Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-26
Historic Old Playhouse

The Lyceum Theater will be practically
new house when its doors are thrown
open tomorrow for the season of 19O6-O7.
Under the direction Of Manager Hughey
Herman the interior has been entirely re-
decorated, the prevailing tints being light
green and cream. The two galleries have
been shortened on the sides and broadened
in the center. the seating capacity of both
being about the same. The boxes on both
sides have been enlarged and improved by
decorations and paint. New seats have
been ordered for the first floor, but from
present indications the factory will be I'M
able to get them here in time for the
opening night on account of the many
orders on hand
Out in the lobby an entire mosaic floor
is being laid from the entrance to the
theater proper. The ticket Office, wherein
the popular jerks Dikeman is located,
has also been improved.
The most noticeable Improvement will be
found in the front of the house, the old
entrance being entirely torn away and
new, deliberately lighted and decorated
archway will take it's place From the big
arch to the top of the building, the front
will be blaze Of electric light in varied
colored designs.
The Lyceum has an interesting history,
which was related in a recent issue Of
the New York Telegraph.
The walls of the Lyceum Theater are
those of the old Washington Theater,
which was built in 1904. During the CEN
fury the old playhouse has passed through
the hands of many managers, undergone
the ordeal of fire and public sale and at
tracted within it's walls thousands of play
goers who have seen upon its stage the
whole gamut of the drama, from Joseph
Jefferson, the grandfather of rip Van
Wrinkle" Joe, to Harry Morris and Pat
Riley.
The inaugural balls Of five Presidents Of
the United Statesman Buren,, Polk, Tay-
lor, Pierce and Buchanan-were held in the
old Washington Theater. After that it
became the Theater Comique. and In 1856
just twenty years ago-it was acquired by
James L. Herman Of Baltimore, and trans
formed into a burlesque house.
The old Washington Theater was the Sec
ond playhouse built in the national capt.
tai. The first was the old United States
Theater, opened in 1900 by Wignell, who
brought his company to Washington when
the seat Of the national government was
moved to this city from Philadelphia in
that year. The United States Theater was
fitted up in the Lottery Hotel on 7th
street, on the site of the old Post Office
Department building, and has long since
passed into history. The old Washington
Theater was built by subscription as the
result of a meeting of the earliest citizens
of the new capital This meeting was held
at Tunnicliff's Hotel with old Daniel Car
roll in the chair. and $4,000 was sub
scrfbed. Several offered to donate the
ground, and the offer of Major Van Ness
was accepted.
The site chosen was the. northeast cor
ner of 18th and c Streets and the entrance
was on street until the theater was burn
ed and rebuilt in 1890 and continued to be
Herman remodeled the place. lowering the
auditorium floor from the second to the
ground floor and cutting an entrance
through to Pennsylvania avenue.
y
There was a procession when the cor
ner stone of the theater was laid in 1901,
speeches by the mayor and citizens in
carriages" and music by an italian band.
The theater was opened in November, 1904
and one man had the stage all to himself
from that night until the middle of Deem
Der, when the season closed. He was Ma
gipnis of London, who had visited the capt.
tails of Europe and was advertised as cell
ebrated. He claimed to have spent 5000
in twenty years in perfecting his perform
automatons. black magic and finale con-
sisting of spectacular fight between two
old time fleets of men-of-war.
Joseph Jefferson, the grandfather OF the
late Joe jefferson, played at the old Wash
ington Theater at the beginning of the
season of 1859 as member OF the Phil
adelphia and Baltimore Company, opening
the engagement with 1.-The Rivals; or, A
Trip to Bath" by Sheridan.
When the British forces began to hover