Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-07-03
THE OLD OLYMPIC,


In Broadway, near Houston, which has
been leading very precarious life fer five
or six years, having been quite given over
to variety" entertainments, is to be de-
molished, and business block put In its
place. All the old trumpery, comprising
scenes and properties, We're disposed OF at
auction Wednesday, and fetched about ten
cents on the dollar of their cost. The
house was built by Laura Keene, some
twenty-five years ago, and called by her
name. She made money for while, but
afterward lost all she had made ard con-
siderabiy more, when, persuaded, that. she
could not make 1t remunerative, she gave
it up. Mrs John Wood succeeded her.
and did well for several seasons. Then
change came, and she retired Since then
George Fox, Clinton w. Tayleure, John
Duff, Augustin Daily and score of Others
have had it. Some of them turned it to
profit, but most of them found it loss.
1t is probable that more than 81 000 eco
have been sunk in its various adverse en-
terprises. Joseph Jefferson first performed
g Rip Van Wrinkle " there for hundred
nights, and John K. Mortimer, in his
suspicious days. played Badger there in
the " Streets of New York, F" for whole
season, and afterward died a hopeless,
drunken vagabond in the streets OF San
Francisco. Geo. Fox introduced 'Humpty-
Dumpiy" originally at that house; 1t had
a very long run and sweilod his bank ac-
count handsomely. But of late the
Olympic has been sorry show. which
should have been in the Bowery for proper
appreciation, and it is well got rid of.
How many changes there are in these
days When Laura Keene put up that
theater, Booths, the Union Square, the
Fifth Avenue, tine Park, Days, the Madi-
son Square, the Grand Opera House, had
not been dreamed of Wallack's, Niblo's
and the Winter Garden were the only
first-class houses and Wallack's was then
in Broadway near Broome, The Winter
Garden has been burned so has the first
Fifth Avenue. Niblo's bias grown to be a
second class spectacular place the ancient
Bowery has been turned into German
theater, and another generation has come
to the front.
VARIETIES.
Edwin Booth has been so much affected
by the spirit of modernism that even he is
DESTROYS to get play of the contemporaries
GUS order. He says he is tired of Hamlet,
Othello, Lear and the rest or, if he is not
tired, he feels that the public is.
Coney Island is a human thermometer OF
the metropolis. When the temperature is
blazing as it is to-day, the island is packed
with our sweltering citizens But 90 there
on day of moderate temperature and the
place looks deserted. 1t must be very
hard for the inn keepers and restaura.eurs
to provide for such surprising variations.
The performance to be given at the Mad
ison Square for a fund for a monument to
Edgar A Poe is designed, l learn, to in
clude means to bury Poe's wife, whose
bones were lately found torn from their
grave near Washington. The very name of
the poet seems destined to be associated
with mystery and horror.
Henry Irving, when approached by an
American manager on the subject Of pay.
ing this country professional visit,
wanted 81, 800 night. with certain other
expenses, which would raise the amount to
s., 00G night. That materially ended the
negotiation. Twins idea of himself is
colossal. He is a very bad actor, save in
melodrama, but he believes that lie is
transcendently great in everything.
The region immediately in this vicinity
is suffering much from drought. We have
not in years had so dry May and June as
we have had this season.
The census of the city is something of a
disappointment, as the census is nearly
everywhere New Workers had confidently
expected population on this island of
l, 800, 600 to ], 400 900, and it is but little
more than 200 coo. CHAUBERT.