The Lost 1826 New York Theatre

 

image by Alexander Jackson Davis by Imbert's Lithography, from the collection of the New York Public Library

On November 25, 1783, George Washington gathered his entourage at the Bull's Head Tavern on the Bowery before re-entering the city upon the evacuation of the British.  The tavern was acquired by Henry Astor, brother of John Jacob Astor, two years later.  In 1824, he moved the operation uptown and assembled a group of businessmen who sold shares "for erecting a theatre on the grounds of Bull's Head."

The group commissioned 40-year-old architect Ithiel Town to design the structure.  Town was among the first American professional architects, and his rekindling of historic styles like Gothic and Greek would transform American tastes in architecture.

On June 19, 1826, The Evening Post reported, "The ceremony of having the corner stone of the new Theatre on the site of the old Bull's Head Tavern, took place on Saturday afternoon."  Mayor Philip Hone officiated, "assisted by a number of distinguished individuals," said the article.  A leaden box inscribed with the date held "a variety of articles, such as boxes and medals, also several valuable newspapers of the latest dates."  

The journalist waxed poetic, saying the box would be a link to the future, "when some musty antiquarian will be called on to decypher [sic] the forgotten characters in which the literature of the present age is recorded in these, then invaluable relics."

Construction cost $175,000 to build, according to Thomas A. Bogar in his Thomas Hamblin and the Bowery Theatre.  (The figure would translate to about $5.7 million in 2026.)  Town had produced a dignified, two-story structure inspired by classic Greek temple designs.  Atop a broad flight of stairs, two heroic, fluted Doric columns fronted the recessed entrance.  Triglyphs decorated the frieze below a triangular pediment.  To appear as marble, the brick facade was covered with hand-veined stucco.

image most likely by Alexander Jackson Davis, from the collection of the New York Public Library

The theater would hold 3,000 patrons.  It included concessions, including three saloons and a ladies' lounge.  A notice in the New-York Evening Post on September 30, 1826 offered:

New-York Theatre--Bowery--To let, the saloon, punch room, pit and gallery bars and fruit stands for the New York Theatre.  These places will be let separately at public auction to the highest bidder, on Wednesday, the 2d day of October next, at 12 o'clock noon, at Morse's Hotel.

The New York Theatre opened in October 1826.  The saloons within the venue and the resultant behavior of the more rowdy attendees prompted the drama critic of The Evening Post to raise concerns for the female patrons.  He suggested on October 26 that the boxes should be priced higher than the seats in the pit.

The boxes are certainly the most quiet and orderly, and in some respects the most convenient of the two, and should therefore be set at a higher price.  Besides, the boxes are the only place for ladies, and something should be done to protect them from the troublesome neighbourhood of persons who now may not scruple to intrude among them.

The critic suggested "that a price of a seat in the boxes should be raised to six shillings, or that of a seat in the pit lowered to three."  The management was paying attention.  Five days  later, a notice appeared in The Evening Post that announced the new rates of 75 cents for boxes and 37.5 cents for the pit.  (The cost of a box would equal $24.50 today.)

On November 25, 1826, exactly 43 years after Washington assembled his retinue at the Bull's Head, the site was commemorated in the New York Theatre with a "Grand Military Gala Night."  An announcement in The Evening Post said it would be in "celebration of the Evacuation of this city by the British Army," adding, "It is expected that the theatre will on this evening be honored by the presence of his Excellency the Governor and suite, and several Officers of distinction.  The front of the Theatre will be splendidly illuminated."

watercolor by Alexander Jackson Davis, from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

The success of the New York Theatre caused a logistical problem.  On December 20, 1826, Mayor Philip Hone announced new traffic laws, "in order to prevent the difficulty and confusion which has existed among the carriages in attendance at the New York Theatre."  To keep vehicles moving, among his seven directives was that the theater would employ an attendant "to open the doors and let down the steps of the carriages, and no driver will be permitted on any pretence [sic] to leave his box."

Among the first actors to appear was Edwin Forrest, who performed in the role of Damon in Damon & Pythias on November 21, 1826.  The Evening Post remarked, "This very promising young actor has already gained great credit."  Two months later, however, the critic was less generous.  "His voice, however, wants cultivation, and there is occasionally too much violence of declamation and extravagance of gesture."

Forrest, according to Thomas A. Bogar, was paid $28 a week (about $915 today).  By the end of the season, he was earning $200 per week.

Forrest's large income was by no means routine for most actors.  To support them, theaters would hold "ticket nights," on which all the ticket sales went directly to the actors.  Loyal fans would mob the theaters on those nights to support their favorite actors.  

The practice horribly backfired on July 19, 1827.  That night two of the cast members were taken sick.  The New York Courier reported, "consequently, a dance was omitted, and one farce substituted for another."  The audience was enraged.  The article said the theater "was a disgraceful scene of riot and disorder at this elegant establishment."  Several of the "beautiful lamps" were broken and some other damaged done.  The newspaper said, "We do not believe that any blame can attach to the manager; he did all his power, and endeavored to explain all things, but when did ever a furious mob listen to reason."

The Evening Post's journalist who imagined that the New York Theatre and the leaden box within its cornerstone would last far into the future was woefully mistaken.  On the night of May 26, 1828, a fire broke out.  Before morning, Ithiel Town's handsome Greek Revival edifice was burned to the ground.

Joseph Sera's Greek Revival design honored its predecessor.  Bourne Views of New York, 1828 (copyright expired)

On its site, a new venue, the Bowery Theatre, designed by Joseph Sera, was erected.  Completed in 1828, it burned in 1836.