is by far the most majestic interior in this city or in this country, rivaling many vistas to be seen in the Congressional Library in Washington. In the dignity of its dec- orative disposition it suggests some kinship with the latter noble structure; but its lines are lighter, its treatment not so severely studied, while its originality is worthy of the highest praise. A point worthy of remark is that the foyer of this house is not only in itself wonderfully impressive and attractive, but its relation to the auditorium is 24 VIEW OF FOYER FROM DRESS CIRCLE singularly harmo- nious and effective. All parts of the house are open from this noble, lofty room of entrance, and in turn it is intimately close to the great audience room — the architect has turned the trick of the angle to per- fection. To see and be seen is the duality of advantage presented for the patrons of the Iroquois. The colonnade of tinted marble pillars on white marble bases sentinel the sides of the foyer, and mark the landings along the graceful lines of the grand staircases rising along the wall of the outer courts. These broad, easy ascents have five landings opening upon balconies that project between the columns, the ornamental iron filagree supporting graceful candelabra used as electroliers. The wall dado, as well as the wall itself, is of white marble, while high up along the line of the second story is a succession of arched French windows ornate with graceful little balconies. The draping of these win- dows show rich oriental colors, and their frames are set with plate mirrors which add to the brilliancy of the decorative detail and magnify the spaciousness of the interior. Pendant from the bosses of the groined arches are Etruscan crystal bowl lamps, giv- 25 ing soft light to the stairs and the plastic beauties of the ceiling. Deeply tufted settees, upholstered in fine fabrics, are in every embrasure along the walls of the foyer and highway of the stairs, giving a fine color note to the marble walls, the delicate veining of the pavonazzo pillars, and the decorations of the coves and arches. The line of these staircases leading to the dress circle and balcony is fascinating in its formation, framing the pillars of the inner court, whose capitols sustain an elaborate cornice and a number of heavily recessed arches along the balcony promenade. In turn these lead to ornate beaming around a skylight, 20x40 feet, of delicately tinted glass in cloud forms, studded with jewels, giving the effect (from concealed lights) of stars in the changing clouded sky. The ladies' parlors and check rooms are at the center of the foyer to the left, and opposite are sim- ilar conveniences for gentlemen. These rooms sink under the broad staircases clear of the foyer. Below stairs on the right is a gentlemen's smoking room fitted up with special reference to its use. The whole effect of this foyer is delightful in detail and striking in its dazzling ensemble. There are a number of interesting innovations in the construction of this building that will never be seen by the public. There are no obstructing pillars in the body of the house to interfere with the fine lines of sight. The dress circle and balcony are carried upon cantilevers that upon an eight-foot anchorage carry an overhand of twenty-six feet, the enormous roof trusses on the rear wall holding down the cantilevers. 36 VESTIBULE Glass-paneled doors, swinging be- tween the arches on the north of the foyer, lead to the parquette; a similar entrance for the dress circle is directly above, and that for the balcony on the third floor, all parts of the house being" accessible from the grand foyer, exits, they are far more numerous, the entire north frontage being available for such service in case of emergency. Another large emergency exit leads across the stage to Dearborn Street from the passage- way and doors behind the boxes on the south side of the auditorium proper. The directness of entrance and the availability of exits are a praiseworthy fea- ture of this admirably planned house of amusement. The great audience room is attractive in its arrangement, spaciousness, and decoration. It is wide, compared with its depth (ninety feet wide by seventy-one feet in depth), this shell shape giving direct lines of sight and aiding the excellence of acoustics, so that the stage entertainment can be thoroughly enjoyed by every spectator. The aisles are wide and the distance between the rows of chairs is two inches more than ordinary. The latest and best systems of heating and venti- lation have been installed, so that the pure-air prob- lem has been successfully solved. A series of col- 37 umns seven feet from the rear wall of the lower floor follow the curve of the rear row of seats supporting the unseen cantilevers, adding - grace to the structure by carrying a scries of attractive electroliers. The dress circle sweeps in a flat curve so high above the parquette that the top of the proscenium arch can be seen from every seat. There are 744 seats in the parquette, not counting the box seats, numbering 24, one of the largest lower floor capacities in the city. The dress circle has 465 seats, with two upper boxes accommodating 16 ; and the balcony has seatings for 475, making a total of 1,724 chairs, with plenty of good standing room on each floor. The ceiling- under the dress circle is effectively treated in a decorative way with elliptical panels, delicately defined, giving the effect of a Titanic fan spread open. The paneling of the walls is in French style and the color scheme of the house is American Beatity red, opulent in association with neutral tints of green and gold used on the plastic details. Around the house on all floors is a wainscot six feet high, of curly Hungarian ash. Over the proscenium is a sounding board twenty feet wide, its Rococo paneling giving* the key to all the ornamentation about the frame of the stage, involving the order of its proscenium boxes. The line of the elliptical proscenium arch is ornate with wreath of laurel leaves; the opening is forty-one feet wide and thirty-six feet high. The orchestra pit is spacious, with ample room for forty instrumental- ists. The projection in front of the footlights is 39 convexed and decorated in conformity with the pre- vailing - style of the house. In the rear of the boxes there is ample space, which will allow plenty of room for comfortably dis- posing of wraps, bonnets, hats, and such other wear- ing apparel as patrons may desire to discard before entering the boxes. The plan of the decorations in the Iroquois is one full of variety in design and color and more sumptu- ous than anything hitherto attempted in a Chicago theatre. The walls of the vestibule are of white marble, with a subtle treatment of antique gold in the ceil- ing, leaving the total effect very rich yet quiet. As you enter the foyer, the effect is in rich con- trast to the vestibule. The walls are of white mar- ble, with pavonazzo columns. Around the mirror panels on both sides of the flanking stairways is a welcome velvety red. The draperies and furnishings in a deeper tone of this same color are important notes of the" decorative scheme. The foyer ceilings and domes in the richest col- ors of green and rose tints of the French Renaissance style, liberally elaborated with gold, add brilliancy and crispness to the general tone of this beautiful harmony. The color scheme of the auditorium is as beautiful as it is appropriate. The colors are quiet and neu- tral greens on the ceilings and a rich red on walls and with gold in the boxes and draperies. The colors of the proscenium arch and entabla- tures of boxes arje soft green and silver gray. 30 .wf"* LADIES' BOUDOIR All constructional parts have the color of French statuary bronze and verdigris, elaborated with ivory tones. The auditorium ceiling is a well- blended sky effect done in soft greens, cerulean blues, and mauves, with clouds in grays and pearl tints. All the coves are finished in Sienna. It will be observed that the facings of the boxes, dress circle,, and balcony are in keeping with the colorings in the great sounding board over the pros- cenium arch. This color scheme, with the deep rich red of the walls back of the seats in tone with the warm tones of the pavonazzo marble, combine to make this inte- rior a triumph of elegance in decoration. The designing and decorating of the Iroquois Theatre throughout is the work of the W. P. Nelson