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The Bronx Opera House is a former theater, part of the Subway Circuit now converted into a boutique hotel in the Bronx, New York〔 It was designed by George M. Keister and built in 1913 at 436 East 149th Street on the site of Frederick Schnaufer's stable. It was one of several theaters to come into the area that became known as the Hub.〔(The Papers of Will Rogers: From vaudeville to Broadway : September 1908 - August 1915 Volume 3 )〕 It was formally dedicated on opening night Saturday August 30, 1913.〔At the Theatres. New Rochelle Pioneer. 08/23/1913〕 It had a capacity of 1,892 seats divided as follows: 799 orchestra (floor) seats, 537 balcony seats, 478 gallery seats and 78 box seats. The stage had a proscenium opening of 34x28 ft. and a 4 ft. apron. The theatre was equipped with 110 A.C. electricity and the backstage area featured 12 dressing rooms. The building, its façade still standing today, has a 97 feet wide fronting on 149th street, between Bergen and Brooke Avenue and it runs back 205 feet to 148th street. A three storey commercial building was on 149th street. That space, apart from the 25 foot lobby leading to the theater, was originally leased to William Gibson and Gustave Beiswenger as a restaurant, café and banquet hall on the first and second floor named the Bronx Opera House Restaurant, the third floor being used as lodge rooms. Emphasis was put on fire safety. An area-way demanded by the Department of Public Safety ran from street to street on either side of the theatre, affording ample space for substantial steel stairways leading down from the emergency exits.〔 An automatic asbestos safety curtain fronted the entr'acte drop, which was decorated with a damask valance separated into three sections, fringed with galloons. The centre of each section was embroidered with an embossed wreath, giving them a rich effect, materially enhanced by a highlight gold border running the full width of the curtain.〔"Bronx Becoming Play Center; New Theatre Model of Beauty". ''The New York Press''. 08/31/1913〕 At the time of its opening, the color scheme interior of the house was ivory, green and old gold. The decorations were in the Italian Renaissance style. The ornamental work on the ceiling and box fronts and columns was old gold. The ornamental plaster work had been treated with an ivory tint, stenciled to harmonized with the wall coverings which were of silk damask. The body of the silk damask wall decorations was of a light green pattern harmonizing in color. Draperies of the same character in heavy velvet, treated with gold, with ornate center wreath medallions, constituted the box decorations. Three mural paintings were adorning the auditorium ceiling. These represented the Temple of Love, Love Accused Before Jove, and Repose and Laughter. In the foyer and aisles were carpets of green, two shades darker than the wall coverings and draperies. A feature of the Bronx Opera House was the diffused lighting arrangements. The sunburst, or center ceiling light fixture, was five feet in diameter. The small lights of the auditorium were so arranged as to be concealed from the eye. The second balcony and main auditorium were equipped with the same indirect alba glass globes. Ventilation was achieved by a system of tubing built in the walls and foundations leading to and connecting on the roof with a high-power electric fan that drove the cold air down under the concrete floor of the auditorium, into which it was filtered by way of innumerable colanders installed under seats, making it possible to keep the temperature of the interior "healthful", no matter what conditions prevailed outside.〔 Performers included the Marx Brothers, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Julia Marlowe, Ethel Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore, David Warfield.〔〔 Other performers at the theatre included George M. Cohan, Eddie Cantor, John Bunny, Harry Houdini, Peggy Wood〔Bill Twomey () The Bronx: In Bits and Pieces pages 198, 199〕 and Fats Waller. Post-Broadway shows were often performed and the theater hosted the Aborn Opera Company.〔 The Bronx Opera House is often confused with the Percy G. Williams’ New Bronx Opera House built in 1909 and located at 567 Melrose Avenue (corner of 150th Street), later renamed the B.F. Keith’s Bronx Theatre, which was a different venue featuring vaudeville shows. ==Development and construction (1911-1913)== George M. Cohan and Sam H. Harris had the idea of building a combination theater above the Harlem River probably as early as 1911 as they were actively looking for a site at the very beginning of 1912. The trade newspaper Variety was reporting at the time that the two sites considered were at 150th street and Westchester Avenue and the other at 163rd Street and Prospect Avenue.〔("Bronx Combination House Next for Cohan & Harris" ). ''Variety. Vol. 25.'' No. 5. 01/06/1912. p. 9〕 Speculations were Cohan and Harris had secured a contract from Morgenthau-Hudson realty to build a 1,600 seats theatre for them at the 150th street location.