The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-07-29
THE OLD DRURY.

|
THE OLD DRURY.
Foreclosure and sale Of the st. CharIe'
Theatre.
The Gas Company, after q long indulgence ha,
at last been compelled to foreclose Its mort
gage on the st. Charles Theatre, aud take ou
proceedings for its sale.
The old theatre is therefore to be sold, an even
which justifies recurrence to the interestins
events Of its history.
The present st. Charles Theatre was purchased
by Ben DeBar in 1865 for $4,000. This was
high price, but 1t was In flush times, and thu
property, which had been leased by MIR. DeBs,
for years before, had produced an income
that justified this estimate of it's value
There were two counter bidders In Mr. W. II
O. King and O. A. Weed, OF the Times, who hat
| made handsome returns from their Investment
in the Varieties, and who were eager to get pos
session and control Of the st. Charles. So DeI3ar
who had made several hundred thousand dollars
by the st. Charles, which he had held on lease
from 1850. and who had acquired large properties
and resources in st. l. uis and Detroit, deter.
mined not to be shut out. and gave this very high
price for the property. Had the prosperity then
prevailing throughout the country continued, IL
woull have been good investment, but from
that time everything bsgan to decline, and moth
ing more 80 than the income from theatrical in
vestments and enterprises. DeBar lost almost
every year from the date Of his purchase. The
| Gas Company WIS indulgent and liberal and did
| not enforce it's mortgages. they even offered him
loans and facilities to enable him to work through
Never did man labor more earnestly and
zealously TO work through an enormous burder
of debt than old Ben. But it was all in vain
There was q great turn in affairs, and theatres
ceased to be profitable. and the obligations as
sumed by DeBar could not be met. These debts
have increased with every year since, the Gas
Company extending great liberality and in
dulgences to the purchasers, until about year
| ago 1t became apparent that a foreclosure
was inevitable, and now this foreclosure Is
demanded and the property must be sold.
II is q melancholy event in the dramatic his.
tory Of our city. This theatre is inseparably
associated with the early incidents Of the estab-
lishment and brilliant progress OF the drama in
New Orleans. The present st. Charles is the
successor Of the most splendid establishment
ever erected on this continent by private enter
prise devoted to dramatic taste and speculation.
Its antecessor, the old st. Charles. was COM
pleted in 1888, by James W. Caldwell, az the
grandest dramatic temple-the name of theatre
he eschewed and repudiated-ever erected on
this continent. 1t was on the scale and plan
OF La Scala, Of Milan, then the model and
largest operatic and theatrical edifce in the
world. Mr.. Caldwell was of the ambition and
enterprise to accomplish 80 great an undertaking.
A native Of Sheffield, England. he had been
the first man to introduce The English drama
into this new acquisition OF the United States.
When he came here with his English company,
of which Booth, Forrest, Holland, Russell and
others were prominent memberships was in
1Sl7-he found that the French taste and de-
msrd for French plays were predominant The
Anglo-Amerioan population was ayoung one, and
succumbing to the dominant taste, he was COM
PEELED. to hire the old French Opera House for
the exhibition OF his plays, and after very Nm
profitable effort to run these plays before very
thin audiences, he was driven to The hazardous
resort of attempting to produce French dramas
with English actors.
AT this day this appears most audacious en-
terprise, but Booth having declared his ability to
appear in French tragedy and to drill the COM
pany into full support Of him. Mr.. Caldwell,
who was a man OF great rluck, entered into the
arrangement and with his English company ran
a short season with French tragedies and come
dies to the great satisfaction OF the public and
with great profit to himself. This incident
brought Mr.. Caldwell into prominence among
the strong and aspiring American population
which, at that time. had engaged in fierce rivalry
with the dncien regime for the control Of
He, therefore, became conspicuous among the
settlers in the FaubOrug st. Mary, this side Of
Canal street, who had set to work to build up
new city, which would in few years tower over
and helittle the old square Of the city, and make
New Orleans one Of the great American cities Of
this continent And so the name OF James 81.
Caldwell figures in all the enterprises which were
employed to develope this place. These enter
prises were the building Of the st, Charles Hotel.
OF the Verandah, the gas works, the water works
Of snk al, fiao
with distinct and rival governments.
In their governments and enterprises Mr.
Caldwell was the leading man. To his enter
price we owe the construction Of the first Eng
Street Theatre, now Montgomery's auction
store. Over the ducr of this building will even
now be observed q bust OF Shakespeare, which
is the singIe memorial Of the original dedication
Of this building to the MUSES.. TO THIS theatre,
in the era OF The theatres, the whole American
and Engiish population wera wont to resort
every night, walking upon Gunwales through
the swamps to witness the performances OF
Keane, If Kemble. Of Booth and Forrest. And
Of the very first company which opened this
with a strong Cockney accent, who flleo subor-
dinate parts 10 the ballet, and whose nam. was
DeBar, and Ben had tslented wife, who was
great favorite. and together they always made
strong card.
But as the MUM ipality M. 2 grew great aud
rich, and no man advanced more rapidly with its
fortunes than James II. Caldwell, who had been
tne most conspicuous author an founder OF Its
progress and greatness, the old Camp Street
Theatre dwarfed into insignifcance, and some
thing grander had to be done to vindicate the
devotion and zeal of Mr.. Caldwell for the profess
sion CT which he was ever so ardent o champion.
Hence his conception of the old St. Charles.
gigantic folly everybody said. A theatre of such
dimension and on so grand a scale for an uncer-
tam population of hundred thousand people!
BUT, TO confirm James 81. Caldwell in any grand
idea, you had only to denounce it as foIy which
would certainly ruin him.
Then the stout old Englishmans pluck was
aroused and he was never more resolved to carry
it out. SO he went to Europe, examined all the