All-Star Cast of 1874 Erie Play

Naiad Queen tintype courtesy of John Baker.

The Naiad Queen, under the direction of Arthur McKnight, opened at the Park Opera House in downtown Erie, PA on June 23, 1874. The all-star cast included notable members of several founding families of Erie. Mrs. T. M. Walker starred in the title role of Stalacta, the Naiad Queen. Mrs. J. P. Covert was Astrea, the Goddess of Justice, and Agnes Caughey was Clementia, the Goddess of Mercy.

"We have no hesitation in pronouncing it the best amateur entertainment ever witnessed in the city...The perfection to which Mr. McKnight has trained his 300-400 pupils is simply wonderful.:" -Erie Observer, June 25, 1874.

The production was quite elaborate, as witnessed by the costumes worn by two members of the cast in shown in this tintype. Pictured here are George Smart, a page to the Queen, and Jeannie Smart, an attendant of the Gypsy Queen. 

Arthur McKnight's students practiced the operetta for several months. The show cost $2,500 to produce, quite a large sum in 1874. There were five consecutive performances from June 23 through June 27, 1874 in the plush Opera House at 28 North Park Row. In addition to George and Jeannie Smart, the other performers included Sophia Warfel, Emma Mayo, Aggie Sterrett, Jessie Riblet, Jessie Thayer, Katie Kennedy, Lulu Sturznickle, Emily Foote, Maud Hoskinson, Clara Sherwood, Samuel Magill and Emil Jarecki.

Enjoy more fun facts and photos of historic Erie, Pennsylvania at: Old Time Erie

Magician Blackstone at Park Opera House 1919

-ad in Erie Evening Herald, Sunday, May 4, 1919.

Harry Blackstone, Sr., the World's Master Magician, made quite a splash when he performed at the Park Opera House, 28 North Park Row in Erie, May 5-7, 1919. Blackstone was on the vaudeville circuit at the time. Prices for the matinee show on May 7th were 25¢ and 50¢; tickets for the evening shows ranged from a quarter to 75¢.

According to an article in the Erie Evening Herald, Blackstone performed with an entourage of beautiful women on stage. His act at that time included 'The Hand of Death,' and 'Magic, hypnotism, spiritualism, illusion, mind reading, card trickery and many other marvelous tricks.

The Park Opera House was torn down to make way for the Greyhound Station on North Park Row.

Greyhound Station at Perry Square Erie PA

"Sleek, streamlined, stripped of detail, the Art Moderne style became the architectural symbol of the Motor Age during the 1930s. Roadside motels and diners, gasoline and bus stations became new fixtures on the American scene; in this outgrowth of the European International Style of the 1920s, the fast-paced nature of American life found its perfect expression.

Built in 1939 on the site of the demolished Park Opera House, Erie's Greyhound bus terminal was designed by W. A. Arrasmith of Louisville, Kentucky, a nationally-known transportation architect responsible for dozens of Greyhound facilities in nearby states.

The glazed exterior surface, the sleek curvi-linear floor plan, the liberal use of glass brick and aluminum, make this Moderne building take on a streamlined, machinelike appearance expressive of America's newfound fascination with high-speed highway transportation.

The building is Erie's only pure example of the Art Moderne style and was incorporated into the National Register of Historical Places in 1979 as part of the West Park Place historic district. Recent exterior renovations, however, have stripped the terminal of much of its original character."
-article by Tom Weber, used with permission of the author. Here is a link to Tom Weber Films: http://tomweberfilms.com

-ads in Erie Dispatch, March 22, 1940.