〔 Trouble occurred when it was announced on the front page of Variety on January 20, 1912 that the Shuberts were planning to build a legitimate house in the Bronx as well. New York theater managers generally felt that while the Bronx was a fertile field for one such theatre to show the Broadway attractions at reasonable prices (all of the other theaters in the neighborhood were vaudeville), two theaters of similar policy in that section would only mean that either would be fortunate to break even.〔("Shuberts Splitting Bronx; Will Oppose Cohan & Harris" ), ''Variety. Vol. 25.'' No. 7. 01/20/1912. p. 3〕 There were good reasons to worry. A bitter competition already existed between Cohan & Harris' Grand Opera House at 8th Avenue and 23rd Street and the Shuberts’ Manhattan Opera House at 34th Street.〔 Sam H. Harris attempt at negotiating a deal with Lee Shubert failed and Cohan & Harris promptly announced the following week they were walking out on the entire project. Three months later however, in early May, Sam H. Harris confirmed to Variety they had secured a site on 149th Street just east of 3rd avenue to build a sister theater to their Manhattan Grand Opera House and that it would be in operation by November. Then on June 8, 1912 details of the project are officially announced. The name of the theater is The Bronx Opera House at 438 to 444 east 149th street, the lease secured from Frederick Schnaufer that same day. George M. Keister who designed the George M. Cohan Theater at Broadway and 43rd Street is the architect and he has the plans ready. Cohan & Harris via their Bronx 149th Street Realty Company have already leased the commercial space to Gibson and Beiswenger, who own the Criterion Restaurant at the corner of 3rd Avenue, for a cafe, restaurant and banquet hall on 149th street before construction has even begun. Despite their clever maneuvering with the Shuberts, Cohan and Harris still end up facing competition in the Bronx. On August 29, John Cort announces the construction of the "Royal Theatre" in association with Frank Gersten. A combination house with a seating capacity of 2,500 located at Westchester, 3rd Avenue and 150th Street, a mere four block away from the Bronx Opera House that is to be completed by December 15. This latest announcement revives the anxieties of theater managers in New York. When asked if he was interested in any new theaters in the city beyond the Harlem River, Harry Frazee was quoted by the New York Sun as saying he thanked the creator that he had no project underway in the Bronx. September 9, 1912, the Daily Standard Union: Brooklyn announces Cramp & Co. has been awarded the construction contract for the Bronx Opera House, a fireproof building with exterior of brick, limestone and terra cotta requiring an expenditure of $250,000. As construction gets quickly underway, a partnership is formed with A.H. Woods who came on board with an interest of one-third and an interest in management as well. There is little or no excavation to be done and the then estimated 2,500 seats house is expected to be ready by December. This partnership with A.H. Woods is perceived by many in the industry as a game changer. It is seen either as an attempt by the two firms to break free from the Syndicates or an attempt to become their own Syndicate altogether. Rumors are promptly denied by both parties. It seems unlikely that the Bronx Opera House could have open in November or even December 1912 as announced, construction having started in September. Besides, it would have been odd to open a new theater in the middle of the theatrical season. In the meantime, the development of its direct competitor, Cort and Gersten's Royal Theatre, seems to be plagued with an unnatural number of problems. The first major blow comes in late February 1913 when the Building Department, fed up with the construction being pushed forward despite the numerous violations issued against the building, obtains a court order restraining the contractors from doing any further work until all said violations are cleared up. The most serious is said to be on the walls, which are not of the required thickness. Then two months later, the Shuberts and Klaw & Erlanger announce that they will play all their shows at the Bronx Opera House, shutting out the Royal Theatre. This must have been devastating news to Cort and Gersten. They had started building their theater with the expectation they would play the Shuberts and other shows, now they have to rely primarily on John Cort's attractions. Despite all these hurdles, the Royal Theatre will finally open ten days after the Bronx Opera House on September 8, 1913. The Bronx Opera House is officially dedicated on August 30, 1913 and opens with Eugene Walter's play Fine Feathers〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bronx Opera House」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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