The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 17, 1901, Page 10

ANDERDON PN il ng a! where fan Gt. Pierre, H H. McCabe as F. as Mariar Wrigh Harris and This engage- ished gerial prece been followed more or for many years 5 ked promising for an ex- en t until, in response to the comr as- semble On this occasion e treas ingon, made relu ected entrance to ex that he i a special engagement 5 n flad lost the entire week's e monte. It is hardly a he company re- fuse c e 2 ught other en- gager and Mrs. Rea sailed for Hor nd other members joined forces Batters, Mr. and Mrs. srs. € Campbell rived from Rowe's circu nphitheater, February production of ““Othelio” in San Francisco. On the 2 of the same month the Na- t Theater, located on Washington gtreet, between Montgomery and Kearny, was de a French company in a mixe at the Amphithea- ter ted actress Mrs. J. H her first appear- ance Pau! In “The Lady short great band of Lyons” on the 21s engagement Mrs. Kirby became a favorite.” Mr. Win, her hus- having been killed by a fall from horse on Etockton street, the lady rtly afterward married James Stark, Vuring this ed, his ho th tragedian, and was widely known professionally as Sallle Stark. In the 'T0's she retired from the stige, having ac quired consiqgrable property in the Mis- sion district, and soon after became the wife of Charles R. Thorne Sr. Fortune did not smile favorably upon the combinations at the two places last mentioned, and when the Phoenix Theater March 23, 1850, on Pacific street, opened near Kearny, there was practically no op- position to *“‘Seeing the Elephant,” which was there presented by Sophie Edwin. The Phoenix Exchange, on Portsmouth -, devoted to tableaux vivants, or a model artist exhibition, began a brief ca- reer on the 24th, and Henri Hertz, the cel- ebrated pianist, made his first appearance at the National on April 2. On this occa- sion Signor Roncovieri, who subsequently became a favorite operatic artist and a respected resident of San Francisco, sang for the first time in public. Just about this time there began some- thing like a reign of terror in the ove:r- crowded and bustling city Disastrous fires were of such frequent occurrence and of such frightful proportions as to pre- sent almost insurmountanle obstacles to the merchants, capitalists and speculat- ors, who were crowding the town ready d anxious to put up new buildings. The great conflagration of May 4, 1850, which came very near wiping out everything in sight, swept away the Natlonal Theater, Washington Hall and Pheenix Exchange, and there was nothing left in the way of a place of amusement but Foley's Olym- Circus, fermerly Rowe's Amphithe- ple ater, which, after a short season of buil- Odd Idea of Building Crooked Houses things to attract the s to Holland is the great majority of the houses. : , parts of Rotterdam and Amsterdas it would seem as though there were no he there standing perfectly traight and that great numbers of them collapse. In buildings side by side will lean forward, some backward and other sidewise. Their old cracked walls suggest that it is the result of age, fle of course it is principally due to wet ground on which they are One of the curioc the constructe There are, however, many buildings in these cities, says Pearson's Weekly. which were originally and unmistakably built out of the straight. For instance, not for from the Hotel Vieux-Doelen, where the delegates to the Peace Confer- ence stayed, there is an extension being butlt to one of the churches, and although the walls are not yet completed they lean outward miore than twelve inches. Another Instance of this is found In some of the corner houses, whose walls lean out over each street. In many cases new houses are evidently put up to match the houses alongside. Strangely enough, though, there are comparatively few cases on record of collapse. At Frankfort-on-the-Main, though of course such construction Is not common in Germany, there is one street in which two houses on opposite sides of the street lean over so far that their roofs meet. in one of these houses Lord Rothschild was born. In Paris, on the other hand, it is noticeable that the builders intentionally construct the houses so that they lean Bm‘kward slightly, to add to thelr sta- ty. But almost in the center of Paris there is one big stone bullding which leans out fully three and one-half feet over the sidewalk. 8o solld, however, are the Paris byiidings that this one is claimed to be e fighting, was reopened June 6 by a Span- ish Zarzuela company, and was itself de- stroyed by fire on the 14th. There was plenty of nerve and ap- parently money to be had for the asking, and the Dramatic Museum, under the management of Robinson & Evrard, started July 4 on the north side of Cali- fornia street, between Montgomery and Kearny, with a dramatic en- tertainment headed by Mrs. Burrill and Mme. Duprez. Several minor theaters now cropped up, the most nota- ble being the Athenaeum, located on Commercial street, between Montgomery and Kearny, opened August 13. Rowe's new Olympile Amphitheater also camo into play August 14 on Montgomery street, between Sacramento and California, and the Italian Theater, in the upper portion of the buildihg on the corner of Jackson and Kearny