Ford's Grand Opera House was a major

music venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Ty ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

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

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

where President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

was assassinated, April 14, 1865) and designed by architect James J. Gifford. The opera house/theatre opened to the public on October 2, 1871, with a show that included readings from Shakespeare's ''"

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

"'' as well as vocal and orchestral performances. Then owned by 1950s–60s era theatre magnate Morris A. Mechanic, it closed almost 93 years later with its last Broadway show from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, " Something Funny Happened on the Way to the Forum" in 1964. It was replaced three years later as the prime site for Baltimore live theatre patrons with the opening in the landmark of the new downtown redevelopment project of Charles Center, the starkly modernistic "Brutalist" architecture of the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre at the southwest corner of

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

and Baltimore Streets, four blocks to the east. The Ford Opera house was later the site of newspaper publisher of the ''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...

'',

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congres ...

's nomination as the Liberal Republican Party candidate from a split Republican Party for the 1872 American Presidential election versus regular Republican Party candidate, incumbent 18th President,

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

and Democratic candidate Seymour, who was reelected.

Protests (1946-1952)

The allure of the theatre attracted many kinds of people. Starting in 1946, Civil Rights activists in Baltimore such as Adah Jenkins began to picket the Ford's Grand Opera House. This demonstration was a direct result of the Jim Crow policies at the time, which led to segregation in seating, accommodation, and ticket availability for people of colored skin. The Ford Theatre gave specific seating to African-Americans, often in the third row of the theatre. During this period, Civil Rights activists were able to make an impact on the segregation policies of Baltimore's theatres to the point where it was recognized by the NAACP.Brown, Milton P. Letter to Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Hollander. Sidney Hollander Papers, MS 2044, March 4, 1949, MdHS After six years of protesting, Ford's Opera House desegregated in 1952. Fords theatre had been operating under segregation since its opening in 1871. After multiple appeals to actors and other influential people in the community, officials in charge of the theatre agreed on the desegregation of the theatre, saying that it would add to the welfare of colored people and help aid in the betterment of race relations. To help end segregation in Ford's theatre, protestors enlisted the help of the NAACP, playwrights, actors, and more which proved to be very effective in bringing awareness to the community. Even Government officials found themselves speaking out against the segregation of Ford's theatre such as Governor McKeldin, when he called the segregation, offensive, illogical, and absurd.

References

External links

Baltimore Almost Broadway
* https://mdhs.org/sites/default/files/cxvj.pdf Music venues in Baltimore 1964 disestablishments in Maryland Theatres completed in 1871 1871 establishments in Maryland Event venues established in 1871 {{music-venue-stub