Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1907-07-14
WRITES "REMINISCENCES
OF A POPULAR PASTOR
SOLEMN MAN WHO is ALWAYS
HUMOROUS
Burdette Is Ever Genial and Inherently
Witty, No Matter How Seri-
GUS He May Seem
to Be

Rev Robert ]. Burdette, pastor OF
Temple Baptist church and one OF the
foremost figures in the secular and busi-
ness life of Los Angeles, has found 1t I'M
possible to live down his reputation as
professional humorist.
Perhaps he hasn't tried to any great ex-
tent. The fact that he still retains his
position as "pastor emeritus" of the Amer
lean Press Humorists association would
indicate as much.
Moreover friends of the long ago say
there is no distinguishable difference be
tween the Rev Robert ]. Burdette, ID. d.,
of Los Angeles and Pasadena and the
Bob" Burdette of divers newspaper Of
| fees a decade ago.
! Recently correspondent of the Balti-
more American visited Southern Califor-
mia. When he returned home he paid his
respects to DR.. Burdette and Bob" Bur-
dette alike in the following article
Whose mansion is that over yonder?"
I asked the guide, pointing to magnih-
cent Moorish Mission palace, one of the
noblest homes in this colony of American
1 millionaires. The answer came, Robert
]. Burdette, former funny man on the
Burlington Qowa) Hawkeye."
us 1t possible?"
Eyes, in this life nothing is so possible
as the impossible. And, by the way, fac
| ing Central park, Los Angeles, that mag
nificent pile like feudal castle that ten
story auditorium, theater and office build
ing, that is where Robert ]. Burdette de-
| livers his sermons on Sundays" ,
'You don't say so?"
| Eyes, 1t is true"
"Who built that auditorium"
Mrs. Burdette gave her personal check
| for $4,000 to start subscription; and in
due course the building bonds were sold
and on went the Burdette auditorium"
Mrs Burdette is club woman. Is she
not?"
Yves; and little Napoleon of business
as we'll as of art and culture. She and
Robert make a strong pair. They live a
! life to be envied."
HE has quit newspaper work. then?"
Eyes, he leaves the other boys do the
writing business"
When 1 heard these Arabian Nights
stories my mind wandered back to the
time Bob was poor. Or, in the language
of everyday life:
1 got to th:nkin' of him-like twas jest year
|
Fer time, that flies so fas' in dreams, in al
| manacs Is slew;
He was worlxin' like beaver. lecturn here
| and lectur'n there.
An a-writin' on the railroad cars, in taverns
| ever where
Prntin' poems in the papers, spealdn' pieces
An him an Inc a-travelin' now an then
| around in pairs;
| An he seemed to think at he was no account
I got to thinl1n' of him an that night at
i Shelbyvile.
Burdette's Noble Auditorium
Strange shifts in the scenery of his life.
Ell? A long cry from the days when 500
a month doomed large. Yes, indeed! Sup
pose, by way of viewing fates caprices,
we stroll through the building and later
have a chat with Mr.. Burdette in his
! study; of Rev. Robert J. Burdette d. D.,
as he is properly called; for he is now and
has been for fifteen years a Baptist
preacher. The newspaper ghost has not
walked for all that long time, yet Bob
Burdette has worn broadcloth, has had his
:, trips to Europe, and has lived in a man.
sion worthy of king. If you believe that
nothing comes by chance you will wonder
about Burdette's history-just as I am
wondering about 1t. Wen ask MIN TO ex-
? plain tiff he can!
First, the fairy tale of his great stone
!, castle
Bob's auditorium is nearly 200 feet
SQUARE and towers ten stories to the skies
[ You enter through lobby forty feet wide
; with tiled floor set off with deep wains-
coting of green scaglioa. Elevators and
| wide Sta1rWdyS dSCeuu " Tic lueDIdIllue
where a large salon of plate glass over.
5 looks the lobby, During opera seasons
. this is vantage point from which to study
) evening costumes.
There are eight mezzanine and eight
$ proscenium boxes. From this mezzanine
floor, which can be shut off by an in
. genious series of panels, there is a near
:; view Of the proscenium, composed of seven
: great arches.
Nothing in this amphitheater, which is
distinguished by hundred projections
is more surprising than the handling Of
! distances Unlike the Chicago auditorium
: which gives the impression of vastness
and GOODNESS, Burdettes audience hall Il
so symmetrical that the effect is magical
5 1t is almost impossible to believe that Its
capacity is 5000. From the main floor the
first glimpse of the auditorium is i'm
? pressive. The dome, sixty-eight feet above
the orchestra chairs has central sky
t light thirty feet in diameter, an exquisite
mosaic of stained glass, whose colors mel
into the delicate shading OF the walls anc
lceiling. The amphitheater rises majestic