Company, an old-established Chicago firm, who also did Powers' Theatre, this city, the New Amsterdam Theatre of New York City, which has attracted much attention on account of its striking originality of design and coloring, and the new Nixon Theatre in Pittsburg, Pa., now nearing completion. Mr. St. John Lewis has provided two exquisitely painted curtains, unique in their significance. The asbestos, or fireproof curtain, shows a summer scene on the Mohawk River, made from a sketch by the 31 artist himself, from which, however, he has eliminated every semblance of modern civilization, with the view of illustrating the historic valley as it might have appeared 150 years ago, when its banks were peopled with the Iroquois Indians only. The picture is in the artist's best style, and was suggested by the following verse by Mrs. Lydia H. Sigoumey : ' ' Ye say their cone-like cabins That clustered o'er the vale Have disappeared as withered leaves Before the autumn gale ; But their memory liveth on your hills, Their baptism on your shore ; Your ever-rolling rivers speak Their dialect of yore." The act drop is a study rich and mellow in autum- nal tints. It is a landscape also, and treated in Mr. Lewis' best style, intended to illustrate the following lines by Greer : " October, tinting the summer skies, Had ranged on a scaffold of mist His gold, and crimson, and purple dyes, And russet and amethyst." The plush curtain, which is of rich velvet of a beautiful red to harmonize with the color of the auditorium, is ornamented with a portrait of Sagoya- wata, or Red Jacket, a chief of the Senecas, and later the most celebrated chief in all the tribes in that con- federacy of Indians known as the Six Nations, or Iroquois, after which the theatre is named. This curtain was made and ornamented by Marshall Field & Co., who also furnish the draperies. The stage of the Iroquois Theatre is spacious, modern, and perfgctly appointed, with a depth of fifty-three feet and a width of i 10 feet. The rigging- loft is seventy-six feet from the stage floor and is believed to be the best constructed ever placed in a theatre. The full widt! he stage corresponding with the proscenium opening is entirely clear under- ath, and of sufficient depth to give working space for the most elaborate and pretentions of stage productions of every description. There are two fly PROSCENIUM AND BOXES galleries* on either side of the stage, all of steel con- struction, and a steel paint bridge on the rear wall unites these upper galleries. There are thirty-six dressing rooms, all large and comfortably furnished, and most of these above and on the south side of the stage. They are readily reached by broad, easy stairs, and, wonder of wonders, have an elevator that works at every performance instead of merely lifting baggage at the beginning and conclusion of an engagement. The supernum- 33 eraries have large rooms in a separate part of the basement. Adequate accommodation for the per- formers is unusual, but Mr. Davis, who inaugurated drastic reform in dressing-rooms in the building of the Haymarket, has elaborated on his original ideas for comfort in the Iroquois. 34 O CO ir _J h The electrical features of the Iroquois Theatre were installed by the Chicago Edison Company. Electricity for both light and power is supplied entirely from our street mains — the Modern Method. at the corner of Rush and K dancing to young Chi< ; upany 1' she remained a while in Chicago and conti After leavinj igo she married 1 he old compa he Sauganash, who upter at Watlack s New York on J i ■ impany <>\ actors | pie for S' id then left the city, presumabl appear in other cities in Illinois, and ])ossil)ly in St. L<> The towns that pr< th »mpany wen (now |oliet). Ottawa. Peoria, Jacksonville, Springfield, Vandalia, the last named being then the capital of Illinois. It has been claimed by certain old ■ ago th. .nuances at the Sauganash, in October, 1837, were undoubt- edly the first in the State of Illinois, a statement hardly apt to rue, as a number of the adjoining towns were much' older and larger in 1S37 than Chicago, and must have drawn to them some of the roving companies that were seen in St. Louis and the Southern cities before Chicago was incorporate The company returned in ind included amom members Mr. and Mrs. Greenbury C. Germon, then recently married. The latter, Jane Anderson Germon, was then but 16 years of age, and was a cousin of the present Joseph. Jefferson. Her mother was the first Joseph Jefferson's favorite daughter, Euphemia Jefferson, who was born Euphemia Fortune, in New York, in 1 774, on the identical day that her prospective husband was born at Plymouth, England. Euphemia's sister. Esther Fortune, became the second wife of William Warren, the elder, and in this manner the Jefferson and Warren families became related to each other, a relationship emphasized in Chi- cago, in [867, when Joseph Jefferson III. married Miss Sarah Anne Isabel De Shields Warren, daughter of Henry Warren II. lane Anderson Germon, who at last accounts was still living in Baltimore, retired from the stage during the of [8S9-1890. Two years after her first arrival in Chic was in Augusta. C.a., where on June 13. [840, she became the 51 >k &c OjOME admirer, name and address unknown, wrote this sentence on ^ the back of a menu card after a satisfactory meal in a Burlington dining car. It means that the Burlington offers passenger service that suits its patrons in every particular. The schedules of Burlington trains are fast,, but reliable; the equipment comfortable; the employes courteous; the dining car service unexcelled. Burlington lines gridiron the West, reaching practically every important point between Chicago, St. Louis and the Rocky Mountains. Limited trains (no extra fare) between Chicago and St. Paul, St. Paul and St. Louis, Chicago and Kansas City, Chicago and Denver, St. Louis. Kansas City and Denver. Through service to California via Colorado. Through service to the Pacific Northwest via St. Paul, Billings and Denver. Tell me what point you want to reach and I will tell you how to get there, and what it will cost. P. S. EUSTIS, Passenger Traffic Manager, CHICAGO. 73 mother of the talented Effie Germon, who was for many years a favorite comedienne at Wallack's Theatre, New York. Mr. Germon, at the time of his arrival in Chicago, was but 22 years of aye. He played the usual variety of parts while in Chica :uu\ afterward became the original Uncle Tom in " Unqle Tom's Cabin." lie died in Chicago April 14, 1S54, aged 38 years. William Warren, then only 26 years of aye, was a member of this company of pioneer actors and became an immediate favorite, appearing in several of the roles in which he afterward won so much fame and popularity in Boston, favoring Chicago with his Sir Lucius O'Trigger in "The Rivals" as far back as October 30, [839, when the majority of the patrons of the playhouse were unfamiliar with classic comedy, either in the library or on the boards. And in this company was a little boy who lived to be the dean of the American stage, whose exquisite art has never been excelled in the playhouse, whose long flaxen hair grew shorter with the years, then darker, and then whiter as the blessings of aye silvered his brow, the while the player and the play-goer learned to delight in the genius and profit by the art of Joseph Jefferson, who was born at the southwest corner of Spruce and Sixth Streets, Philadelphia, February 20, 1S29. Ilis mother was Cornelia Frances St. Thomas Jefferson, his father being her second husband. Young Jefferson's first playhouse was "behind the scenes," and when on Monday evening, September 28, 1903, Chicago was celebrating her Cen- tennial, Joseph Jefferson had the distinguished privilege of appearing at Powers' Theatre in "Rip Van Winkle" and of saying to his attentive audience at the close of the play: " I played in Chicago sixty-five years ago." It was soon found that the Sauganash was in the outskirts of the city, so the next building to be converted into a theatre and opened in May, 1S3S, was known as the Rialto, a cheap wooden structure at Nos. S and 10 South Dearborn Street, and owned by Augustus Garrett, who became Mayor of Chicago in 1S43. The theatre was in the upper portion of the struc- ture, a room 30 x So feet in size. Benjamin F. Taylor described 53 JACKSON BOULEVARD AND WABASH AVENUE OPPOSITE THE ILLINOIS THEATER CUISINE THE FINEST IN AMERICA SPECIAL CARE TAKEN