Boyd's Theater and Opera House

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Boyd's Theater and Opera House
Boyd's Theater and Opera House
Interactive map of Boyd's Theater and Opera House
Address1621 Harney Street
Omaha, Nebraska
United States
Coordinates 41°15′24″N95°56′15″W / 41.25655°N 95.93747°W / 41.25655; -95.93747
OwnerJames E. Boyd, later Burgess-Nash Co.
TypeTheater and Opera House
Capacity2,000
Construction
OpenedSeptember 3, 1891 (1891-09-03)
ClosedFebruary 2, 1920
Years active1891–1920

Boyd's Theater and Opera House was a theater and opera house at 1621 Harney Street in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska. [1] It was demolished in 1920 and the property redeveloped for the then owner's department store business. [1]

Contents

History

The first Boyd's Opera House in Omaha was built in 1881 at 15th and Farnam Streets by James E. Boyd. [1] In addition to serving as Nebraska's governor and Omaha's mayor, Boyd was a successful railroad and real estate developer. [1] One of the first celebrities to appear at the original Boyd's was Oscar Wilde in 1882. [2] After the original Boyd Opera House burned twelve years later, Boyd built his new 2,000-seat theater and opera house at 17th and Harney Streets. [1] [3]

The new five story theater was constructed on an iron framework with a pressed red brick exterior. [1] There was retail space on the street level, and office space within the interior. [1] The total cost of construction and furnishings was $250,000. [1] The Boyd Theater's stage was 78 feet wide, 40 feet deep and 60 feet high. [3] The curtain drops were 26 feet by 46 feet. [3] The proscenium was modeled after an ornate arch in the Taj Mahal. [3] The theater was decorated in tones of sage green and soft tones of olive to complement the electric lighting throughout. [3]

There were 17 full sets of scenery when the theater opened on September 3, 1891. [3] The first play presented on the house's stage was Alabama, with Thomas F. Boyd as the theater's manager. [4] One particularly elaborate production of Henry V required the theater to accommodate 10 train cars of armour, 200 trunks of costumes, 167 professional actors and 21 full sets. [3] Once local actors were added to the production, the cast ultimately rose to 300. [3] The Boyd Theater was capable of handling even productions of this size. [3]

Some of the most prominent actors of the time appeared on the Boyd Theater's stage. English Shakespearean actors Sir Henry Irving and Dame Ellen Terry appeared twice in Omaha. [3] The first time was April 20 and 21, 1900 with the productions of Merchant of Venice , Nance Oldfield and The Bells . Their second appearances occurred on December 31, 1901, and January 1, 1902. [3] Other toasted performers to grace Boyd Theater's stage included: Otis Skinner, E. H. Sothern, John Drew, Walker Whiteside, Robert B. Mantell Joseph Jefferson, Leslie Carter, Julia Marlowe, Ethel Barrymore and Maude Adams. [3]

A man bled to death in the wings of the Boyd Theater during one performance, with no one in the audience the wiser. [3] A song and dance man, Jim Mulligan, died after being stabbed by Arthur Sprague, a stage manager, after making an offensive comment about Mrs. Sprague. [3]

Sarah Bernhardt in La Tosca, circa 1887 Felix Nadar - Sarah Bernhardt in La Tosca 1887.jpg
Sarah Bernhardt in La Tosca, circa 1887

In 1905, Sarah Bernhardt appeared on the Boyd Theater stage in La Tosca . [1] Bernhardt traveled with her own custom railway car. [3] Also traveling with her on the train was her own carriage, a team of black horses, and a French coachman and hostler. [3] The entire city knew when Bernhardt was in town. [3]

Omaha-born pianist Frances Nash, who would later marry Edwin Watson, friend and senior advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, often performed at Boyd's Theater. [5] [6]

The man primarily responsible for the quality and the variety of the shows appearing on the Boyd Theater's stage was William J. Burgess. [3] Burgess had been involved in theaters since the age of 12. [3] He initially came to Omaha to manage the Grand Opera House and later managed the original Boyd Theater. [3] When the Creighton Orpheum Theater opened, he served as its manager for two years. [3] Once that theater joined the Orpheum Circuit, he took over the management of the second Boyd Theater and set about making it the premier live theater venue in Omaha. [3] He introduced the first mail-order tickets in town and strived to book the premier acts. He even opened an acting school for fledgling dramatists. [3] But even Burgess's efforts could not sway the audiences changing tastes towards motion pictures and the rising costs of mounting a live stage production. [3]

In 1914, Boyd's Theater was sold to the Burgess-Nash Company for $231,000. [7] Initially they continued to manage it as a theater, but as the competition from talking movies increased, the company eventually closed the theater. [1] The last performance in the theater was on February 2, 1920. [3] It was demolished in 1920 and the property redeveloped for their department store business. [1] Currently, the property houses the Omaha Public Power District's downtown office. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Jeffrey S. Spencer [researcher and writer], Kristine Gerber [project director] (2003). Building for the ages : Omaha's architectural landmarks (1st ed.). Omaha, Neb.: Omaha Books. p. 20. ISBN   0-9745410-1-X.
  2. ↑ "Oscar Wilde lectures at Boyd's in Omaha".
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Fanders, R. H. (October 6, 1963). "When Omaha Had Its Golden Age of Theater". The Omaha World-Herald Newspaper, Omaha, Douglas County, NE, USA. pp. 126–127.
  4. ↑ "Raze Boyd Theater Soon For New Store". The Omaha World-Herald Newspaper, Omaha, Douglas County, NE, USA. June 10, 1919. p. 4.
  5. ↑ "Nash-Hamlin Recital". The Omaha Bee News Newspaper, Omaha, Douglas County, NE, USA. February 1, 1916. p. 5. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Gives Over Life of Ease for Art She Loves". The Omaha Sunday Bee News Newspaper, Omaha, Douglas County, NE, USA. January 23, 1916. p. 1. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Boyd Theater Building Is Sold". The Omaha Sunday Bee Newspaper, Omaha, Douglas County, NE, USA. May 17, 1914. p. PART THREE, Page 8-C, Image 36. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
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