The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-10-18
uNLUcKY PLAYHoUsEs.
Disaster Has Followed Churches Which
werc Turned Into fheaters.

Disaster Has Followed Churches Which
Wero Turned Into fheaters.
Especial Correspondence.1
NEW HAVEN, Oct. 1s.-Iwas discussing
things theatrical with a we'll known and
popular manager few days since when
the conversation drifted to the relations
Of the church and the playhouses and
finally to the construction of the thea
tiers and temples of worship. From the
rambling talk I cleaned some peculiar
and interesting facts. do you know"
said he. ''that would never start the
alter in building that had once been
used as church? 1t would be lust like
throwing money away. There is no luck
in theater which has once been a
church, and have records to prove the
assertion. You can hunt the country
over, and you cannot find an instance
where theater or amusement enter
iprise has prospered if established in an
abandoned church. Church people are
often quite willing to sell off an old
church to Il Snowman for good price
when they are about to build q new one,
but they could not induce me to start
theater in such q place if they gave me
eAAS Nhs Soll ASldlS ludIly Instances
OF disaster and loss in theaters through
being, 1T seems to me, located on church
sites.
"The old Brooklyn theater, DESTROYED
by fire few years ago, in which over
100 lives were lost, was built over from
Congregational church. The old Globe
theater on Broadway, New York, was
originally built for church 1t has
been on fire several times, but was
never completely destroyed. 1t has a
long record, however, and has proved
graveyard for everything in the amuse-
ment line from NiXon's circus down to
the Streets of London Aberlys the
alter on Eighth street, New York, was
first st. AIMS Catholic chcrch, and it
was very unlucliy playhouse. 1t had
a precarlous existence for many years
and finally collapsed in flames The
American theater in this city, at one
time st. Mary's Catholic church, was
burned out twice It's business expert
ences were something exciting. and
fortune was lost in it, The Baptist
church III Bridgeport was abandoned and
sold to p. I. Barnum, who would not
allow it to be used for amusement pur-
poses during his life The heirs of tho
great Snowman leased it rs n museum
after he died, and short time ago il
went up in smoke with considerable VAL
liable property
'Ihe New Haven Opera House, burned
but few months ago, is remembered as
the First Baptist church by the older
citizens of this city. st. James hall
in Buffalo, used by cheap museums
and third class shows and burned to
the ground i'll 1889, was originally a
Methodist church. Shakespeare hall,
Syracuse, the headquarters of the high
class amateur dramatic companies, also
burned III 1889, was built from a house
of worship. The Grand Opera House,
Wilmington, Del, was built for n
church and was filled with worshipers
every Sunday for many years. 1t was
destroyed by fire in the winter Of 1887.
The old Twenty-ninth Street thcater in
New York was originally erected for
church purposes, and every one remem-
bers the disastrous termination of Saln-
ON Morse's famous Passion play when
he attempted to produce it there, as we'll
as the misfortunes of other enterprises
started in the unluc1y place. And SO it
is everywhere. The record would seem
to prove that q building once dedicated
to the worship of God can never prosper
as an amusement house."
And the record indeed bears him ont
If you look it up, you will find it so.
j. II. FAHEY