OF THEATER PARTIES WE DESIRE' TO CALL PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO OUR THREE DEPARTMENTS ON THE OFFICE FLOOR, KNOWN AS The Wellington ' ' L ini ited ' The Wellington White Room The Wellington Mahogany Room IN THE BASEMENT OUR WHITE. MARBLE. CAFE, ON THE PARLOR FLOOR SPECIAL DINING ROOMS CAPABLE OF SEATING FROM THREE TO EIGHTY PERSONS THE WELLINGTON HOTEL ALBERT S. GAGE, Prop. u as "a den of a place, lookin; like a dismantled grist tuple of anybody. The gloomy enti ould have furnished the ry for a nightmare, and th< within were sepulchral enough to show up tin I.,: , tia Borgia.' But for all thai those dingy old walls to ring sometimes with renderings fine enough t< grander Thespian i though there was a farce now and then somewhat broader than it was long." Still the Rialto was not opened without opposition, for the late Grant Goodrich, a prominent citizen in his da the theatre a " menace to the moral welfare of the city." con- tending "that the tendency of the performance at modern theatres was grossly demoralizing, destructive of principle," and that they "were nurseries of crime." . But tin Common Council thought differently and fixed the theatre license at #100 a year, .which was $25 less than the opponents of the enterprise had expected it would be. The Rialto, originally used as an auction house by L. W. Montgomery, was quite in the center of the city. Side by side were two saloons, "The Rialto" and "The Eagle," the latter kept by Ike Cooke. Directly opposite, on the east side of Dearborn Street, close to the auction rooms, was the "Eating House" known as " Steele's Refectory." The new playhouse was called the Chi- cago Theatre, and a number of new people were added to the company previously seen at the Sauganash. Joseph Jefferson, who first landed hereby boat, in May. 1S3S, remembers that the Chicago Theatre " was quite the pride of the city, and the idol of the new managers, for it had one tier of boxes and a gallery at the back. I don't think that the seats of the dress circle were stuffed, but I am almost sure that they were planed." The company consisted of William Leicester. William Warren, James Wright, Charles Burke, Joseph Jefferson. Sr. . Thomas Sankey, William Childs, Harry Isher wood, artist, Joseph Jeffer son, Jr., Mrs. Alexander MacKenzie, Mrs. Joseph Jefferson. Mrs. David Ingersoll, and Mrs. Jane Germon. Young Jefferson was, in his own words: "The comic singer of this party, making myself useful in small parts and first villagers ; now 55 MISSISSIPPI CHICAGOST. LOUIS DAYLIGHT SPECIAL, GREEN, GOLD AND BROWN TRAIN DIAMOND SPECIAL, NIGHT TRAIN and then doing- duty us a Roman Senator at the back, wrapped in a clean hotel sheet, with my head peering over the profile banquet tables. 1 was just nine years old. I was found useful as Albert and the Duke of York. In those days the audience used to throw money on the stage either for comic songs or dances. And oh ! (with that thoughtful pi which has characterized my after life), how 1 used to lengthen out the verses." The stars during the season- were Mrs. McClure, Dan Marble, and A. A. Adams. Some of the plays aeted were "The Lady of Lyons," "The Stranger," "Rob Roy.' " Damon and Pythias," " Wives as They Were, Maids as The) Are," and "Sam Patch." The first season at the Rialto continued until October, [SaS, when a benefit was tendered Mr. MacKenzie by many of the citizens, fifty-one in all, who addressed a complimentary letter to him in which they extolled the artistic excellence and private worth of himself and com- pany. Among those who signed it were: John Calhoun, Mark Skinner, Julius Wadsworth, T. R. Hubbard, Thomas Hoyne, George- Kerchival, Norman B. Judd, 11. 0. Stone, and S. S. Bradley. The benefit took place October iS, 1838, and was notable for the first performance in Chicago of " The Lady of Lyons." The cast was as follows : Claude Meln otte wmja™ Leicester Beauseant. - .William Warren ( ;i av j s Greenburv C. Germon Colonel "Damns". - - -Thomas Sankev Desehapelles James Wright Caspar. ..Charles Burke Officer .Mr. Watts Pauline ..Mrs. David Ingersoll Madame"b"es"chap"elies Mrs. Joseph Jeffers. m Widow Melnotte ....Mrs. Alexander Mackenzie At the conclusion of the play Master Joseph Jefferson sang- the comic song, " Lord Lovell and Lady Nancy." Mr. Germon then recited "The Hunters of Kentucky" for the first time in Chicago. The performance, which began promptly at 7 o'clock, concluded with a very pretty drama. "Two Friends." The season began in May and closed in October, quite revers- ing the present order of things. Xo performances were given during what, would now be termed the season of 1S3S-1S39. In those days if the manager took in $100 a night, he did 57 California '■'■Night reading made easy by electric berth light sr The Old Way— dim lights in ceiling of car, so that reading by night is almost impossible. The New Way— electric side lights, conveniently placed in each Pullman section; you can read without eye-strain; also easily disrobe or dress. Many other new travel luxuries on The California Limited The California Limited runs be- tween Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco. Daily service com- mences November 29, until then semi- weekly . Less than three days to southern California. Visit the Grand Canyon of Arizona en route — a mile deep, miles wide, and rainbow-tinted. Our illustrated booklets, mailed free, will help you rightly plan a California tour. Address, 109 J. M. CONNELL, General Agent, Adams Street CHICAGO Santa le % w ALL THE WAY edingly well, and those were the good old days when g< old . md good youngi ontent t:' . season. And then followed the first performance of " Ham Tuesday, October 15. 1S39. It was given for Mr. MacKen benefit, and Charles Kemble Mason had the distinction of b< our first Hamlet, while Mrs. McClure was our first Oph< Mr. James H. McVicker, in his interesting reminiscent - early Chicago stage, credits Charles Kemble Mason with b< the first Shylock that Chicago ever 63 F. P. SMITH WIRE AND IRON WORKS & ORNA M ENTAL IRON AND- BRONZE Art Metal Work FURNISHED FOR Iroquois and Illinois Theatres Office and Warehouse Factory : Chester St., ioo and 102 Lake St. Clybonni and Fullerton Aves. " CHICAGO "The Merchant of Venice" was not given until Thursday October 17, [839, and for William Leicestei fit, that ■. tleman appearing as Shylock. On October 21, [839, " Pizarro, or the death of Rolla " was given, little Joseph Jefferson appear- ing as the child. How many in the audience thought of seeing him in [868 as Rip Van Winkle ? Wednesday October jo, • is of historic interest, for on that evening "The Rivals" was given for the first time in Chicago and for the benefit of Will Warren, although no mention of his name was made in the simple advertisement of that daw and which read as follows: THEATER. Wednesday Evening, October 30, 1839 Will Be Presented THE RIVALSOr, A Trip to Bath. To conclude with THE MILLER'S MAID. Please observe the Jeffersonian flavor of the cast : Sir Anthony Absolute .. Thomas Sankey Bob Acres Joseph Jefferson Captain Absolute William Leicester Faulkland Greenbury C. Germon P»vid .C. L. Green Sir Lucius O'Trigger William Warren fag - - -. Charles Burke Mrs. Malaprop.. ...... .....Mis. Alexander MacKenzie Lydia Languish.... Mrs. David Ingersoll fulia. Mrs. Greenbury C. Germon Lucy Mrs. Joseph Jefferson The cast included Mr. Jefferson, his wife, his two sisters, his niece, his stepson, his cousin, and his niece's husband. At this time the elder Jefferson was only 35 years of age, 63 CALIFORNIA) The Land of Sunshine, Fruit and Flowers California is less than three days away. Its balmy breezes, blue sea, smiling orchards, and beautiful mountain ranges, its magnificent opportunities for outdoor sports and its health- laden air, make it the greatest winter resort known, The most luxurious train in the world, the famous electric -lighted Overland Limited leaving Chicago daily at 8.00 p.m., makes the journey to California via The North- Western Line in less than three days. The route of the Limited is over the only double-track railway between Chicago and the Missouri River, through Omaha, Cheyenne and Ogden, down the Valley of the Sacramento to the Golden Gate, and via the San Joaquin Valley or over the beautiful Coastline (where for a hundred miles the road lies along the shore of the shining Pacific) to Los Angeles. Two fast trains through to California leave Chicago via the Chicago & North-Western Railway daily. Sleep- ing car reservations and full information on request. TICKET OFFICES. 