Park Theatre (Philadelphia, Broad St.)

Park Theatre

The Park Theatre (PT) was commissioned by Israel Fleishman, who was at that time manager of the Walnut Street Theatre.^[2] It was built in 1889 at the corner of North Broad Street and Fairmont Ave^[3] in what was then a rapidly developing theatre district.^[4] It was designed by architects J. B. McElfatrick and Halsey C. De Bond,^[5] and had a seating capacity of 1,694 people.^[3] It opened as a legitimate theatre on September 16, 1889^[6] with a performance of George H. Jessop's 22, Second Floor starring Annie Pixley, John T. Burke, and M. C. Daly.^[7] The theatre was originally managed by Frank C. Howe Jr who worked for Fleishman.^[5]

In late October and early November 1889 the James W. Morrissey's English Grand Opera Company presented Bizet's Carmen, Verdi's Il trovatore, Balfe's The Bohemian Girl, and Gounod's Faust at the PT.^[8] On September 15, 1890, the PT presented the world premiere of William Gill and Robert Frazer's Hendrik Hudson starring Fay Templeton in the title role.^[9] Some of the other productions presented at the theatre in its early years included Fred Marsden's Zaza (1889),^[10] Bolossy Kiralfy's ballet Antiope (1889),^[11] Augustin Daly's The Lottery of Love (1889),^[12] Scott Marble's Said Pascha (1889),^[13] Daniel Frohman's version of The Prince and the Pauper (1890),^[14] Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (1890, starring Marie Wainwright as Viola),^[15] Hermann Sudermann's Honour (1890, performed in German as Die Erde),^[16] William Gill's Adonis (1891, with Henry E. Dixey),^[17] Edward Jakobowski's Erminie (1891, with Pauline Hall),^[18] and Victorien Sardou's Odette (1891, with Clara Morris).^[19]

Rosina Vokes's starred in a triple bill of plays at the PT in January 1892, performing in the one-act plays A Game of Cards, My Milliner's Bill, and The Rough Diamond.^[20] The following month Harry Paulton's Niobe was performed at the theatre with a cast led by Isabelle Coe.^[21] This was followed by productions of A Night at the Circus (1892, with Nellie McHenry),^[22] A Straight Tip (1892, with James T. Powers),^[23] Steele MacKaye's Hazel Kirke (1892, with Effie Ellsler),^[24] Charles Thomas's The Paper Chase (1893),^[25] Augustus Thomas's Surrender (1893, with Louis Aldrich),^[26] Reginald De Koven's The Algerian (1893, with Marie Tempest)^[27] De Koven's The Fencing Master (1894, with Laura Mapleson),^[28] and William Lestocq and Harry Nicholls's Jane (1894, with Jennie Yeamans).^[29] On October 15, 1894, the musical Palmer Cox's Brownies had its premiere at the PT with a cast that included Alice Johnson as Prince Florimel.^[30] It was a tremendously popular show that toured widely in the United States for years.^[31]

The PT eventually ceased operating as a legitimate theatre and became a venue for vaudeville, minstrel shows, and traveling stock theatre companies.^[6]

Empire Theatre

In August 1911 the Empire Amusement Company purchased the PT, and rebranded it the Empire Theatre (ET).^[32] This organization was in partnership with the Nixon Zimmerman Amusement Company,^[32] and it became a part of the Nixon theatre chain.^[6] It was converted into a American burlesque venue.^[32] The newly branded venue re-opened on August 19, 1911, with The Big Review, a show with a cast of 70 headlined by Frankie Heath.^[33] This was followed by the burletta Miss New York, Jr. (1911),^[34] the musical comedy Daffydills (1911),^[35] and Tom Miner's Bohemian Burlesquers (1912).^[36] In April 1912 the Corse Payton Stock Company was in residence at the theatre.^[37] The following month the theatre began screening silent films alongside live vaudeville shows.^[38] In the autumn of 1912 two "musical travesties" were on the bill at the ET: Honeymoon Inn and Cafe Bergere.^[39]

In April 1913 Beatrice Forbes-Robertson Hale gave a lecture on suffrage at the ET in which she criticized the militant methods employed by Emmeline Pankhurst and her collaborators in the British suffragette movement. Instead, she advocated for a non-violent movement in the United States.^[40] Soon after, the theatre underwent renovations to improve fire safety measures as well as cosmetic upgrades.^[41] It re-opened in August 1913 with the Bob Manchester's burlesque Cracker Jacks.^[42] In January 1914 The Queen of Bohemia was staged at the ET with a cast led by Mollie Williams.^[43] Later that year the ET staged the burlesque My Wife's Husband with a cast led by comedian Bert Baker and soubrette Babe La Tour.^[44]

Salvation Army Memorial Building

The ET was sold in March 1915,^[6] and it ceased offering entertainments at that time.^[45] It was sold again the following December at auction to a William L. Nevin who was acting on behalf of an undisclosed third party.^[46] It was later revealed that John Wanamaker was the purchaser, and he converted the theatre into a new headquarters for the Salvation Army (SA).^[47] The re-made building, known as the Salvation Army Memorial Building (SAMB),^[47] contained an auditorium that was christened Evangeline Hall.^[48] The new headquarters opened in May 1917 and was officially dedicated in a ceremony on May 13, 1917.^[47] The SA later purchased the building from Wanamaker at a bargain price in January 1918 but with a formal contract guaranteeing that if the building were to no longer be used for the purposes originally intended, that ownership would change to the Young Men's Christian Association.^[49]

Newspaper articles referred to the building as the Salvation Army Memorial Temple as early as 1936.^[50] It continued to be used by the SA until 1970 when funds for a new building were provided by Philadelphia's Redevelopment Authority as part of the Poplar Renewal Area project. Demolition of the building began on March 12, 1970, with plans to construct a new building for the SA at the same location.^[51] By November 1972 the new Salvation Army building at 701 N. Broad St. was open to the public and operating a prison parole assistance program with a caseload of 200 men.^[52]