Amphitheatre Auditorium
Encyclopedia
Amphitheatre Auditorium or just the Auditorium was a theatre building in Louisville, Kentucky
, USA
at the corner of 4th and Hills Streets. Upon its completion in 1889, the large wooden structure boasted the second largest stage in the United States
. The New York Opera House was the largest stage at the time.
building, which was located just a block away. It contained over 2,000 electric lights, could seat 3,072, and had a stage was 90 feet across and 60 feet deep. The theater opened on September 23, 1889.
The theater was operated by philanthropist
William Norton, Jr., who went by the name Daniel Quilp, a villain in Charles Dickens
' novel The Old Curiosity Shop
. He promoted the auditorium with the phrase "Only for great attractions". Norton also used the theatre as a place for the poor to collect handouts once a week. Upon his death he willed that his theatre workers receive three months' salary. He also gave 900,000 dollars of his estate to the Louisville Baptists' Orphans' Home.
On March 6, 1890, the theater had the Adelina Patti
make her first performance out of a three-day stop in Louisville during a six-city tour in the United States. The theater began having significant success following her performance. The summer season was the most productive.
Many of the day's great actors and political figures performed there, including Edwin Booth
, Lawrence Barrett
, John Phillip Sousa, Theodore Roosevelt
, and Booker T. Washington
. The theater was part of a large entertainment complex that included a bike riding park, a man-made lagoon, a promenade, and a ten-thousand-seat outdoor amphitheatre used for fireworks shows, including The Last Days of Pompei and Americus.
After Norton's death in 1903, no buyers could be found for the Auditorium or surrounding attractions. The last event, the Children's Floral Ball, was held on April 30, 1904. Later, the site was purchased for $900 and razed on May 5, 1905, only 16 years after its completion.
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the corner of 4th and Hills Streets. Upon its completion in 1889, the large wooden structure boasted the second largest stage in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The New York Opera House was the largest stage at the time.
History
The Louisville theater was built with materials from the nearby dismantled remains of the Southern ExpositionSouthern Exposition
The Southern Exposition was a five-year series of World's Fairs held in the city of Louisville, Kentucky from 1883 to 1887 in what is now Louisville's Old Louisville neighborhood. The exposition, held for 100 days each year on immediately south of Central Park, which is now the St....
building, which was located just a block away. It contained over 2,000 electric lights, could seat 3,072, and had a stage was 90 feet across and 60 feet deep. The theater opened on September 23, 1889.
The theater was operated by philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
William Norton, Jr., who went by the name Daniel Quilp, a villain in Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' novel The Old Curiosity Shop
The Old Curiosity Shop
The Old Curiosity Shop is a novel by Charles Dickens. The plot follows the life of Nell Trent and her grandfather, both residents of The Old Curiosity Shop in London....
. He promoted the auditorium with the phrase "Only for great attractions". Norton also used the theatre as a place for the poor to collect handouts once a week. Upon his death he willed that his theatre workers receive three months' salary. He also gave 900,000 dollars of his estate to the Louisville Baptists' Orphans' Home.
On March 6, 1890, the theater had the Adelina Patti
Adelina Patti
Adelina Patti was a highly acclaimed 19th-century opera singer, earning huge fees at the height of her career in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851 and gave her last performance before an audience in 1914...
make her first performance out of a three-day stop in Louisville during a six-city tour in the United States. The theater began having significant success following her performance. The summer season was the most productive.
Many of the day's great actors and political figures performed there, including Edwin Booth
Edwin Booth
Edwin Thomas Booth was a famous 19th century American actor who toured throughout America and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869 he founded Booth's Theatre in New York, a spectacular theatre that was quite modern for its time...
, Lawrence Barrett
Lawrence Barrett
Lawrence Barrett was an American stage actor.-Biography:He was born Lawrence Brannigan to Irish emigrant parents in Paterson, New Jersey. He made his first stage appearance at Detroit as Murad in The French Spy in 1853...
, John Phillip Sousa, Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, and Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
. The theater was part of a large entertainment complex that included a bike riding park, a man-made lagoon, a promenade, and a ten-thousand-seat outdoor amphitheatre used for fireworks shows, including The Last Days of Pompei and Americus.
After Norton's death in 1903, no buyers could be found for the Auditorium or surrounding attractions. The last event, the Children's Floral Ball, was held on April 30, 1904. Later, the site was purchased for $900 and razed on May 5, 1905, only 16 years after its completion.