212 Clark St. and WellsSt. Station, Telephone Central 721 nw.29 CHICAGO. ILL. Mrs. Jefferson was 43 ; Charles Burke only 17 ; Mrs. Ingersoll about 24; Mrs. MacKenxie about 28; Mrs. Germon 17, and Mr. Germon 23. William Warren, born in Philadelphia, November 17, [812, was 27 years of age. From here Mr. Warren went to Buffalo and then to Boston. He died at 2 Bullfinch Place. Boston, September 21, 1888. The season at the Rialto closed on Saturday evening, November 2, 1839, with "The Devil's Ducat," a drama, followed by a nautical piece, "Tom Crin- gle's Dog." And what became of the old Sauganash? On April 9, 1840, the following advertisement appeared in Chi- cago's daily : " SAUGANASH HOTEL. This old establishment is now fitted up in elegant style, and has resumed its original and native name, with a thorough reformation of old habits and customs. JOHN MURPHY." But the results of the panic of 1837 were making themselves felt, and for seven years after 1839 there was no dramatic com- pany of special repute in the city. Mrs. J. G. Porter reopened the Chicago Theatre on March 31, 1842, and tried to give per- formances without a license, hoping to open in a burletta, 67 ESTABLISHED 1ST 7 L. H. PRENTICE COMPANY ENGINEERS AN D CONTRACTORS FOR STEAM and HOT WATER HEATING and VENTILATING APPARATUS HOT BEAST HEATING AND MECHANICAL VENTILATION 24-26 SHERMAN ST.. NEAR BOARD OF TRADE CHICAGO PROBABLY THE LARGEST FIRM OF THIS KIND IN THE WORLD, VIZ.: EXCLUSIVELY HEATING APPARATUS, STEAM AND HOT WATER, THAT IT EATS ' The Swiss Cottage." She was Chicago's first woman man- ager, and on April 4 she petitioned the Council for forgiveness and a license. She secured both, the price of the latter being $30. that of the former not being quoted. On Saturday, April lie announced a benefit for herself. It was to be her last appearance before leaving for Buffalo. The performance an with the burlesque " The Manager in Distress, or All in a Quandary," certainly a most appropriate title. Mrs. Porter was the eldest daughter of Mrs. Marv Duff. ( m August 30, 1-42, Chicago had its first real opportunity to judge of the dramatic qualities of Danford Marble, who with Mrs. Marble appeared at the Rialto in " The Forest Rose, or The American Farmer." Marble was Jonathan Ploughboy and Mrs. Sillsbe (late Mrs. Trowbridge) was Harriet. The opening- play of the brief engagement of three nights was supplemented with " Black-Eyed Susan, - ' Mrs. Sillsbe playing Susan, and Mr. Marble, William. Business was poor at first, but as it improved, the engagement was several times extended and fourteen formances were given. For Marble's benefit on Monday, There Is But One Niagara There Is But One Road * . . Running directly by and in full view of the entire panorama of the cataract. It is the Michigan Central The Niagara Falls Route between Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo, New York, and Boston . . . Send three red stamps for Niagara Booklet, and ask about the new Niagara picture. City Ticket Office, 119 Adams Street O. W. RUGGLES, G. P. AND T. A. CHICAGO. September 5, 1842, the prize comedy, "The Yankee in Time," was given for the first time here, with Marble as Jacob Jew- sharp, a role in which Jam-- II. McVicker distinguished hims in after years. Listen to Benjamin F. Taylor : "It was in that dirty old rat trap, the 'Rialto,' I think, that 1 saw Dan Marble for the first time. ' Black-Eyed Susan ' and Marble's admir- able William melted the bouse, as if it had been something in a crucil It was, in its way, the perfei simplicity of nature. The audience was a little mixed. There were the fellows that in New York would have 'killed the Reiser,' 1 he ' wake-me-np-when-Kirby-dies stripe.' There was a small handful of half-1 1 sprinkling of lieuteua from the army, one or two worn-out paymasters. The pit was full ol sailors, with occasionally a wharf-rat; but. for fresh-water tat was a wonderful effusion of salt water, liven the always conscious dress-circle fluttered with any number of white cambric mops, and when the play took the right turn at last, the 'gods' applauded and the spiders hovering in their webs, and the mice in the walls, were whist. Even the chaps that spent their time in the interludes in bawling 'boots' and ' supe ' and eating peanuts, mopped out the corner of their eyes with their dirty knuckles, and had the theatrical management furnished soap, as well as sorrow, some of them might have put a better face on the matter. I can see the central figures of that dress-circle to-day. Hands that I think have shriveled out of the white kids they wore that night. The blue dress coats and buff vests have been laid aside for other and stranger wear. Yonder, crowned with iron-gray Jacksonian hair, is the stately form of Colonel Kcrchival. The man near him with large luminous eyes is the Hon. Giles Spring, owner of one of the finest judicial minds that ever graced the State. Beyond him is Doctor Maxwell, with a step as light as that of a wisp of a girl, for all of his two hundred and odd pounds of solid flesh. Close by are E. W. Tracy, George W. Meeker, and Doctor Stuart, and — but why keep on calling the dead men's roll? Some of the beauty as well as the manhood of the young city was there, and brightened up the dull old place like moonlight ; but what matters it? The footlights are out, the players departed, and the air is full of dust withal. Down with the curtain." "Richard III" was first given Saturday. August 20, 1S42, with Mr. Lyne as Gloster, and "Othello" was introduced to Chicago, September 14, 1S42, in a unique way. There was a tailor here who "had been told by his friends that he could act," and he applied to the management for an opportunity. There were not many tailors in Chicago then, and as he was the only one who could act— or thought he could — there was a certainty that all his colleagues, and at least a few of their customers, would be present if he played. Business had not been sufficiently good to resist the potency of a great novelty, so the tailor was permitted to prepare himself. It was arranged BALLROOM AND STAGE, KENWOOD CLUB. DECORATED BY MARSHALL FIELD t V CO. INTERIOR DECORATING Some of the finest theaters, residences, churches, clubs, hotels, and public buildings which are famed for their interior beauty are examples of the work of our Interior Decorating- Section. THEATRICAL COSTUMING Some of the most elaborately costumed companies on the Amer- ican Stage were equipped by our Costuming Section. MARSHALL FIELD _p at Rice's Chicago Theatre, he was allowed to play the character in its entirety. On another occasion, he played I ago, and later lie became an actor <>f good repute and was known as George Ryer. On Tuesday, September 27, 1S42, the Chapman Building, at the southeast corner of Randolph and Wells Streets, was opened as a theatre by William P. Hastings, with "The Golden Farmer." Tickets, 25 cents! The season was brief and unsuccessful. Then came "The Learned Pig" in 1844. On November 21, 1844, a Museum began its legal existence in the Commercial Building, at 73 Lake Street. Its manager, Henry Fuller, boasted of an extensive variety of geology, mineralogy, conchology, ornithology, and promised that noth- ing should be introduced within its walls not "in strict accord- ance with propriety, morality, and religion." To give variety to the development of the drama in 1S44, at the Old Chicago Theatre, Stephen A. Douglas had a fight one evening between the acts, with a lot of sailors, heelers, and canal laborers. The drama languished and the Rialto was again converted to its original purpose. The population had grown from 3,265. in J835, to 3,820, in 1S36; to 4,179 in 1S37, and had fallen to 4.000 in 1838. In 1S39 it was increased by 200. In 1S44, when the population had reached 8,000, it was suggested by the Council that it was advisable to plank Lake Street between Dearborn and State Streets. Considering the city's drawbacks, youth. and isolation it was a matter of wonder that the place could boast of such a good theatrical beginning. They were brave men and women who first trod the boards of the Chicago stage, and the members of the Jefferson family especially deserve a statue for their honest and chaste efforts in behalf of the drama, when the city boasted of its 4,000, but had no "400.' Chicago had grown from 12,088, in 1S45, to 14.169, in 1846. and Thursday. June 30. 