The St. Charles Theatre was a

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, United States, between 1835 and 1967. It was founded by

James H. Caldwell James Henry Caldwell (1793–1863), was an English-born American actor, theatre manager and entrepreneur. Known as New Orleans "Father of Light", he owned the New Orleans Gas Light Company, making New Orleans the fourth city in the United States ...

to replace the

Camp Street Theatre The Camp Street Theatre, American Theatre, or Old American Theatre was a theater in New Orleans between 1824 and 1835.Robin O. Warren, Women on Southern Stages, 1800-1865: Performance, Gender and Identity It was founded by James H. Caldwell to rep ...

and was for a time the only

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

theater in New Orleans. It was considered the finest theater building in America in 1835. It burnt down in 1842 but was rebuilt in 1843, then burnt and rebuilt a third time in 1899. In the late 1870s, it was purchased by

Gilbert R. Spalding "Dr." Gilbert Reynolds Spalding, sometimes spelled Spaulding, (14 January 1812 – 6 April 1880) was an American showman, circus owner and innovator, being the first to own his own showboat, constructed the first showboat to contain an entire ...

and David Bidwell with the intent of restoring the theater to its previous first-rate position, but those plans were ended by Spalding's death in 1880.Obituary for 'Dr' Gilbert R. Spalding - '' New York Clipper'', New York, 17 April 1880 It was segregated until the signing of the

Civil Rights Act of 1875 The Civil Rights Act of 1875, sometimes called the Enforcement Act or the Force Act, was a United States federal law enacted during the Reconstruction era in response to civil rights violations against African Americans. The bill was passed by the ...

and a few days later civil rights activists and legislators T. B. Stamps and

Aristede Dejoie Aristede Dejoie (died 1917) was a businessman and state legislator in Louisiana. He served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1872 to 1874 and 1877 to 1879. He also served as a tax assessor. He and T. B. Stamps asserted ...

attended play that was reported in newspapers across the country.

References

19th century in New Orleans Former theatres in the United States 1835 establishments in Louisiana Theatres completed in 1835 {{US-theat-struct-stub