streets, had a career of five days, having been opened. by Professor Rossl, a magician, September 13, 1850, and burned to the ground on the 17th. The monotonous and discouraging fre- quency of- these Wisits of the fire fiend . falled to appall Thomas' Maguire, who was the first manager to build a thoroughly eppointed and well-equipped playhouse in San Francisco. His first Jenny Lind The- ater, situated In the Parker House, on Kearny street, facing Portsmouth Square, on the ground where the Hall of Justice now stands, was thrown open to the pub- lie for a concert in, whichk appeared Mme. von Gulpen and James Nesbitt, vocalists, and Herr Rossiter, magician. This oc- WS LR curred on the evening of October 30, 1850, and the St. Francls Hook and Ladder Company attended a recention in full uni- form tke ncxt night. It was not until the 4th that the theater was formally dedicated to dramatic en- tertalnment by a company headed by shortly after and all kinds of reputable entertainments were ,prcsenlmL Just be- fore it was ‘sold to make room for the rew City Hall it was the theater of the most important engagement ever seen in San Francisco up to that time. On July 30, 1852, J. B. Booth Sr. and the late Ed- win Booth, then a very young man, ap- peared as Sir Edward Mortimer and Wil- ford, respectively, in “The Iron Chest.” This season only lasted until September 15, when the building was turned over to the city. The Jenny Lind had filled fits place in history as a place of amusement, and the historic ground became the loca- tion of the seat of justice. What grew- some tragedies or roaring farces were en- acted there during the next forty years are recorded in the dockets of the police. But to return to the veracious narrative of San Francisco's theatrical experience, we must go back to the first Jenny Lind. James Btark and Mrs. J. H. Kirby. bill for the initlal performance “Damon and Pythias” and “The Dumb Belle.” Other members of the company were James Byers, Harry Coad, Buck Za- briski, Mrs. Mestayer, Mrs. C. E. Bing- nam and Mr. and Mrs. Hambleton. In quick succession there appeared Mme. Duprez, James Milne and other excellent peorle. Unimportant changes in the manage- ment and the vacations petween dramatic seasons, during which other classes of entertainment were given, carried tha new theater along five months, and up to The was May 4, 1857, when the greatest fire San which was not permitted even for a Francisco had experienced swept it week to monopolize theatrical patronage, away. for on the 9th of November, 1850, thera For historical purposes it is perhaps better to finish this record of Mr. Maguire's first theatrical venture. The second Jenny Lind, which was even less fortunate, was opened June 13, little moro than a month later, and was totally de- stroyed by fire on the 22d. Once more the already typical California grit and the nerve of the “dead game sport” asserted themselves, and the indomitable Thomas was opened on the south side of Clay street, between Montgomery and Kearny, the Adeiphia Theater, under the manags. ment of D. F. Wilson and W. Barry, who appeared In a play called “The Secret.” During the month of December, 1850, several notable productions were made in competition_with the company at the Jenny Lind and the -opposition was \trenxthaned by the opening on the lith had a third Jenny Lind Theater open in of Foley's New Amphitheater, on the west the same place on the 4th of October, side of Portsmouth square, for circus and 181 It was made a combination house dramatic entertaluments 4 penents, WhnICh are rare occurrences now, were regular affairs at all the thea- ters in those days and operatic concerts were sandwiched in whenever opportunity offered. The first Italian opera ever pre- sented in San Francisco had been an- nounced for some time and after careful preparation was presented at the Adelphi Theater, on the 12th of February, 1851, by the Pelligrint Opera Company, whicn in- cluded Sigror and Signora Pelligrint, Signors Guinde, Acquasoni, Roncovieri, Signora Abalos and Mme. Von Gulpen. The cpera was “La Sonnambula” and the prices ranged from $4 to $1. “Norma™ and “Ernani” were the only other operas given this season. here had been a long period of tmmu- nity from loss by fire up to May 4, exactlv a year after the first great conflagration, and on that date, as if to make up for logt time, there came a second fire, which cov- ered, or rather uncovered, two-thirds of the business portion of the city, totally destroying the Dramatic Museum, the Jenny Lind Theater, the Adelphf and the Olymple Circus. On May 19, 1851, the Theater of Arts, on Jackson street, near Dupont, was opened by Managers Bingham and Johns, but the fire fiend had not completed his work, and on June 22 the new house, with the second Jenny Lind, went up in smoke and flame. The firemen were playing a pretty steady engagement about this time, and it got to be quite the proper thing to cele- brate with an {llumination. Appreciating this propriety the boys celebrated the per- formance of a juvenile concert on the na- tional holiday by building a bonfire on the plaza, with about $300 worth of oll belong- ing to Thomas Maguire. The new Adelphi, located on Dupont J. B BooTwm atreet, between Clay and Washington, was dedicated