1846. Christy's Minstrels appeared for the first time at the City Saloon and two months later the North 7 3 Hansell-Elcock Company + + | STRUCTURAL | t STEEL AND J | IRON WORK | >~H"H~f>-M~H"f++++++++ ♦♦♦♦♦♦ + ♦ Archer Ave. and 23d Place CHICAGO ALL STRUCTURAL STEEL AND IRON FOR THE IROQUOIS THEATRE FURNISHED BY THIS COMPANY and South Sides were connected by a new ferryboat plying between River and Rush Streets, and provided free by the proprietors of the Lake House-. Howe & Mabie's Arena and United States Circus appeared August 21, 1846, for four evening and one afternoon performances. Among the riders was Matthew Buckley, who grew to be the oldest showman in the United States, dying at Delavan, Wiseonsin, February 28, [897, aged 97 years. In October, 1S46, the old Rialto Building was again converted into a playhouse and called the National Theatre, opening with "The Golden Farmer" and "The Harlequinade." On November 9, [846, it was formally re- opened with "Wenlock of Wenlock," with Reuben Marshael as Wenlock. The season concluded November 14th with F. D. Wilson as Othello. On Wednesday, December 23, 1846, the National Theatre became the People's Theatre. The opening- bill was "The Hunchback," with Madame LaBurriss as Julia ; F. D. Wilson as Master Walter ; Reuben Marshael as Clifford, and Samuel Edwin Brown as Fathom. The prices during this engagement were: Boxes, 50 cents; parquette, 37^ cents; gallery, 25 cents. The performances began at 7. 1 5 o'clock. The theatre changed its name again to the National on Thursday, January 21, 1S47. The next evening " The Bandit Chief " was given, followed by "The Apostate " and " The Lottery Ticket," and at 2 o'clock on the morning of February 1, 1847, fire broke out and the theatre and adjoining buildings went up in smoke. While the house was in a blaze a wag remarked that this was positively its last appearance "for the benefit of the city," and another replied that he was rejoiced to see it " so well heated for the occasion." But it should not have been an occasion for levity. The friend of the drama should have had a reverence for the old structure whose boards had been trodden by two Joseph Jeffersons, Charles Kemble Mason, Charles Burke, Dan Marble, and William Warren. Then came glad tidings: John B. Rice, destined to become one of Chicago's brightest ornaments, who was to be Mayor of Chicago in after days and the city's representative in Congress, came here from Buffalo and recognized the fact that the great "Speed, Safety and Comfort" Is the motto which has earned for TtlE PENNSYLVANIA SHORT LINES the leputation of being The Standard Railway of America THE LIMITED AND LUXURY Both start from Chicago— The Limited at 6.00 p. m., and luxury enjoyed by passengers on this train at the same hour THE FAMOUS PENNSYLVANIA LIMITED 23 HOURS CHICAGO TO NEW YORK Leaves Chicago, daily, 6.00 p. m. Arrives New York . . 6.00 p. m. This train is composed of Pullman equip- ment and con sists of Library Smoking Ca DiningCar,Dra ing Room Sleeping Car, and Compart ment Observatic Car — a solid ves bule train Chicago New York. EVERY COMFORT SPECIAL FEATURES originated on the Pennsyl- vania Limited: ibrary Smok- ig Car, Barber op, Bath Rooms, e n o g r a p h e r, Stock reports and. latest market bul- ;tins, a Trained aiting Maid, ever ready to assist ladies traveling alone, large parlor in Observation Car (the rear having a recessed and protected platform) for sight seeing:. SEVEN TRAINS DAILY to the EAST Harbor and River Convention of 1847 would bring thousand people to the growing young city of the plains, and that I would ask for entertainment. On May 5, [847, he entered into a contract for the construction of a building, to be used ; theatre on the south side of Randolph Street, and about 100 east of Dearborn, within the same square that afterward held Crosby's Opera House and on the very spot when th< Unity Building now stands. And strange fact, this, the lust actual theatre to be built in Chicago, stood directly opposite the spol where the Iroquois now stands. After fifty-six years of growth and pride and change, the new theatre erected solely for theat- rical purposes stands across the street from the lot that har- bored the first structure erected in Chicago for strictly theatrical purposes. John B. Rice, who was the father of Mrs. James 1'.. Kimball, Mrs. James W. Odell, Mrs. William Smith, Mrs. George L. Dunlap, and Mrs. Orson Smith, spent $4,000 on the theatre! Think of it, $4,000! But it was a large sum to expend on a theatre at a time when the telegraph reached no farther west than Ypsilanti, Michigan; just seven months before a telegraph line was opened between Chicago and Milwaukee, namely, on January 20. 1848; five years before the first railway ran into Chicago from the East over the Michigan Southern and North- ern Indiana tracks, and eleven years before the first street cat- ran on State Street! It is also something of a coincidence that this first train from the East was brought into the city by Thomas G. Davis, the father of Will J. Davis, of the Illinois and Iroquois Theatres. The theatre, built in less than fifty- four days, was an ordinary wooden structure of the period, two stories high, and excessively plain. Its interior was more ornate, and every part of the house afforded a good view of the stage. The entire lower floor was devoted to the pit. The boxes were elegantly furnished — for those days — and were fitted up with carpets and settees. The little town was enthu- siastic over its new playhouse, which was opened Monday evening. June 28, t S47. "Behold the opening bill: En- gravings by F.G.Jungblut&Co, Chicago NEW CHICAGO THEATER The Manager respectfully announces to the public that the above new and spacious establish- ment will be open for their reception THIS (Mon- day) evening,' with a full company of experienced Artists, and an efficient ( hvhestra. IIKsi NIGH! <>! Mil ENGAGEMEN1 "I MRS. HUNT, in i i\ i mi i i kim CHARACTERS. MR. MARBLE win. also appear I HIS K\ ENING. Previous to the performance, an opening Ad- dress, written by a gentleman of this city, will be delivered by Mr. Harris. Monday evening, June 28th, will be performed the Comedietta, entitled FOUR SISTERS; Or, Woman's Worth and Woman's Ways. Caroline Merton - Mrs. Hunt Diana - Mr |; Pn ^ Landlady Mrs. Stevens GRAND SPANISH DANCE, by Miss Homer Emigrant's Lament Mr. Mossop To be followed by the Yankee Comedy of the WOOL DEALER DEUTERONOMY DUTIFUL MR. MARBLE Capt. Oakley -. Canoll Col. Gormsley, with song of Rory O'More Mossop Mr. Waddle ...Phillimore Slap . - Vf- Me o^ er Amanda - Mrs. Price Highland Fling, Miss Homer The whole to conclude with the Farce of the YOUNG SCAMP Joseph, the Young Scamp... M ?ifr.c£?oU Mildew;;;;:::.'.':.'." pwnimore Gen'l Beauvoir v;-"™ ce Mrs. Manly - -- Mrs Price Mrs. Swansdown - Mrs. Stevens Eliza Miss Homer Admission. Dress Circle, 50 cents ; Parquette, 25 cts.; 2nd Tier of Boxes, for colored persons, 25 cts. No female admitted unless accompanied by a gentleman. Doors open at % past 7. Per- formance to commence at 8 o'clock precisely. 70 TELEPHONE HARRISON j x- AVm. Zander ... - President ( >s< ak A. Relm, Secretary and Treasurer Zander- Reum Company mam CONTRACTING PLASTERERS 512 LAKESIDE BUILDING CLARK AND ADAMS STREETS CHICAGO £) £) ROQUOIS THEATRE PLASTERING DONE BY THIS COMPANY The audience was large, representative, and fashionable. All the pioneers who had built the little city were there. Their wives and daughters, mothers, and sweethearts were there- with them. They were all as happy as the genial manaj who was always cheerful, even in adversity. It was a new dawn for the little city, its sunrise of art, tor it was then just ten years, three months, and twenty -four days old, with a population of but 15,000. The front of the house was not crowded with automobiles, or even with carriages, for pleasure vehicles were rare in those days and could not have been used, had they been plentiful. The roads were not conducive to fast driving, and had wide gutters separating them from the side- walks, when the latter existed. None of the streets were paved, and the uneven, broken sidewalks with many steps were almost as bad as the middle of the roadway. Nor were the men in evening attire. They wore their swallow-tailed coats of blue cloth with brass buttons, and buff waisteoats. The audience was an inspiration to the players. Auditors and actors