, 1870-05-21
THE STAATS THEATRE FIRE,
hisc, Progress, and Destruction
of Notable Building.
From Church to Synagogue; syna-
goeue to Theatre Theatre
to ARhe&

The burning Of the German Theatre On Des
pialncs street, carry yesterday morning, occurred
al such and unsea sonAble and announcement hour,
taas II was Impossible II the time to do the rub.
]ect al! the Justice 1t deserved The building aud
lis hIstoF! deserves moro than passingnostce be-
cause It seems to marx the progress Of Chicago
during the last quarter OF oeutury, and TO show
mat the career Of structure Ia this kalcIdoscopc
city Is varied and chequered.
Ii 1851 the Tabernacle Baptist Church. an oT-
shoot OF the Fltzt Church, WAS made q present Of
ne lot BY Measra c, C. P. Holden, J. B. Bridges,
Joan H. Kennedy, snd c. E. Anderson. These
each, OF $500 In ali on the ground the Church
erected the building which was burned yesterday.
anu MMea cost IS ooo TO build. Here the church
Hations OF Rev.::Lewts 1t4Jmond, Rev 4. Kenyon,
Nathaniel co1ser, B. D. The cong1ezasIon s: M 1r Was
importance This church was for q long umc in
bad odor On account OF the advanced ground
which It's members took on the slavery
vas sympathy for the bondman, and the cause of
the oppressed, K1s advocated with Zeal aud elo-
quence Ia the course Of Jears the church out
grew tnc etl1ce, and In 1866 the place Of Horshn
was removed to large. nnd better quarters on tne
corner Of Monroe and Morgan streets, where It
SUI nouSsnes under It'd new tile Of the Second
Although abandoned by the Baptist denoulus-
aon the building did NOS lose Its sacred character,
lot It next went into the hands OF Z Hebrew cor
gfegadnn, and Was known a. Zion Church. The
price paid for 1t By tte new owners WAS 4. 900,
nearly tHice the anounttt cost fifteen years before
% zlon ChulSh started With 81 membt1. under the
rue Presidency Of Hon. Henry Gteenehaam There
must hare been something ID the building favor
aa!e % ne kroMth Of congregations, Tor Zion
Chnfch soon sWelled to double iil original nun.
hefs, and became 50 opulent that the old structnrc
Vas e1chAnged for new synagoRue erected at
the corner OF 6anganon nud Jackson streets No
1otahle event occurred during tbs pecupancy OF
the buil1tng br the Hebrew Church, except the
fafe evcht o. the conversion Of Christian young
lazy to Judaism.
ne buidlng, IL passed INTO the hands of The AZ
beter-Fereln, an association Of about 800 German
e u tne2esse of a1d i sass 1ssus
Mt. Greenehsum. y
The woFktngmen used the hail for meetings.
baa concerts, and 70 forth, hiring i, out TO othef
societies whenever they got chance. The base
inent they rented At se0o yeae 10 the Board OF
from 100 to 20 youas s Ts1e t.1ehf seh9q y
shoot About four months ago the owners ,ieCide,i
70 convert the hall into theatre, and 81, 600 was
spent on ne construction Of the stage, boxes,
u!esNng-fooms, aud scenery. 1t Was really COSY
lttie place neatly painted, and possessed Of prop
elues mat would he no dlscredlt To more pteteu-
tious theaHes Admirably adapted to comedies
success The members OF the Arbelter, aud their
l1!e1as, we're Wont to repair, aftcr a hard days
70 oe ~ tasssre Whe they found edtyng
ber1ormancts three nights Ia the week. Including
sunday: Everything was conducted in q moral
ana @ hign,tonea manner, mad many man, VINO
saloon, WAS Attracted to the playhouse by The
really excellent character Of the plays and PLAYERS
Ihe cast was Imported from almost every rhere.
brtnging with him his wife and family, Wra Ior,
WIZ bad the credit OF some tAl.
f'nL..oe ep, eut 81 she has been unfortunate In
pulseize eah from her shoes sa re- retufn n ae e
1Est lore, Milwaukee The cause Of tats resojn-
90 non L not the destruction Of tho theatre where
amty GO eo Gtea eot sRsgasa md M
1nt reinforced By the thieves Of the city, it has
Ssr nss sae Tas not xey long here
,ut while the names were rising rsum the deyotsi
emplc q Art on Friday morning, some black |
= went through IT." picking up sunirJ articles In.
,lndlng t#o gold watches, making q Inial Ioss Of
E6oo. No wonder the poor ladJ Is discouraged,
u Milwaukee, and what Chicago loses MiiwaaSec
sasns- u IS 70 be hoped that the detectlvea viii
ecover the stolen goods before ahe leaves.
'essons who saw it from beginning to end say il
vas 0ne aEe. The names seem to have bust out
all over, and to have enyelopei tho
lry as basket Of chipa and was wei p.cnarc,i fnr
turning. Tile origin Of the Dire Is matter OF cou-
tclnFc: II cannot be traced to any definite cause
I Is believed however, that II began In the gen.
lcmaus dressing rpoui, Under the stage. and that
OveFcl. ~
Many persons vis!te,l the ruins yesterday. Their
vas nothing standing hut the basement aud front
walls anti the cha1rel frame of tho cupola- The
Pace @ y lnsse the walls Tas covered with the yes
alf-burnt hooks, hits Of sccncry, remnants oi
hairs, Ac- Boys anu girls, pupils Of the latr schooI
ranaeEca among the relics, looking for the books
rctc delighted with the result 1t the dir. which
ave them une1lecte1t but not unwelcomc hoii-
'axs strange discovery VAS that Of scrap or
newspaper containing an account OF a great frr
n thc East 1t VAS found among the ruils
The Quondam church and the recent theatre
ave Fasset! ont Of existence. to make way for q
oon he erected Thus It IS lint drc d1s,roys Ind Ind
improves at the same tine. NeEe 1t optional with
he owners Ut the thousands OF shanties ind rook-
hem would dts1tEurr our streets today. but Dire
amc to purge tho city Of lhem, and on their ruins
ave risen marble palaces, the pride and glory Of
The loss on the building will reach nearly 80 900,
acsnulne the improvements, and valuable llhra-
Of nearly 4,ooo volumes belong 10 the Arhe,ter-
ooks. The officers of the ycrctn were early at |
be Gtl1ce OF A. C. Greencbaum L Gu, Nos 1a3
M Is. tasalle street IN whose ssency the build
la!hes sreet fA.a1 e. np il Commerce of New Yefk
ID h:.GU IL thr P3u nix. " Broeklyn. ny.
On stency ::tnd d7up ca!tsin. si.ae; 81 i1turs.
- 1d g.. fstttn ssS al "a Lyeotn;nE Of Aansy ra
h1... h cu.Al,n \! 2, rats. rrt!sstsF. Dc, &c
rsEA piano aud pteinna. Total. slo, ID.
Aocn stmpsthy Is felt for Che rorklngumen on
u their loss especially as they we're In
air FAy OF FaYing OF their MORTGAGE Their In
ome from the Board OF Education was $500 1
tar; from the German Dramatic Company, s., 400
year, and they we're to have received Il, 500 more
maiden effort ended 50 dlsastrousy Ia smoke. But
hcsc "o'ktngMsn have too much stamina Ia them |
o cry over spilled milk They will rebuild Is /
con a. possible, putting up building to cover the
ntrc lot 4 meeting Of the society viii be held |
hts evening, to consider the disaster and ita |
feels