Evening star., 1919-07-27
FIFTY YEARS AGO In THE STAR

III In The STAR
an acre, but can ALSO be obtained
by settlers from the United States
government. The country. 1t is stated
is rapidly nlling up with German and
Norwegian emigrants, and town lots
in Yankton sell for $50 to sl.oOo.per
lot
In the days before the civil war
| one Of Washington's favorite places
of entertainment
The Burning of was Canterbury
Canterbury Hall. a.t; q, ~. ;snsrs ere. some s
| nous Of the actors Of the early day
had appeared It was located on
| Louisiana Avemue between ~ and
| 6th streets, and was burned to the
| ground on the morning Of July %.
| 1869. In The Star Of that issue is
| an interesting article telling the story
Of that famous establishment. in part.
| as follows: !
'"The Old Canterbury has. to use
|
ant memories are revived in the
minds Of the oldest inhabitants as
they view its smoking ruins. Under
| its original name OF the American
Theater many delightful hours were
passed in it by our citizens Cd the
olden time in witnessing the finest
displays Of the histrionic art that
| Washington was ever afforded The
site OF the building was once ocHpied
| by the Jail Of the District. a two
story brick building. which was aban-
doned in 1903 McGuirk, who mur-
dered his wife and children by stamp
| ing them to death, was taken from
| there October %. 1902. and hanged,
| the scene of the execution being the
ground now occupied by the south
| wing Of the Capitol. About the year
1920 Wood and Warren. eminent
! actors of that period, started the
| project of a theaier here, and, the
| citizens taking hold of the matter
! with will. a joint stock company
was raised. under whose auspices the
| building destroyed this morning was
| constructed. 1t was used for the
| atrical purposes for nearly twenty
years. Within its walls the inimita-
| BILE Joseph Jefferson. the grandfather
of the present Old Rip nightly con-
| mirable approximations of Crack in
The Turnpike Cate Paul Pry' and
Billy Lackaday.'
Here, too, Jim Wills, without a
| rival as Nipperkin' in 'Sprigs of
Laurel and as Cornelius
Famous ODedimus,' and Joe Cow
ell, one Of the jolliest of
Actols. them all, filled the house
with boisterous laughter. In those
| DAYS, about thirty-five years ago
| C183D, "a comic or sentimental song
between the play and the farce was
deemed Indispensable, and Wills Ia
nous Lord Lowell who stood at his
castle gate a-combing his milk white
steed,' was nightly encored for an
entire season. Besides these eminent
| votaries of Momus. Eberle, Hadaway
and John Seton divided the honors
| Of the old-time playgoers. Here TOO
| dourished the original Jim crow
Rice not Dan Of clown fame, but the
first man who showed the young
darkey sports of those days how to
| .wheelabout and turnabout and jump
Jim Crow, or sigh over the charms OF
| T,ubly Rose, Coal Black Rose
I'm the light ballad the American
Theater echoed with the merry voices
of Clara Fisher and Mrs. Knight, the
spriehtliest Of chambermaids. In
tragedy and high comedy Fanny
| Kemble, who made her debut In this
country at this theater. and host OF
/ eminent actresses made classic those
boards, of late so often desecrated by
fashy Performance of the can-can, in
| this house, too, Forrest Cooper. the
elder Adams, Ingersoll, the peerless
, Richard of the elder Booth. and the
unapproachab1e stranger of the sad
faced Palmer. contended with grace
ful rivalry for honorS in dramatic
art.
Richard III" one night, and after
the audience had waited half an hour
for the curtain to rise, they were sur
prised to see Booth brought on the
stage SO drunk as to be almost un-
able to stand and supported by old
Joe Jefferson and Mr.. Willett. his SON.
fn-law 1t was afterward discovered
that he had been found in that con-
q
14th street race track. and brought in
lust in time for the performance. AL
though rather weak in the knees at
first, he recovered after the first act
and almost excelled himself as Rich
ard.
Under the management Of Jeffer-,
son and Mackenzie, between 1925 and
1885, Washington was supplied with
stars of the first magnitude Mrs.
Burke. the mother of our famous
Charlie of 'Diggory' fame. and Of tho
present Joe Jefferson, married while
here John Jefferson, son Of old Joe
and father of our Joe. The Jeffersons
resided in the house. and in it, we be-
!lieve. our Rip Van Wrinkle celebrity
was born.
The Ravel family. once so cele-
brated, and then SO much superior to
the present changed company. first
saluted Washington audience in
the Canterbury. then the fashionable
the good society OF those days.
about 1885 the National was built as
an uptown rival, but the American, un-
der Ward and wemyss. ran
Years of first-rate company for two
or three seasons. but finally
Oecay' succumbed and the house
took the more stylish appellation of the
Washington Assembly Rooms Then
fashionable assemblies. or select