1914 Season: Difference between revisions

From Olentangy Park Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Line 78: Line 78:
===Olentangy Park Theater===
===Olentangy Park Theater===
''Main Article:'' [[Olentangy Park Casino and Theater]]
''Main Article:'' [[Olentangy Park Casino and Theater]]
====Camp Johnson Benefit Concerts====
A singing concert was given on Sunday, May 10, in the theater, featuring Edward H. Allen and Charles R. Cornell, tenors; Jessie L. Prentice, soprano; and Lousie Hartman, contralto, as soloists. Beginning the following night and lasting the rest of the week, the Democratic Glee Club had vaudeville acts performed by local artists nightly. The proceeds of these performances went to the "mother and the kiddies fund" for Camp Johnson. The program was organized by Mose Schlesinger.<ref>"Olentangy Park: Democratic Glee Club." ''The Columbus Sunday Dispatch,'' May 10, 1914. Page 5.</ref>
Performers included:
* Lawrence Williams and Paul Edwards, in a sketch called "Nobody and Nothing"
* Fuchs and Schmidt, German comedians
* Joseph McBee, new conjuring act
* others


==Music==
==Music==

Revision as of 03:38, 11 December 2024

This page is under construction. Please remove this notice when complete.

1914 Season Season
Leadership Joseph W. Dusenbury
Will J. Dusenbury
New Attractions Canoe Club Boathouse
Stock Company Vaughan Glaser Stock Company
Band(s) Selby's Orchestra
Park Size 125 acres

The Olentangy Park and Theater opened for the 1914 season on Sunday, May 3, 1914.[1][2] Cincione and his Italian Union Concert Band[3] and Barracks Drumland Trumpet Corps with Colonel Dodd of the Barracks[4] played during opening day. The boathouse was torn down, and a new one was built. The Dancing Pavilion was enlarged, and the Theater was improved.[5]

Notable Happenings

Dusenbury Acquisition of the Grand

The owner of the Grand Theater (also known as Thomas Theater), Helen Chittenden Ziegler, leased the theater to the Dusenbury Brothers for 30 years beginning May 1. They planned improvements of $150,000 ($4.7 million in 2024), mainly for remodeling. After being condemned by the fire marshal, they planned to remove the balcony and gallery and replace them with a new reinforced concrete balcony. They also planned to rebuild the lobby, tear out the boxes, enlarge and extend the stage, install new seats, and redecorate and refurbish the entire theater. The building was to get new elevators, remodeling of the seven storerooms on the ground floor, repainting and overhauling the five floors above the storerooms and a general rearrangement of the rooms and halls. The Dusenbury Brothers rented the theater for $15,000 ($473,500) a year for the first twenty years and $16,500 ($520,845) per year for the following ten. They will have the option to buy the property at the end of their lease. The Dusenburys planned to have the theater be a motion picture house. With this acquisition, the brothers became Columbus's most prominent theater owners and lessees. They also controlled the Southern Theater, the Vernon Theater, the Olentangy Park Theater, and the Colonial Theater, which had been operating as a motion picture house.[6]

Engine Room Fire

A painter put their paint-covered overalls on a boiler, resulting in a fire that caused $700 ($22,100 in 2024) in damage. Joseph Katona, the park florist, used a small hose to save the greenhouses and keep the fire from spreading.[7]

Rides and Attractions

New Canoe Club Boathouse

Main Article: Boathouse

Originally the oldest building at the park, it was torn down around April 19. The original structure was built in 1880 by Joseph Gettner when the area was known as "Olentangy Villa." The building was replaced with a new boathouse.[8]

List of Rides and Attractions

Theater, Vaudeville, and Stunt Performances

Olentangy Park Theater

Main Article: Olentangy Park Casino and Theater

Camp Johnson Benefit Concerts

A singing concert was given on Sunday, May 10, in the theater, featuring Edward H. Allen and Charles R. Cornell, tenors; Jessie L. Prentice, soprano; and Lousie Hartman, contralto, as soloists. Beginning the following night and lasting the rest of the week, the Democratic Glee Club had vaudeville acts performed by local artists nightly. The proceeds of these performances went to the "mother and the kiddies fund" for Camp Johnson. The program was organized by Mose Schlesinger.[9]

Performers included:

  • Lawrence Williams and Paul Edwards, in a sketch called "Nobody and Nothing"
  • Fuchs and Schmidt, German comedians
  • Joseph McBee, new conjuring act
  • others

Music

Cincione and his Italian Union Concert Band[3] and Barracks Drumland Trumpet Corps with Colonel Dodd of the Barracks[4] played during opening day.

Selby's Orchestra provided music for the Dancing Pavilion.[4]

Stating May 17, Guiseppe Creatore's Band performed every day for two weeks and remained for the third Sunday.[10]

Activities

List of Activities

References

  1. Advertisement. The Columbus Sunday Dispatch, April 19, 1914. Page 30.
  2. "Olentangy." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch, April 19, 1914. Page 5.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Olentangy." Columbus Evening Dispatch, April 28, 1914. Page 18.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Olentangy." Columbus Evening Dispatch, April 30, 1914. Page 18.
  5. "Olentangy Park." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch, April 26, 1914. Page 5.
  6. "Grand Theater Will Be Leased to Dusenburys." Columbus Evening Dispatch, April 11, 1914. Pages 1-2.
  7. "$700 Fire Loss at Park." Columbus Evening Dispatch, April 15, 1914. Page 3.
  8. Columbus Evening Dispatch, April 19, 1914. Page 12.
  9. "Olentangy Park: Democratic Glee Club." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch, May 10, 1914. Page 5.
  10. Cherrington, H. E. "Stage and Studio." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch, May 10, 1914. Page 5.