by a French company, Au- gust 1, 1851, and New American Theater was laid Septem- ber 15. About this time Frank S. Chan- trau, Charles R. Thorne Sr. and Miss bertine came from thé st, and from Sacramento, where the Tehama Theater had been destroyed fire, there came F. M. Kent, Kate Grey and Mrs. Mary Woodward. The three last named, with Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Booth, began an en- the cornerstone of the ey gagement at the opening of the third Jenny Lind, Cctober 4 Mr. and Mrs. George Chapman, Mary Chapman, Clara Rivers and Miss Joseph- ine also drifted down from the capital to take part in the grand opening of the American Theater, which occurred on Oc- tober 20, under th n of James Stark, lessee, w “The Peer and the Peas Mr. Chanfrau and Miss Albertine made their first appearance, Oc the Jenny Lind, “Ples and with a large number of other well-known players, located at the other houses, the second year of California tory closed with benefits al it was well into the spring o everybody had been served Prices of admission, which had been high, particularly for the upper portfon of the houses, began to be trimmed a Iit- tle for dramatic performances, but on February 9, 185?, when Buckley's Serenad- ers gave the firss minstrel show for months at the Adelphi the best $3. Rainer opened at the somewhat le enother b h of benefits around at the dramatic houses. Madame Biscacciant! worked a string of select concerts at the American during . and during the next month who came to California he Nicaragua route, gave concerts various halls and churches, May 24. luable space to enumerate the circuses and amphithea- ters which were being continually switched around and renamed during the period already covered, or to mention all the music halls and so-called lyric thea- ters that opened In the early fiftles. Ar- mory Hall, at the corner of Washington and Sansome streets, opened September 13, 1852, with The Alleghanians as the at- traction, and here another digression is in order. Among a score of old-timers who have a distinct recollection of the toll gate on Kearny street there is the most surprising difference of opinfon as to its exact loca- tion. A large majority unite upon the northwest corner of Post and Kearny as the place where the old tollhouse stood, but there are others who are even mors positive that it was located nearer Bush or Pine street The confident assertlons as to the local- ity, name, date of opening and description of attractions at the theaters mentloned above are well founded. umentary evidence it woul possible to give anything like a satisfac- tory statement of the theatrical situation during San Francisco’s infancy. The writer has had the advantage of the use of the carefully kept diary of an old-time actor, who was himself a member of the first dramatic company ever seen in San Francisco. More of him and his illus- trious assoclates of over half a century past will be said later on, but it is proper at this time to forestall any contra jic- tions as to the facts and figures herein set forth, all of which have been verifled as-carefully as possible by reference to the earliest newspapers and other pub- lished auth.rities, as well as by con: tion with uard advice from many of veterans who have pféasant and rells memories of the first theatrical perform- ances In San Francisco. (To be continued.) was handed theaters, in opening at the Adelphi, It would require a lot of Unaided by doc- have been im- He Founded the Life-Saving Service. Former Governor Willlam A. Newell, who has had the rare distinction of be- ing Governor of two States, New Jersey and Washington, writes in the March Success of his romantic experiences as a Congressman in 1849, when he originated the life saving service by offering a reso- lution in the House of Representatives to appropriate money to save ifves imperiled by the sea. Fellow members of Congress at that session were John Quincy Adams and Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Newell says: “Varlous objections were made to my motion, the strongest of which was that the scheme was impracticable. “ laid the matter before a great many Senators and members, speaking to them in person. President John Quincy Adams occupied a seat just behind mine and, aft- er the reading of the resolution by the clerk, leaned forward and sald to me: ‘I would like to see that resolution,’ “I sent for it and handed it to him. He read it over carefully and, handing It to me, sald with a smile: ‘It Is good. I hope it will prevail.’ “Abrabam Lincoln also read it and said: ‘Newell, that is a good measure. I will help you. I am something of a life-saver myself, for I invented a scow that righted itself on the Mississippt sandbars!" “T also had the earnest support and the kind wishes of ex-Presidents James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Rutherford B. Hayes, U. S. Grant and James A. Garfleld; also of Salmon P. Chase, James G. Blaine, Roscoe Conkling, Joshua R.,Giddings, Zachariah Chandler, Oliver P. Morton, Sam Houston, John Bell, Simon Cameron, Leonard Wade, Robert J. Walker, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster, Stephen A. Douglas, Thomas H. Benton, Lewis Cass, Henry S. Foote, Samuel J, Randall and other noted statesmen.™