The Holliday Street Theater also known as the New Theatre, New Holliday, Old Holliday, The Baltimore Theatre, and Old Drury, was a historical theatrical venue in Federal Period

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. It is known for showing the first performance of Francis Scott Key's "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

History

The New Theater on Holliday Street was founded by two business partners in 1794 and was opened to the public on September 25, 1795. The theater showcased a variety of acts, including comedy, dance, music ensembles, and opera. It also hosted a production of

John Howard Payne John Howard Payne (June 9, 1791 – April 10, 1852) was an American actor, poet, playwright, and author who had nearly two decades of a theatrical career and success in London. He is today most remembered as the creator of "Home! Sweet Home ...

's opera ''

Clari ''Clari'' is an opera semiseria in three acts by Fromental Halévy, to an Italian libretto by Pietro Giannone. It was first produced at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris on 19 December 1828. ''Clari'' was based on a popular novella, the storyline o ...

'' in the early 1800s. As the theater's popularity grew, management decided to demolish the existing wooden building (which was now known as Old Holliday Theater), and replace it with a new brick one. The new venue opened in May 1813 as The Baltimore, though eventually it retained its name as the Holliday Street Theater. Over time, it came to be known informally as Old Drury. On October 19, 1814, lyrics from Francis Scott Key's poem "Defence of Fort McHenry" set to the tune of "

To Anacreon in Heaven "The Anacreontic Song", also known by its incipit "To Anacreon in Heaven", was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London. Composed by John Stafford Smith, the tune was later used ...

" were performed onstage at the theater; it was so enthusiastically received that the performance was repeated for several nights afterward. As the song – now known as The Star-Spangled Banner – gained in popularity, it was accompanied by an illuminated scene of the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

Fort McHenry Fort McHenry is a historical American coastal pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack ...

. The song would be adopted as the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

a century later. The theater was shuttered in the late 1840s, and in 1854 was purchased by

John T. Ford John Thompson Ford (April 16, 1829 – March 14, 1894) was an American Theatre director, theater manager and politician during the nineteenth century. He is most notable for operating Ford's Theatre at the time of the Abraham Lincoln assassinatio ...

, the theater manager who would go on to operate

Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in August 1863. The theater is infamous for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater bo ...

and

Ford's Grand Opera House Ford's Grand Opera House was a major music venue in Baltimore, Maryland, located on West Fayette Street between North Howard and Eutaw Streets. It was founded by theatre manager John T. Ford (also the owner of infamous Ford's Theatre in Washingto ...

. The Holliday Street Theater was damaged by fire in 1873; Ford rebuilt it and eventually sold it back to those from whom he had bought it. The building again fell into disrepair and was finally converted into a motion picture theater. It was demolished in 1917 to make room for the

War Memorial Plaza War Memorial Plaza is a public square, small park and space in Downtown Baltimore between City Hall and the War Memorial Building, between Holliday Street on the west, East Fayette Street on the south, North Gay Street on the east, and East Lexi ...

. The site is located between the War Memorial Building and Baltimore City Hall.

References

1794 establishments in Maryland Music venues in Baltimore Demolished music venues in the United States History of Baltimore Theatres in Baltimore Demolished buildings and structures in Baltimore Buildings and structures demolished in 1917 {{US-theatre-stub