were equally anxious to please each other. Those before the footlights seemed to savin their applause : " Followers of Shakespeare's calling you are welcome! You are among friends' (rive us from the bounty of your art and we will give you our applause. And when the play is done, we will smile upon you with our friendship in your new home. Remember always that we desire to see ' the players well bestowed.'' And the players, gladdened and inspired, spoke and acted with new spirit, as if they meant to say : " We appreciate your welcome and we are grateful. We hope- to be worthy of your approba- tion. Let us be friends." If the audience was an inspiration can less be said of the players? Were not Mrs. Louisa Hunt, Dan Marble, and John B. Rice on the bill that glorious history- making evening in June ? And has Chicago not been faithful to the memories of inimitable Mrs. Hunt, laughter-provoking Dan Marble, and honest, noble John B. Rice? And you know, do you not, that Mrs. Louisa Hunt had been born Louisa Lane, that she was the brilliant comedienne who afterward married the comedian of the company, George Mossop. and who after his 81 Frank Parmelee Gomfianti Established 1853 Hailroad Paddender (and Baggage Transfer Office 132 East Adams Street Telephone Harrison 1914 BAGGAGE TRANSFERRED TO AND FROM RAILROAD DEPOTS, HOTELS, AND RESIDENCES PROMPT SERVICE Theatrical Transfers a Specialty death, in [848, became Mrs. John Drew, the greatest Mrs. Mala- prop Chicago ever knew? The opening address, written by (1. W. Phillimore, a member of the company, and delivered by Edwin Harris, was in three parts—" To The Audience," " To The Boxes, "and " To The Pit." No one accused Mr. Phillimore of writing good poetry, but every one admitted that his heart was in the right place. A popular member of this company was Mrs. Rice, who was born Mary Ann Warren, a sister of William Warren and Mrs. Dan Marble. She made her debut as Helen in " The Hunchback," July 26, 1S47. She retired from the stage in 1S54. and died at Colorado Beach, California, March 23, [893. Mr. Rice was a man whose word was as good as a bond. t )n one occasion the audience was offended at Barney Williams, who did something on the stage offensive to the Irish people present. They refused to allow Williams to proceed With his lines, and then Mr. Rice appeared upon the scene, informed his patrons that if they allowed Mr. Williams to finish his per- formance and complete his engagement, he would give them his word of honor that Mr. Williams would never again be permitted to play at his theatre. The riot was quelled and Mr. Williams was never re-engaged. Among the men who came here to attend the Harbor and River Convention, and who patronized the playhouse, were Horace Greeley, who represented the Neiu York Tribune; Thurlow Weed, who wrote for the New York Evening [ournal, and Abraham Lincoln, the last named being then thirty-eight years of age and in Chicago for the first time. One of the great attractions in those days was T. D. Rice, of "Jim Crow" fame, who had dropped little Joseph Jefferson out of a bag when the latter, at the age of four, made his first appearance on the stage. Rice made his first appearance here on July 12, 1847, as Ginger Blue, the Mummy, in " Mummy." The next night Jerry Merrifield, who became a popular comedian here, made his first appear- ance as Peter Spyke in " The Loan of a Lover." At this time Mrs. Hunt was featured as a stock star, and having a fondness for male roles won much favor in them. On July 28, 1S47, she appeared as Claude Melnotte to the Pauline of Mrs. Rice. The S3 most popular actor seen here in those days was James E. Murdock, who trod the boards of a Chicago stage for the first time on August 2, 1S47. The play was " Hamlet." Mrs, Hunt was the Ophelia ; Mrs. Rice, the Queen ; Mr. Harris, the Ghost ; and Mr. Mossop, the Laertes. The next night Mr. Murdoch played Romeo to Mrs. Hunt's Juliet. Actors were versatile in those days. On September 11, 1S47. Mr. Ryer, the tailor, still an amateur, appeared as Hamlet, "by the advice of his friends." The enthusiasm was so great that one admirer threw him a purse of $25. The stage in Chicago has undergone many changes. The lamented Julia Dean, gifted, beautiful, and probably the most popular actress of her day, made her debut at Rice's on October 5, 1S47, as Julia in "The Hunchback." ••Her smile was a language of itself ; joy and anguish, hope and fear ; love and scorn flitted across her young face with the grace of sunbeams and shadows." James Hubert McVicker made his first appearance in Chicago. Tuesday, May 2, 1S4S. Mr. McVicker, whose name was then spelt McVicar, made his debut as Mr. Smith in " My Neighbor's Wife." The relations between McVicker and Rice were always of the most cordial character. During the first week in June of 1848, an unusual state of affairs existed in Chicago. Five places of amusement were open at one time. Raymond & Waring's Menagerie was the place to see the elephant ; Winter's Diorama, the place to see "Jerusalem and the Court of Babylon " ; Rice's Theatre, the place to see acting : Winchell's entertainment, the place to hear good singing ; and Tom Thumb was at the Court House, "the place to be kissed", for a girl that had not been kissed by Tom Thumb felt like a spinster who had never had an offer of marriage. And all the notice that Edwin Forrest received from the Evening Journal, after he had made his debut at Rice's on June 8, 184S, was the following: "A crowded audience were delighted with Mr. Forrest's Othello at the theatre last evening. Mr. Fenno, as Iago. was most superior, and Mrs. Hunt's Desdemona, charming. To-night Mr. Forrest appears again in the character of Hamlet." And an enterprising 84 citizen who had felt called upon to ask Mr. Forrest "how he liked Chicago", received this answer from the actor who had climbed up and down our sidewalks, " How do I like Chic; . Why the wln.k place is set for ' Mazeppa." 1 And so far as we know, the first actor to step out of the character and make a speech during or after a performance in Chicago was Edwin Forrest, who spoke at the conclusion of his first engage- ment on Friday evening, June 23. [848, after playing King Lear for the first time here. Then came " the noblest Roman of them all/ - Junius Brutus Booth made his first appearance on Friday, September 22, [848, in "Richard III." On Sep- tember 1, [848, Chicago had grown to 19-724 souls, and on November 25, 1848, the second season at Rice's closed. Mrs. Mossop, formerly Mrs. Hunt, distinguishing herself by playing Alfred Evelyn in "Money," and Lucretia Borgia. And still the city was without good sidewalks, roadways, or gas. July 28, [850, Mr. Rice began an experiment with grand opera. opening with " La Somnambula," the east including Eliza Brienti. Miss Matthews. Mr. Manvers, and Mr. Dubreill. The theatre was destroyed by fire July y>. [850. Loss 84,000. On February 3. 1 S 5 1 , Mr. Rice opened his second theatre on the ->ame spot, but the entrance had been transferred to Dearborn Street. The new building was of brick and cost Si 1,000. Mr. Rice made a notable improvement by abolishing the pit, because of its noisy occupants, and building a gallery at the top of the house, almost over the stage. The former pit was called the parquet and respectable people were then no longer afraid to see the play. The opening attraction at the new house was a triple bill: " Love in Humble Life," Captain of the Watch," and "The Dumb Belle." Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Gilbert were members of the company, the now revered " Dear old Mrs. Gilbert." being then a popular dancer. It was here that John Dillon, " recently graduated from a New York concert saloon," made his first local appearance. In 1 S61 Rice's Chicago Theatre was converted into a business house. Meanwhile another theatre was opened. This was North's Amphitheatre, which stood on the south side of Monroe Street. 