The Old Theaters of New York (illustrated) [pp. 576-581]

580 TITE OLD qff'EATh~s O~ ~EW YOi?K. [XOYEMBER 23,
town" theatre would he needed; and,
after four or five years of consultation, different parties, it would appear,
came to the determination to build
two, one located on the east and the
other on the west side of the town.
Early in the year 1824, the foundations were laid for the Lafayette
Theatre. The site was in Laurens
Street near Canal, then a most disagreeable and unpopular neighborhood. The design of the front was
attractive, but it always had an unfinished and cheap appearance. It
was opened on the 4th of July, 1825,
with performances which appealed
for patronage to the political rather
than to the dramatic interest. This
fact, with the unpropitious season of
"dead summer," was almost fatal.
For three years it struggled on with
circuses, sensation dramas, and the
ballet, when it was taken hold of
by a new management, its front properly completed, its interior thoroughly
reconstructed, and fitted up in a style
that eclipsed all former attempts in
this direction. For three or four
months, in spite of its interior reconstruction, it made a desperate but
hopeless strug~e for existence, when,
no doubt, to the relief of the manage
ment, and owners probably, the structure,
"just before daybreak," was destroyed by
fire.
The long-discussed expediency of erecting
a new theatre on the east side of the city culminated in the decision that a theatre should
be put up which would surpass the Park in
every respect of architecture, size, and adornment. After a great deal of trouble there
was purchased the old tavern and cattle-market in the Bowery known as "Bull's Head."
All preliminaries having been attended to,
the work was commenced under auspices which promised the grandest
success. The front
of the building,
which was made to
imitate marble, had
a spacious portico,
with two lofty columns supporting
an entablature and
pediment. The size,
both of stage and
auditory, was greater than of any other
in the country. The
interior, which
comfortably seated
three thousand persons, delighted all
who saw it by the
most elaborate yet
tasteful decorations. On the opening night, October
23, 1826, the wide
street in front of
the building was
crowded by excited
,t1ii~TJIi~'a{tjre w,~,s;1~J
jOT) ~ke 5~i~~a~
~;,!~
?ThI','~~!
n ~Q~~~,~~fl,;f,9~jjl
CORNER-STONE OF PARK THEATRE, PRESERVED AT
"WINDUST'S~'
citizens, and the neighborhojd was partially
illuminated. The immense placards, however,
ominously announced that the performance
was the "Road to Ruin." The oracles suggested, in three words, the subsequent history
of a theatre, which, opening with such pomp
and parade, ran an almost uninterrupted
course of bankruptcy and conflagration. On
the Bowery stage was first introduced before
an American audience the modern ballet. The
"eventful" night was the ~th of February,
182~. The house was crowded to excess,
and, as the curtain rose that was to
introduce the justly-celebrated Madame Hutin, the excitement was pain
fully intense. An experiment was to
be tried, whose result could not be
anticipated. As the graceful da~as~usc
by a bound, landed on the stage, all
who witnessed it were startled with
surprise; the next instant, as her fine
figure was discovered involved, but
not absolutely concealed, in her dress
of gauze, a sort of subdued expression of fear and terror simultaneously
rose from the ladies present, and the
next instant, as if inspired by one
idea, they fled from the house. In
the month of June following this
event, Madame Celeste, at the Bowery, made her first appearance in this
country. The perfection of her pantomime, in pathos and power, carried
the play-goers by storm, and she made
acceptable by her genius what Madame Hutin unsuccessfully ittempted.
Fanny Elisler soon after fulfilled her
brilliant engagement at the Park, and
the modern ballet was an established
institution upon the American stage,
but, wiil~ the two we have named, began and ended its best achievements
for commanding unqualified admiration. On a summer night, in less
than two years after its erection, the "Old
Bowery" disappeared in a conflagration, the
character of which was admitted to be unequalled in the rapidity of its destruction and
brilliancy of effect. And thus ended the era
of what. is properly the "Old Theatres of
New York."
N\Te cannot refrain, however, from saying
something of the National, originally erected in
the interests of tile lyric stage, and called the
"Opera-House." It was situated on the northwest corner of Leonard and Church Streets, and
it would seem, as
we remember its
surroundings, the
most unhappy loca tion then in the city.
The Opera - House
was architecturally
attractive, and its
interior has never
been surpassed in
tbis city by any
subsequent similar
structure. The au ditorium possessed
the novelty of hav ing the second tier
made up entirely
of private boxes
festooned with rich
silk curtains. The
first tier of boxes
was, by an easy,
b r 0 a d stairway,
connected with the
pit, the seats of
2455;1753;2474]which were, like
those of the boxes,
covered with rich
blue damask. This
was the first
OLD NATIONAL THEATRE, CORNER OF LEONARD AND CHURCH STREETS