The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1898-01-07
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
The Old Rialto and the New = Where
Vaudevillians Congregate-A Club
Movement For Boys.
Especial Correspondence


tire of recounting the changes which
have taken place within the past decade
or two and of deploring the departure
of the "good old" this, that or the 9TH
or. The deterioration" of the Bowery
into condition of semirespectability
has been alluded to frequently, and
there lis no doubt that the change has
been marked, but there are sections of
Broadway, the main thoroughfare of
the city, which have undergone greater
transformation.
A few years ago, for instance, Union
square was the headquarters for men,
bers of the theatrical profession, and
one could not pass that point at any
time between the hours Of Ga. m. and
midnight without rubbing elbows with
some of the best known figures of the
stage. 1t was then quite the thing for
an actress who was DESTROYS of getting
little free advertising through the
medium Of being pointed out by those
Sin the know" to promenade around
the four sides Of the square. Most Of the
theatrical agencies and some of the
dramatic newspapers were in the imme-.
diate vicinity, and all that helped to
give the place particularly theatrical
atmosphere which has never since been
possessed by any section of this or any
other city in America.
Stamping Ground of Vaudevillians.
A little later the up town march of
everything was felt by the Rialtoites,
and those worthless, never to be left be-
hind, quietly folded their tents and stole
away in the rear of the new movement.
One section alone remained. The vaude-
vile people staid there because Tony
PASTORS theater, then the acme of posi-
bility in the way of variety house,
was in Fourteenth street. Gradually,
however, even they began to leave, until
Keith, the continuous performance in
ventor, bought the old Union Square
theater. That effectually checked the up
town movement so far as the vaudeville
people were concerned, and now the
square is the stamping ground Of the
fellows who do turns and of very few
people besides 1t is no longer one Of
the great Kaleidoscope sights of the city
which every visitor felt in duty bound
to see at the first opportunity.
The Present Rialto.
When the Rialto proper left Union
square, it moved up only short dis
lance, being thereafter located along
Broadway from Twenty fourth to Twen-
ty-eighth street Within those limits
were located the offices Of most of the
prominent theatrical purveyors, and
where they are there, of course, are
also the actors. Then Harrigan's, now
the Garrick, was built; the Metropolitan
was already at Thirty-ninth street; Alb
bey's, now the Knickerbocker, went up
at Thirty eighth street, just across the
way from the Casino; the Broadway
was doing nicely at Forty-fr street;
Charles Frohman and his friends put up
the Empire at Fortieth; the old New
Park theater was refurbished and re-
ohristened the Herald Square, and Oscar
Hammerstein built his stupendous
Olympia at Forty fourth street, while
Roster e. Balls big music hall was on
Thirty-fourth, near Broadway. This
made another move ON the part Of the
histrions necessary before they had got
fairly used to their latest quarters, but
they took it, and now if you ask a we'll
posted resident to direct you to the Ri.
alto he will tell you that it extends
along Broadway from the Manhattan,
formerly the Standard, theater, just be-
low Thirty-third street, as far as Forty
fifth street. And while we are apt to
smile at the suggestion that the actors
haunts have anything to do with max
ing the popularity of portion Of fash
ionable street, it is fact that the popu-
lar promenade ON Broadway has always
been where the Rialto happened to be.
A Club Movement For Boys.
The club movement in New York has
been very successful in the boys world,
according to the we'll known authority,
Margherita Arlina Hamm, who further
declares that it is loved by nearly all
healthy boys, and 80 far as it has been
studied does world of good. It tends
to make young America thoughtful and
to teach the largeness Of the world
about him. A small boy who was a dill
igent reader and was we'll known at the
east side branch of the Aguilar library
was asked by a librarian who his favor
lite female characters were. He thought
for second, and then, with proud
smile, responded, "Me muther, John
of the Ark and Lucretia Borgia."
It was another young man Of the
same style Of thought who stoutly main
tanned that General Butler was the
greatest general Of modern times, be-
cause after he licked the enemy he let
his soldiers take all the plumber each
man could carry and only took the
spoons for himself. {"
Another small boy belonging to the
club in st. Marks place was asked by
one of the committee what he thought
of the new small parks? He answered
promptly: 81 don't see why the mayor
makes SO many. parks, where all you
can do is to walk or ride in carriage
or ride a wheel, if you've got one, and
can't do nothing else. What he ought
to do is to give the boys a water park
where they can wade and swim and
4 ii.