85 east of Wells Street. Its manager, Levi J. North, offered a unique entertainment, inasmuch as the drama was preceded by a circus, the stage being built on wheels and run over the circus ring. It was afterward known as the National Theatre and existed until 1864. Thursday evening, November 5, 1857. McVicker's Theatre was opened. The stock company was large and representative and appeared in "The Honeymoon" and "'The Rough Dia- mond." H. A. Perry, who appeared as the Duke Aranza, was an admired actor of his day. Edwin Booth's first appearance was made here May 31, 1858, appearing in " A New Way to Pay Old Debts," followed by " Richelieu," John Howard Payne's "Brutus" and "Richard III." All the great actors of that period played at McVicker's, Edward A. Sothern mak- ing his debut in 1861, James H. Hackett, the great Falstaff of that day, in 1865, and Mrs. Mary F. Scott-Siddons in 1869. The theatre was remodeled in 1864, and in 1868 Joseph Jeffer- son produced " Rip Van Winkle" for the first time here. The theatre was rebuilt in 1871, at a cost of $90,000, and re-opened with " Extremes" six weeks before the great fire of October 9. 1871, when it was burned with the rest of Chicago. Again the theatre was rebuilt, and re-opened August 15, 1872, with Douglas Jerrold's "Time Works Wonders." In 1S85 the theatre was again remodeled. On August 26, 1S90, during a run of " Shenandoah," it was again destroyed by fire. It rose from its ashes on March 31, 1892, Joseph Jefferson, William J. Florence, Mrs. John Drew, Miss Viola Allen, and Frederick Paulding appearing in "The Rivals." After Mr. McVicker died on March 7, 1896, the theatre was conducted by Mrs. McVicker, who, on May 1, 1898, leased it for a term of years to Jacob Litt, who, in 1902, purchased the entire property from Mrs. McVicker. It was something of a coincidence that Mrs. McVicker leased the theatre to Mr. Litt just fifty years minus a day after the date of her husband's professional debut in Chicago. The story of McVicker's Theatre would fill many a volume. All the great actors of the day appeared here for a period of forty years, most of the great names of the dramatic 8G and musical professions having brightened the history of this house. Not only the famous stars, but many of the best known stoek actors won favor here, for during the greater portion of Mr. McVicker's career the great stars were supported by the stoek company of the house. And on many occasions the in- imitable Mr. McYieker would himself appear either at the head of his own company or in the support of eminent stars like- Charlotte Cushman or Edwin Booth. His most memorable per- formances were those oi Mr. Simpson to the Mrs. Simpson of Charlotte Cushman in "Simpson & Co.." and of the First Grave Digger in " Hamlet," Dogberry in " Much Ado About Nothing," Bottom in " Midsummer's Night," and Launcelot Gobbo in "The Merchant of Venice," when Edwin Booth was the star. These five roles were distinctively his own. Mr. McVicker was a comedian and a manager in the true sense of the word, and as a citizen of Chicago he was so popular and so public-spirited that his memory will never be dimmed by time. Still another famous playhouse was Colonel Wood's Museum at 111-117 Randolph Street, which was opened with a number of curiosities August 17, 1863, and in November, 1863, converted into a playhouse, when "The Bohemian Girl" was given by the Holman Opera Company. " The Lady of Lyons " was the first play given, and for some time eminent players of this day, such as Frank E. Aiken, McKee Rankin. William J. LeMoyne, and Owen Fawcett, were admired members of the stock company, which was so popular that before the fire, when long runs were unknown, " The Ticket of Leave Man " was played consecutively for six weeks. And all Chicago remembers Crosby's Opera House, which stood on the north side of Washington Street, between Dear- born and State Streets, and opened with "II Trovatore," April 26, 1865, at a cost of $500,000, by J. Grau's Italian Opera Company. Miss Clara Louise Kellogg, now Mrs. Carl Strakosch, was a member of the company. Here the great spectacular plays of the day, "The Black Crook," "The White Fawn," and " The Field of the Cloth of Gold" Avere given, as 87 well as all the great operas and German dramas, for here Fanny Janauschek and Marie Seebach played the tragedies of Schiller and Goethe. And on this stage the citizens of Chicago presented a silver wreath to Madame Janauschek, Dr. Ernst Schmidt being the spokesman of the occasion. And now the great tragedian is practically dying in want. Like the other playhouses, Crosby's Opera House, which was to be re-dedi- cated by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra, Marie Krebs, pianist, and Bernhard Listemann, violinist, on Monday. Octo- ber 9, 1871, was burned to the ground that morning, the orchestra reaching Twenty-second Street on its way from the East. At the time it was said that Theodore Thomas differed from Nero inasmuch as he roamed away while his fiddles were burning. No less than three theatres were named after Frank E. Aiken, Chicago's popular leading man of that day. For a time Wood's Museum was known as Aiken's Theatre, after Col. J. H. Wood retired. Another Aiken's Theatre was built on the east side of Dearborn Street, one block south of the spot where Rice's Chicago Theatre had stood. It was opened January, 1S69, by a stock company playing "'Cyril's Success." In August, 1S69, it was transformed into the Dearborn Theatre and occupied by Emerson. Allen & Manning's Minstrels and other attractions, such as Charles Wyndham in the Robertson comedies. Still another Aiken's Theatre was erected at the northwest corner of Wabash Avenue and Congress Street, and opened October 7, 1S72, by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra. Here Anton Rubinstein and Wienawski gave their memorable concerts. Here Lawrence Barrett produced " Julius Csesar," and while playing Cassius stepped out of the role to speak Marc Antony's oration, Frank Lawler being the Marc Antony. The theatre was burned in the second Chicago fire of July 14. 1S74. Meanwhile other places of amusement were opened. They included Bryan Hall, at S7 and 89 Clark Street, built in i860 for concerts; the first Academy of Music, at 124 Washington Street, opened December 1, 1S63, and devoted to Arling- ton, Kelly, Leon & Donnikers Minstrels, and later to English 88 THE A. H. Andrews Co. 174-176 Wabash Avenue CHICAGO, ILL. Seated tKis ("IROQUOIS") Theatre Hardest /Ifcanufacturers of: ($prra m\b utyratrr &rattttg, QDffur m\h iBank IFuntiturr (Eljurrij ann ^rl)inil Starmturr, i>trrl Wire (Eliaira utablrs auo ^tmils A FEW OF THE LEADING THEATRES FURNISHED BY US: IROQUOIS, Chicago: MCVlCKERS', Chicago; AUDITORIUM, Chicago POWERS', Chicago; GARRICK, Chicago; METROPOLITAN, New York Chicago Opera House, Chicago. St. Charles, new Orleans DALY'S, New York; ACADEMY, New York; LYCEUM, Memphis Toronto, Toronto. Prospect, Cleveland; Academy, buffalo opera by the late Sher Campbell and the present William Castle; the first Olympic Theatre, at the northwest corner o£ Clark and Monroe Streets, opened July [5, [868, by Arlington's Minstrels, and the ( ilobe Theatre on Desplaines Street, between .Madison and Washington Streets, opened November 21, 1 by a stock company playing " The Rivals." The last named was the only theatre that escaped the lire. After the great lire the walls of the old Postonrce ai Dear- born and Monroe Streets were utilized as the framework of a theatre that was opened January 11, 1^7?. with a burlesque under Leonard (trover's management. J. II. Haverly recon- structed it in [878, and called it Haverly 's Theatre, opening it with the Colville Folly Company in " The Babes in the Woods. It was used as a theatre until 1SS0. when it was demolished. It was here, on April 1. 1^75, that Will J. Davis, who had been associated with W. W. Cole of Grover & Cole, first came into view professionally, as J. II. Haverly's trusted lieutenant, Mr. 1 )avis growing to be the dean among local managers. During is;; and 1S7S, Mr. Davis was not associated with this house, but he returned in 1S79, and every faithful Chicagoah is grate- ful to him for his share of the prosperity of this house that first introduced us to such distinct and lasting successes as the Chicago Church Choir Company, Her Majesty's Italian Opera Company, the Carleton Opera Company, and the Chicago Ideals. A great and good man to whom Chicago is indebted for much was the late Richard M. Hooley, familiarly and rever- ently called " Uncle Dick Hooley." Mr. Hooley came here from Brooklyn in 1S70, and transformed Bryan Hall into a handsome theatre called Hooley \s Opera House. It was opened January 2, [871, by Hooley 's Minstrels, and when it was destroyed in the great tire Mrs. F. W. Lander ( Jean Daven- port ) was to appear in an English version of Oiacometti's " Elizabeth." For a while Mr. Hooley had a stock company in conjunction with Frank F. Aiken, with Mr. Aiken as lead- ing man. the first play being " The Two Thorns.