1899 Season
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| Leadership | Columbus Street Railway Company |
|---|---|
| Season | 4 (under Olentangy Park name) |
| New Attractions | Theater/Casino |
The Columbus Street Railway Company opened the park for the 1899 season on Sunday, May 28, 1899.[1]
Olentangy Park Casino and Theater
The rumors of a casino at the park began in December 1898 and plans were drawn by March 1899. Architects Mr. Yost & Frank L. Packard designed the building to have a "combination of towers, and turrets and pinnacles, that will rise from broad piazzas, balconies, terraces and a capacious theater." The original location was to be west of the entrance to the park, overlooking the Olentangy River 56 feet below. It was to face north and have its entrance at the northeast corner, just before the bridge that spans the ravine.[2]
Packard focused on safety, comfort, and "perfection of arrangement." The original cost was to be $25,000 ($880,400 in 2022) and would include the largest theater capacity in Columbus. The entrance was "a splendid archway rising from artistic flying buttresses of stone and [was] surmounted on either side by a belfry where the electrician's art will manifest in dancing colored lights at night." "Easy steps" lead to the loggia, or main piazza. The width was so broad that "50 ladies may stroll abreast, arm in arm, from the eastern to the western end and back and have covered two-thirds of the distance an athlete runs in a hundred yard dash." Each side had a promenade and a balcony above them off the mezzanine floor of the theater. Each balcony and nook had a table and comfortable benches where cooling liquids were served, called by electric bells, from the refreshment rooms at the southwest corner of the building. The promenade on the eastern side of the theater led to the ladies' retiring and toilet rooms.[2]
The theater was an octagonal plan with a bowling floor dropping 10 feet from the entrance to the stage. The actual seating capacity was 3,000, but was made to be comfortably wider lowering it to 2,250. Each row of chairs were 32 inches from back to back and 20 inches wide. Larger chairs were available halfway back and across the theater. There were five aisles and no row was larger than 10 chairs across. Four boxes were on either side. The mezzanine and balcony had 850 of the seats. The stage was as large as the one at the Great Southern Theater at the time and had sufficient dressing rooms. A unique feature of the theater was how the walls opened to the outdoors. Sliding sides and curtains were operated from the stage to obtain wanted darkness.[2]
A music stand was located at the northwest corner of the loggia, overlooking the river as well as the grounds.[2]
Rides and Attractions
- Kinetoscope
- Merry-Go-Round
- Stereopticon
- Swings
Music and Performances
Olentangy Park Theater
A new casino was built with a theater (see info above).[2] Manager Frank Burt of Burt's Theater booked the performances for the theater's first season. The first booked were Barlow Bros. Minstrels; Pauline Hall, opera singer; Robert Downing in a one-act play called, "The Gladiator;" Marie Jensen; Raymon Moore, ballad singer; Diana, dancer; Marshal P. Wilder, entertainer; and O'Kabe's Japs, a troupe of nine people with 14 acts. A local manager helped run the theater during the season.[3]
Other Music
Activities
Bowling
Bowling was available for parties and leagues prior to the park's season opening.
Ice Skating
Ice skating on the Olentangy Rive was advertised throughout the winter.
Other Activities
- Baseball
- Boating
- General Games
- Picnics
- Refreshments