The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-01-31
Ii Will Be on the Third Floor
Of the Progress Block.
SEATING CAPACITY OF 800
A Regular Bijou Octagonal-Ad-
junCtS - No Pillars or Posts.
Great Freatures-Prome

When Mr.. c. S. Desky's Progress
block, corner of Fort and Beretania,
is completed, which will be in about
three months, Honolulu will have prac-
tically second uptown theater. The
hall on the third floor of the Progress
building will be regular little bijou
of music-hall. There will be stage
of good size and the main auditorium
vii seat 800 people. Opera chairs will
be imported and scenery and stage
fixtures will be provided. Besides the
main or principal hall there will be ad-
jacent ante-rooms and parlors with
either sliding or rolling doors or por
tiers that will bring the seating num-
Der up to above 1000
The new theater will be octagonal in
shape with a dome ceiling. In the CEN
ter Of the ceiling will be a piece OF
stained glass twenty-three feet in dia-
meter The hall will be Illuminated
with 100 incandescent lights and a
few arc lamps. There will be stair
way entrances and exits from both
Beretania and Fort streets, in addi-
tion to the rapid passenger elevator,
to be raised by electricity. Modern
ventilation will be supplemented by
system of fans. There will not be a
pillar or post in the hall. The floor
will be of hard pine that is to be pre-
pared especially for dancing.
Several features known only to halls
in Europe and New York City will
add to the beauty, attractiveness and
utility of the new theater. There will
be a kitchen dining room and the
usual retiring rooms for ladies and
gentlemen. There will be a smoking
room and a promenade. The smoking
room will be near the Beretania and
Fort street corner and the promenade
will be on the Beretania street side.
The smoking room and the promenade
Will be between the stone walls and
the walls Of the theater. 1t viii be
seen that there is room and to spare
or extension as time may require will
be neither difficult nor expensive. On
the third floor on the Fort and Bere-
tania street sides there will be aper-
lures for windows as they may now
be seen, but neither the wooden frames
nor the glasses will be inserted.
The final surprise in the way Of a
hall for Honolulu, remains to be pre-
Sented. On the roof at the corner OF
Fort and Beretania will be an ObserVa-
tory with a floor 32x32 or perhaps
larger This can be reached from the
promenade or the smoking room. From
the foothills alone can the view be
rivalled. The panorama spread out
from this point includes matchless
pictures of Punchbowl, Tantalus,
ROund-top, all the valleys with their
banks of rainbows, Diamond Head,
with the ships coming round, the har
Dor and its vessels, Kamehameha
grounds and even Pearl Lochs. This
will be an extra without money and
without price, also says Mr.. Desky.
There will be both coping and railing
as protection against possibility of
accidents. This observatory, so pleas
ing is it to the owner of the building,
may be extended quite a bit, even to
include roof promenades. It is really
fourth story or roof garden, but
really away and beyond the roof gar
den class.
In the Progress block there are
spacious stores that are already leased.
| The second floor will be used by those
requiring offices. Bruce Waring & Co..
will have the corner rooms and others
have been spoken for already The
| halls are wide and light and the ele-
yator will run day and night. There
| is a small army of workmen on the
| building now, but it is such a job as
cannot be rushed Only the best Of
| Island stone is going into the main
walls and Geo. L. Dali is doing the
wood work, using material selected by
himself. Ripley & Dickey are the ar
chitects and have designed what is in
| exterior and interior a handsome and
substantial building we'll adapted for
business purposes and for the use of
the theater in third story.
There will formal opening or de-
dication of the Progress block and
| theater when the buil6ino is finished