1913 Season

From Olentangy Park Wiki
Revision as of 05:03, 24 November 2024 by Parkadmin (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

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

1913 Season Season
Leadership Joseph W. Dusenbury
Will J. Dusenbury
New Attractions Kiss Waltz
The Fun House
Theater Manager J. W. Dusenbury & W. J. Dusenbury
Stock Company Olentangy Stock Company
Band(s) J. Wylie Powers Band
M. W. A. Drum and Trumpet Corps
Park Size 125 acres

The Olentangy Park and Theater opened for the 1913 season on Sunday, April 27, 1913. The opening featured free performances, including band and orchestra concerts; J. Wylie Powers Band, the M. W. A. Drum and Trumpet Corps; a cabaret show with singing, dancing, and vaudeville acts; and various open-air attractions.[1][2][3]

Park Improvements

The floor of the Dancing Pavilion was redressed and re-polished. More boats were brought in for the Boathouse.[3]

Notable Happenings

Canoe Stolen

A canoe was stolen in January from the Boathouse. It had a green body, open mahogany gunwales, and was double riffed.[4]

March 1913 Flood

A major flood affected Central Ohio on March 25, 1913. By the next day, manager J. W. Dusenbury reported that the Olentangy River had receded two feet from the initial flooding and that the canoes at the Boathouse were safe. The canoes stored there were valued between $3,000 ($95,546 in 2024) and $4,000 ($127,394) and belonged to the members of the Canoe Club.[5] During the opening week, the Republican Glee Club gave concerts every evening, including Sunday for the benefit of the flood sufferers.[6] The Dusenbury Brothers donated the use of the theater that week.[2]

Small Fire

On the morning of April 14, 1913, a fire started in one of the powerhouses that provided power for one of the park's rides, causing $10 ($319 in 2024) worth of damage.[7]

Rides and Attractions

Boathouse to be Remodeled

In early 1913, flooding damaged the dam on the Olentangy River south of the park within a year of being built. As part of the repairs, managers J. W. Dusenbury and W. J. Dusenbury planned to raise the river to a "good boating level" and remodel the Boathouse to accommodate more boats. They planned to reinforce and reconstruct the dam as one of the first permanent dams in Central Ohio. They planned to remove the bowling alleys and replace them with lavatories and shower baths. The boathouse could keep 110 boats at the park before renovations were started. Work on the boathouse was planned to begin in April.[8] A cartload of new boats was shipped in for the park's opening.[2][3]

New Kiss Waltz

Main Article: Kiss Waltz

The Kiss Waltz, also known as Thurston's Kiss Waltz, was a track ride proposed to be moved to Olentangy Park in 1913 after its debut at Luna Park the previous year. It was invented and built by famous magician Howard Thurston[9][10][11], a Columbus native.[12] The ride consisted of barrels on a track that traveled through caverns and dark places. A man and woman each ride a barrel, holding each other in the position of waltzing.[12]

New Fun House

Main Article: The Fun House

The Fun House was built just north of the second Dancing Pavilion by C. Rarick. It was two stories and included a human roulette wheel, bull-moose glide, rolling waves, funny stairs, an electric floor, a rainstorm, a wire maze, comic slides, and more.[1][13][3][14][15]

Japanese Village

Main Article: Fair Japan

Fujiwara Kinoshita returned to be in charge of the attraction and this park section. He had several Japanese student assistants from The Ohio State University. The tea house served lunches and dinners, with telephone orders taken from the city.[3]

List of Rides and Attractions

Theater, Vaudeville, and Stunt Performances

Olentangy Park Theater

Main Article: Olentangy Park Casino and Theater

During the opening week, the Republican Glee Club gave concerts every evening, including Sunday, for the benefit of the flood sufferers.[1] The concerts featured quartet and solo performances. The Royal Male Quartet consisted of Thomas W. Masters, George J. C. Smith, Stephen J. Jones, and A. J. Riggle. The Buckeye Quartet included Carl Talkenberg, Carl Prentice, Robert Grierson, and Howard Lane. The Philharmonic Quartet had several well-known singers at the time, including Loretta Schmidt, Ruth Immel, Louis McCardle, and Leroy Taylor. William Church, Alfred Swartz, Harold G. Simpson, W. A. Williams, and other singers also performed. The shows were under the direction of Carl Hoenig.[16]

Olentangy Stock Company

Park manager J. W. Dusenbury traveled to New York City to build the Olentangy Stock Company. The company played for the Southern Theater, also owned by Dusenbury, for two weeks before opening at the Olentangy Park Theater on May 26, 1913.[17]

Members:

  • John Cumberland
  • Herbert Delmore
  • Margaret Dills, of Columbus
  • Frederick Forrester
  • Winifred Kingston
  • Lydia Knott
  • Percy Leach, director
  • Phillip Leigh
  • Marion Lord
  • Robert Lowe
  • Harry MacFayden, stage manager
  • Thais Magrane, leading woman
  • Gus Schell, scenic artist
  • Robert Warwick, leading man

Outdoor Acts

Music

The M. W. A. Drum and Trumpet Corps performed during the opening of the park.[1]

Activities

List of Activities

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Olentangy Park." Columbus Sunday Dispatch, April 13, 1913. Page 5.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Olentangy Park." Columbus Sunday Dispatch, April 20, 1913. Page 5.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Olentangy Park." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch, April 27, 1913. Page 5.
  4. ↑ Lost and Found notice, Columbus Evening Dispatch, January 29, 1913. Page 12.
  5. ↑ "Says River Falling." Columbus Evening Dispatch, March 26, 1913. Page 5.
  6. ↑ Advertisement. Columbus Sunday Dispatch, April 13, 1913. Page 5.
  7. ↑ "Blaze in Skyscraper." Columbus Evening Dispatch, April 14, 1913. Page 2.
  8. ↑ "Canoeists are Promised Good Accommodations." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch, February 23, 1913. Page 9.
  9. ↑ "Amusement apparatus." Google Patents. US Patent US1083308A https://patents.google.com/patent/US1083308A
  10. ↑ "Amusement apparatus." Google Patents. US Patent US1099951A https://patents.google.com/patent/US1099951A
  11. ↑ "Amusement apparatus." Google Patents. US Patent US1099952A https://patents.google.com/patent/US1099952A
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Thurston's New Device." Columbus Evening Dispatch. 28 November 1912. Pg. 12.
  13. ↑ "Olentangy Park." Columbus Evening Dispatch, April 23, 1913. Page 18.
  14. ↑ "Olentangy Park." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch, May 18, 1913. Page 41.
  15. ↑ "Summer Opening of Olentangy Park." Marysville Journal-Tribune (Marysville, Ohio), April 15, 1913. Page 4. Accessed through Newspapers.com https://www.newspapers.com/article/marysville-journal-tribune-summer-openin/123751335/
  16. ↑ "Six Benefits This Week for Flood Relief: Glee's Week of Song." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch, April 20, 1913. Page 9.
  17. ↑ "Olentangy Park: Stock Company." The Columbus Sunday Dispatch, April 27, 1913. Page 5.


Retrieved from "http://olentangypark.com/wiki/index.php?title=1913_Season&oldid=7932"