The concert hall at Terrace Garden was known as the Lexington Opera House -- NYPL Collection |
In 1866 the concept of the “pleasure garden” was firmly
rooted in New York. As early as 1767
Samuel Fraunces, the proprietor of Fraunces Tavern, had opened the Vauxhall
Gardens. Pleasure gardens were normally
a combination of theater, refreshments and entertainment that mixed indoor
activities with open-air gardens.
On June 27, 1858 the New York Herald predicted that the new
Palace Garden would be the end-all of pleasure gardens. The newspaper called it the “most beautiful,
the most attractive, and in all probability the last great garden that
individual enterprise will be enacted to devote to the health, pleasure and
recreation of the citizens of New York.”
The Herald was wrong.
By now the German population of New York City was
substantial and the Lower East Side teemed with German music halls and social
clubs. What was needed, thought John
Koch, was a pleasure garden.
Koch purchased land far north of the congested Kleindeutschland
neighborhood, on East 58th Street, where the open air was as yet
unspoiled by development. The wide lot,
which sat between Lexington and 3rd Avenues, stretched through to
East 59th Street.
The handsome brick and stone structure rose five stories and
reminded New Yorkers that the Germans made up an important component of the
city’s population. Called the Terrace
Gardens, the complex included a concert hall, ballroom, banquet rooms and
meeting rooms, an attached hotel and, of course, the beautifully-planted
gardens.
By the opening of the following season Philipp Bernet had taken over the
Terrace Garden as proprietor. He
continued the highly popular outdoor concerts by Theodore Thomas’s
orchestra which The New York Times would
later pronounce “the most proficient orchestra in the country.”
On June 3, 1867 Bernet placed an advertisement in The New
York Tribune announcing “The success attending the experimental Concerts given
last Summer at Terrace Garden, has induced Mr. Theo. Thomas to resume, on a
firm basis and larger scale, these refined and extremely popular out-door
entertainments.”
The concerts were performed every night except Saturday and with
a $10 season ticket (about $136 today) patrons could attend all of them
throughout the three-month season. Bernet promised that “Efforts are making to
increase in every possible way the attractive features of these Soirees. Several new Virtuosi will be introduced early
in the season, and many important additions will be made to the already
comprehensive repertoire of Mr. Thomas’s efficient Orchestra.”
The advertisement hoped to introduce a wide audience to the
still-new venue. “The Garden will be
conducted upon the most liberal principles, which it is hoped will commend it
to the distinguished society frequenting its Arbors, Refreshment Pavilions, and
the adjoining Hotel.”
Unlike the German social halls which were essentially
German-only; the Terrace Garden welcomed everyone. Other ethnic and
political organizations rented the venues and the concerts, operas and plays
were attended by general audiences. In
1884, for instance, a Franco-Jewish group, the Social Society of the Communaute
Israelite Francaise leased the space for its amateur performances.
As the turn of the century approached, the vaudeville and minstrel shows were common fare -- NYPL Collection |
On August 27 the princess, dressed entirely in black,
arrived at the Terrace Garden with her husband Dr. Friedrich von Esmarch, one
of the world's greatest authorities on military surgery. The reception room was draped in American
and German flags and after brief ceremonies and speeches, the princess
presented 1,200 marks for distribution among the indigent immigrants from
Schleswig-Holstein.
The New York Times parenthetically remarked that “The royal
blood that flows in the veins of the Princess is the great element of interest
to the romantic story of her marriage.
She…is well mated to her handsome husband, whose high forehead, fine
features, and snow white hair and beard would make him a prominent figure
anywhere.”
Things quickly returned to normal and the following Summer
The Times was commenting on the opening of the musical season. Inside German opera was staged. “It would be difficult to find a place where
Summer theatricals exist under better conditions for physical comfort that at
Terrace Garden, where 'Die Fledermaus' was presented last night enjoyable as
regards the company, the orchestra, and the surroundings,” said the reviewer.
The audience slipped in and out of the theater to enjoy the
night air and the music outside, as well.
“A peculiarity of the performances at Terrace Garden,” continued the
article, “is that a concert is given on the same evening in the garden
adjoining the theatre, but so as not to conflict with the operetta. For instance, last night four numbers of
selected music were played by the orchestra before the stage performance began,
two after the first act, two after the second, and three after the operetta was
finished. The result was that one style
of entertainment relieved the other and the audience was constantly changing
form the garden to the theatre or vice versa.”
