The Arch Street Theatre in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, during the 19th century, was one of the three main Philadelphia theaters for plays; the other two were the

Walnut Street Theatre The Walnut Street Theatre, founded in 1809 at 825 Walnut Street, on the corner of S. 9th Street in the Washington Square West neighborhood of Philadelphia, is the oldest operating theatre in the United States. The venue is operated by the Walnut ...

and the Chestnut Street Theatre. The Arch Street Theatre opened on 1 October 1828 under the management of William B. Wood. The building's architect was

John Haviland John Haviland (15 December 1792 – 28 March 1852) was an English-born American architect who was a major figure in American Neo-Classical architecture, and one of the most notable architects working from Philadelphia in the 19th century. Bio ...

.Arch Street Theatre, Free Library of Philadelphia
/ref>

History

The building which housed the Arch Street Theatre was located between 6th and 7th Streets at 819 Arch Street. Famous performers, such as

Fanny Davenport Fanny Lily Gipsey Davenport (April 10, 1850 – September 26, 1898) was an English-American stage actress. Life The eldest child of Edward Loomis Davenport and Fanny Elizabeth (Vining) Gill Davenport, Fanny Lily Gypsey Davenport was born on A ...

Joseph Jefferson Joseph Jefferson III, commonly known as Joe Jefferson (February 20, 1829 – April 23, 1905), was an American actor. He was the third actor of this name in a family of actors and managers, and one of the most famous 19th century American comedia ...

, and

Charlotte Cushman Charlotte Saunders Cushman (July 23, 1816 – February 18, 1876) was an American stage actress. Her voice was noted for its full contralto register, and she was able to play both male and female parts. She lived intermittently in Rome, in an expa ...

, played at what was popularly called "The Arch".

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth th ...

joined the theatre's stock company in 1857 and played for a full season. He appeared occasionally at the Arch during the 1850s and early 1860s. In the 1830s

Edwin Forrest Edwin Forrest (March 9, 1806December 12, 1872) was a prominent nineteenth-century American Shakespearean actor. His feud with the British actor William Macready was the cause of the deadly Astor Place Riot of 1849. Early life Forrest was born i ...

played many successful roles at the Arch, and several original plays written at his request debuted there. In 1832 the Arch Street Theatre had an entire company of American actors, which was a first for American theater companies. The managers were William Forrest, William Duffy, and William Jones. The company included James E. Murdoch. In 1860 the stockholders of the Arch suggested that

Louisa Lane Drew Louisa Lane Drew (January 10, 1820 – August 31, 1897) was an English-born American actress and theatre owner and an ancestor of the Barrymore acting family. Professionally she was often known as Mrs. John Drew. Life and career Louisa L ...

should assume the management, and in 1861 the theatre was opened under the name "Mrs. John Drew's Arch Street Theatre". Louisa Lane Drew was the grandmother of Lionel,

Ethel Ethel (also '' æthel'') is an Old English word meaning "noble", today often used as a feminine given name. Etymology and historic usage The word means ''æthel'' "noble". It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, b ...

and

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

. In 1875 the theatre became the venue for the first performance of a work by

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

in America when Alice Oates staged an unauthorised and approximate performance of ''

Trial by Jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significant ...

'' here. During the third season under Louisa Lane Drew's management,

Lester Wallack John Johnstone Wallack (January 1, 1820, New York City – September 6, 1888, Stamford, Connecticut), was an American actor-manager and son of James William Wallack and Susan Johnstone. He used the stage name John Lester until October 5, 1858, w ...

, E. L. Davenport, and

Edwin Booth Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American actor who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Theatre in New York. Some theatri ...

acted at the Arch. In the summer of 1863 the theatre was pulled down and rebuilt (with red plush seats and crystal chandeliers) from the stage to the façade; the seating capacity was one thousand, nine-hundred eleven. In 1898 Morris Finkel rented the Arch Street Theatre and presented Yiddish theater for several months, including one week of performances by Keni Liptzin. The prolific Yiddish theatre composer Joseph Brody, recently arrived from Russia, got his American start there as well. However, Finkel soon abandoned the project and the Arch returned to vaudeville. In 1909 Mike (Mordechai) Thomashefsky took over the Arch and presented both vaudeville and Yiddish theatre until his death in 1932. The Arch Street Theater was rented in 1921 as a hall for Jewish High Holiday services. The Arch Street Theatre was demolished in 1936.''America's Longest Run: A History of the Walnut Street Theatre'' by Andrew Davis c.2010

References

External links

Charles N. Mann Manuscript for History of the Arch Street Theatre
at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

{{coord, 39.953380, -75.154486, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title History of theatre Theatres in Philadelphia 19th-century theatre Commercial buildings completed in 1828 History of Philadelphia 1828 establishments in Pennsylvania