Palestine daily herald. [volume] (Palestine, Tex.) 1902-1949, 1906-12-08
OSCAR HANMERSTEIN
REALIZES AMBITION
IN THE OPENING OF HIS NEW
MANHATTAN OPERA HOUSE IN
NEW YORK CITY.
Special to the Herald.

Special to the Herald.
New York, Dec. S.-With the open
ing of his new Manhattan opera house
in West Thirty-fourth street this week,
Oscar Hammerstein realized the am
bition of his life. 1t was not that he
had built a magnificent playhouse
for he had done that same thing
seven times before right here in New
York City. But he had succeeded in
his plans to give New Workers grand
opera at popular prices. That has
been his cherished ambition and the
goal of his efforts for twenty years.
The realization of this ambition
comes as the climax of remarkable
career. When a young man Hammer
stein came from Berlin to America in
search of his fortune. He was with
out friends and desperately poor. He
began life as a cigarmaker here in
New York
He made his first strike by the in
vention of a cigar molding machine,
which proved a great labor saving de-
vice. He invented other machines in
connection with the treatment Of to-
bacco and cigarmaking, and from
these he reaped a considerable profit
Then he made more money out of a
tobacco trade paper. Then he became
interested in Harlem real estate and
after the boom which converted One
Hundred and Twenty-first street into
a first class business thoroughfare Mr.
Hammerstein found he was worth
close to a million.
His career of theatrical speculation
dated from that time. He built the
Columbus theater and the Harlem
opera house, both on One Hundred and
Twenty-fifth street Then he conclud-
ed to build a theater further down
town, and straightway the walls of
the first Manhattan opera house arose
on Thirty-fourth street. 1t was then
Hammerstein's intention to make this
place of amusement the home of grand
opera, to be sung in English at pop.
ular prices" 1t is difficult to say why
the experiment was not a success. But
the fact remains that it was not, and
after running the theater for some
time on the lines originally laid out,
Mr.. Hammerstein made a combination
with Roster & Bal, and the house was
duly dedicated to vaudeville.
Under joint management of Ham
merstein and Roster & Bal the new
music hall was successful from the
start and undoubtedly Hammerstein's
famous living pictures did a good deal
toward its early success. But the
three partners could not long agree
on matters of policy, and Hammer
stein got out or was forced out. This
made him extremely bitter, and he
shortly announced that he would
build the finest music hall in the
world, set it in the best location. and
then proceed to pulverize Roster &,
Bal. The Olympia music hall was
undoubtedly the finest structure of its
sort in existence, and its location, at
Broadway and Fortieth street could
not be improved When Hammerstein
started TO build the Olympia he was
probably worth 100000. The ven
ture was a colossal failure, and Mr..
Hammerstein was forced into bank
ruptcy. This was less than ten years
ago. Since that time he has built
several more playhouses, and today is
again reckoned a millionaire How
he manages to do it is one of the Sc
crets that only the irrepressible Oscar
himself can solve.