By the end of the 1893 season the Civil War-era complex was
in need of modernization. The venue was enlarged to 59th
Street, the interiors updated and new attractions were added. On June 5, 1894 The New York Times reported “Terrace
Garden has undergone a wonderful transformation since last season.” The reporter said that the interiors “have
been decorated sumptuously and in thorough good taste. The buildings, including music hall, bowling
alleys, Summer garden, and ‘bierstube,’ are in thorough harmony. No pleasanter place for an evening’s
entertainment exists in the city.”
Nathan Franko and his orchestra, equally popular and famous
as the earlier Theodore Thomas’s, now played in the garden. The Times reported on the
vaudeville performances of the night before.
“The two chief features of the evening were the performances
of Miss Annie Hart, the ‘Bowery Girl,’ with her songs and delineations, and
Miss Dorothy Daffron, in serpentine, butterfly and other dances.” The critic lamented the lack of sufficient
rehearsal, however. “Dorothy Daffron was
not at her best, because the leader of the orchestra was not sufficiently
familiar with her dances. The other
features of the programme were performed in a manner which was entirely
satisfactory.”
An 1898 souvenir card depicted the up-to-date "ladies' parlor" |
The mostly-German Brew Masters Association held its convention here for three days in 1899 -- NYPL Collection |
In 1906 the New York Prison Keepers Organization held its banquet here -- photo http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/1906keepersball/1906keepersball.html |
The article continued “The hall was well wrecked, and the
diners and drinkers in the Garden were kept in a state of excitement while the
fighting lasted. A crowd of thousands of
people gathered to see what the matter was.”
A 1905 postcard view of the gardens shows the orchestra area at the rear. |
Congressman Richard Bartholdt said “The populace of the
United States seems to have forgotten that Germany was almost the only country
which showed a friendly attitude toward the United States during the civil
war. Lincoln sent his emissaries with
bonds to sell, but at Paris and London they were turned away…It there any
reason for America to stick to the worst enemy of Germany in this struggle?”
America did not ally with Germany, of course, and the fate
of the Terrace Garden was threatened. A
year after the massive assembly The Times reported that Adolph Suesskind was in
serious financial trouble. “Terrace
Garden…a famous place for German balls and parties, has not been able to
weather the European war,” it said.
Suesskind’s attorney, Nathan Vidaver, explained that the
Garden’s popularity with French, German and English groups for their lodge
meetings and entertainments was its downfall.
“Naturally, after the war began some of the French societies withdrew
their patronage and the Germans didn’t feel like holding their usual
festivities. The result of course has
been a gradual shrinkage of the concern’s business.”
Creditors continued operating the Garden and it struggled
on. On April 16, 1917 a benefit for the
American Red Cross was held here, with 5,000 tickets sold to see “real, live
movie stars,” according to The Times. “The
grand march will be led by Roscoe Arbuckle, Virginia Pearson, and Leah Baird,”
the newspaper said. The New York City
Police Department leased a large meeting room to examine prospective police
officers that year and the Gershwin brothers, Ira, George and Harry were here
on May 6 to see their sister’s school recital.
During the program Frankie sang “M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I” and joined a
classmate in a duet of “So Long, Letty.”
As the 1920s roared in, the Terrace Garden continued is
tradition of multi-ethnic entertainment with Fletcher Henderson’s black dance
orchestra playing alongside an all-white ensemble. But although the Garden had remarkably
adapted to changing times, the days of the pleasure garden were over. Prohibition dealt the last, deadly blow.
In September 1926 the American Laboratory Theatre converted the building into a theater and workshop to stage its productions. The organization announced that the title of its opening production of Stephen Vincent Benet’s play “Americana” had been changed to “Hill Billy Boy.”
In September 1926 the American Laboratory Theatre converted the building into a theater and workshop to stage its productions. The organization announced that the title of its opening production of Stephen Vincent Benet’s play “Americana” had been changed to “Hill Billy Boy.”
Thanks for sharing nice information.
ReplyDeleteHotels Banquet Rooms
Thank you, very interesting history and documents!
ReplyDeleteMy Great-Great Grandfather and his family owned the Terrace Garden back in the late 1890's. Thanks for the pictures and story!
ReplyDeleteThis is great. My cousin found a B&W post card(?) amongst his moms memorabilia from the Terrace Garden opening of their Summer Season May 25, 1907 featuring the "Famous Marguerita Orchestra". Thank you for the history!
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