*' After the fire the theatre was rebuilt, and after being called the Coliseum 8!> and Hamlin's Theatre, was remodeled in 1880, and called the Grand Opera House, and leased to John A. Hamlin. It was opened September, 1S80, by Hoey & Hardy in "A Child of the State." Mr. Will J. Davis was acting manager of the Grand Opera House at this time and remained there two years, giving the house its legitimate start. After the great fire Mr. Hooley built Hooley's Theatre on Randolph Street, east of La Salle, and opened it October 17, 1872, with the Abbott- Kiralfy Company. In 1876 and 1877 it was known as Haverly's, and then restored to Mr. Hooley and his partner, Simon Quinlan. Later Mr. Hoolev became its exclusive manager and remained so until his death in Sep- tember, 1893. Here for some years Mr. Hooley had an excep- tional stock company that included at different times such well- known players as James O'Neill, William H. Crane, Harry Murdock, John Webster, John Dillon, George R^er, George Giddens, Nate Salsbury, Louise Hawthorne, Minnie Doyle, Nellie McHenry, Sidney Cowell, Susan Denin, and last, but not least, the famous Mrs. Clara Fisher Maeder. May 1, 1898, the theatre passed from the control of the Hooley estate into the hands of Harry J. Powers, who had been associated with the house since October 15, 1877, when the attraction was Jarrett & Palmer's " Sardanapalus," and who gave it the name of Powers' Theatre, although the favorite name of " The Parlor Home of Comedy" still clings to it. After a complete reconstruction based on designs by Benjamin H. Marshall, who afterward became the architect of the Illinois and Iroquois theatres, it was opened as Powers' Theatre, August 22, 1898, with Effie Shannon and Herbert Kelcey in Clyde Fitch's, " The Moth and the Flame." For thirty-one years this playhouse has made theatri- cal history. Most of the eminent players and singers of the generation have appeared upon its boards, and here many of our younger actors have made their local debuts as stars. Here , since Mr. Powers first became connected with the house, we _have seen Lawrence Barrett, Clara Morris, Robson and Crane, Fanny Janauschek, Fanny Davenport, Helena Modjeska. E. A . Sothern , John T . Raymond , John McCullough , Nat C . Good- win, Emma Abbott, Clara Louise Kellogg, George S. Knight, Lotta, E. II. Sothern, Mrs. Scott-Siddons, Maggie Mitchell, Genevieve Ward, Roland Reed, Minnie Maddern, Annie Pixley, Henry E. Dixey, Rosina Yokes, Mr. and Mrs. Kendall, M garet Mather, E. S. Willard, Eleonora Duse, Ada Rehan, Olga Nethersole, William Gillette, John Hare, John Drew, Sol Smith Russell, Julia Arthur, Julia Marlowe, Maude Adams, Sir Henry Irving, Ellen Terry, and a host of others, many of whom have passed into the Great Hereafter. No wonder then that to old and young this playhouse, which has ever maintained the highest standard, is indeed a "Home." John B. Carson built a theatre on Monroe Street, between Dearborn and Clark, and called it Haverly's. It was opened Monday, September 12, 1881, by Robson and Crane with "Twelfth Night." It was managed by J. H. Haverly and afterward by C. H. McConnell, during whose regime Mr. Will J. Davis was his acting manager. On the last night of the second engagement of Henry Irving and Ellen Terry, Satur- day, January 31, 1885, Ellen Terry christened the house the Columbia Theatre. In 1889 Mr. Carson offered his house out of hand to Mr. Will J. Davis, who associated himself with Mr. Al Hay man, then of San Francisco in a ten year lease of the theatre, and on Friday afternoon, March 30, 1900, during an en- gagement of the Rogers Brothers, it was destroyed by fire. Other theatres built from time to time were : Myers' Opera House, on Monroe Street, between State and Dearborn Streets: Samuel Myers, manager ; opened Septem- ber 23, 1872. The Standard, afterward the Bijou, at the corner of Jackson and Halsted Streets ; built by a Mr. Townsend of this city, opened by Fay Templeton in " Girofie-Girofia" December 3 1 , 1 8 83 . Chicago Opera House, at the corner of Washington and Clark Streets ; opened by John W. Norton & Co. , with David Henderson as manager, August 18, 1885, with Thomas W. Keene in " Richard III." The new Chicago Theatre, now the Olympic Theatre, on Clark Street, between Lake and Randolph; opened by «i James H. McVicker in August, 1S75, with "Apple Blossoms.' Called the Olympic, in May, 1SS5. Hopkins' Theatre, on State Street near Harrison, was opened by Robert Graham in " Wanted a Partner," October 1, 1SS4. The Windsor Theatre, later the Lincoln, on North Clark Street, near Division, was opened September 16, 1SS6. The Haymarket Theatre on West Madison Street, near Halsted, was dedicated by Thomas Keene in " Richard III" December 24, 1SS7, under the management of Mr. Will J. Davis. Thomas W. Keene had the distinction of opening two Chicago playhouses with the same play. Baker's Theatre, afterward Havlin's, and now the Colum- bus, was opened with " The Pearl of Pekin " November 6, 1888, and leased to J. H. Havlin May 27, 1SS9. The Clark Street Theatre, on North Clark and Michigan Streets ; opened by H. R. Jacobs, with " Said Pasha," October 27, 1889. The Alhambra, on State and Nineteenth Streets, was opened by the Emma Juch Grand English Opera Company in " Faust." September 1, 1S90. The Schiller Theatre, later the Dearborn and now the Garrick, was opened in September, 1S92, with four weeks of German comedy, and dedicated to the English drama with " Gloriana," October 17, 1892. The Great Northern Theatre, A. M. Palmer, manager, was opened by Henry Miller in " Heartsease," November 9, 1S96. The Auditorium was dedicated by President Harrison and Adelina Patti, Monday, December 9, 1SS9. Gounod's "Romeo and Juliet " was given the next night with Mine. Patti as Juliet. The Studebaker, on Michigan Boulevard, between Van Buren and Congress Streets, was opened with a concert September 29, 1S9S, and was first used as an opera house by the Castle Square Company in " Faust," Monday, April 3, 1S99. The opening of the Illinois Theatre, on Jackson Boulevard. Monday evening, October 15, 1900, with Julia Marlowe in Clyde Fitch's "Barbara Frietchie " marked a new era, inasmuch as it was the first time in the history of Chicago that a playhouse 1)3 was constructed and employed solely for theatrical purpo There are several older houses in New York, Philadelphia, and, Savannah, Ga., that are similarly built and used, but they arc the important exceptions to an almost unanimous rule. [1 was built by the Dayman & Davis Co.. with Mr. Will J. Davis as manager. While it was being built all sorts of names wen suggested, Air. Davis making a plea for a name that vrouh symbolical of the city's history. Finally Charles Frohman said : "Why not call it the Illinois/" And Illinois it became, and worthily so, as something of a rebuke to the naming ol theatres either after individuals or in imitation of some English name to which its birth and career are wholly foreign. And so to-day, the Illinois Theatre, after a career of a little over three years, typifies all that is most beautiful and good in the mod< theatre. Like the first playhouse Chicago ever had, its name- is I ndian. It is also noteworthy that the architect of the Illinois is probably the youngest man who ever designed a theatre, for Benjamin M. Marshall was barely twenty-six years of age when the Illinois became a reality. When the new playhouse that is now being dedicated w-as first planned, Mr. Will J. Davis was ready with a name for it, a name that would be a tribute to the first inhabitants of this continent. Mr. Davis' devotion to the history of the Indians has been constant, and he was deeply impressed by the fact that in early days they were led by the Iroquois, composed of the Five Nations, afterward the Six Nations, for the Senecas, Mohawks, Onondagas, Oneidas, and Cayugas were, in lyt;. joined by the Tuscaroras. So this theatre, designed to be i leader, was named the Iroquois. And it is interesting to note that it was on the anniversary of the nation's birth that Mr. Marshall prepared the first designs for the new house, namely, on July 4, 1902. Our first inhabitants can not be forgotten, when, in our search for wholesome amusement and instruc- tion, we remember that our first and latest playhouses were called respectively Sauganash and Iroquois. «):; Oral t T7 ■ I 1 54 001 49 4473