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.

Was Buffalo Bill in Your Backyard?

Ad on left Erie Evening Herald, July 2, 1898; ad on right Erie Evening Herald, June 15, 1901.

Was Buffalo Bill in your backyard?

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show performed in Erie, Pennsylvania seven times between 1884 and 1916. Chances are pretty good that he played in your backyard, or paraded down your street on the way to your backyard. 

For instance, Cody's July 9, 1898 show was held in a field at 23rd and Parade owned by the Charles M. Reed estate. A stream cut through the middle of the block, which was bordered by Parade and Wallace between 22nd and 23rd Streets. 

If he didn't play in your yard, there's a chance that your grandparents or great-grandparents attended one of his performances. "Thousands were on hand to witness a street parade...The Indians, about eighty in all, resplendent in feather head-dress, paint, bells, etc., mounted upon their lithe and wiry mustangs, rode in amity with the Cowboys."

The Wild West Show was a huge production that was regularly updated. "Another new feature is a series of tableaux, depicting the famous Custer massacre, participated in by a number of Indians who fought against Custer on that memorable day in 1876. Among them is Red Horn Bull, who had a portion of his jawbone shot away by General Custer. Flat Iron, old and shrunken of limb, but rugged and active despite his 73 years, was at the head of the Indian warriors." -Erie Daily Times, July 9, 1898.

Annie Oakley was one of the stars of the Wild West Show. She began touring with Cody in 1885.

Cody's June 21, 1901 was staged under big tents at 8th and Cranberry in Erie, PA on property owned by Charles H. Strong. At the time, Cranberry was the western border of the City of Erie on the lower west side. Cody set up shop in a field was near the present-day Japan Street, just a few blocks from Frontier Park. "There are forty Sioux with the show...Chief Whirlwind is at the head of this tribe." -Erie Morning Dispatch, June 22, 1901. 

Here's an interesting observation about the size and scale of the show. "There is one feature about the show that may not have been appreciated by the thousands who looked at it from their seats, but which is worth remembering, and that is that every war that has occurred on this globe during the past thirty years- no matter in what country- was represented by men who had been actual participants in the battles...In August, after a tour of the Northwest, it will reach the Pan-American exposition and probably be located there a month or more." -Erie Daily Times, June 21, 1901.

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show performed at the Peach Street circus grounds on at least two occasions, July 15, 1907 and May 13, 1916.

Before he took his Wild West Show on the road, Col. William F. Cody performed at the Park Opera House on North Park Row a number of times. To learn more about this era of his career (1872 to 1876), be sure to check out the book Buffalo Bill On Stage by Erie native Sandra K. Sagala: http://www.amazon.com/Buffalo-Bill-Stage-Sandra-Sagala/dp/0826344275/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350012098&sr=8-1&keywords=sandra+k+sagala

Erie, PA Theaters in 1918: Columbia, Strand, Majestic and More

Erie, PA Theaters in 1918: Columbia, Strand, Majestic and more

Erie County Department of Health rating of movie theaters in 1918.

There were 17 theaters in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1918. Five of them were on Parade Street: the Isis, the Keystone, the New Wilkay, the Plaza and the White Eagle. Three theaters were on State Street, including the Nixon, the Princess and the Strand (the Warner Theatre didn't open until 1931).

Only four of the theaters had excellent sanitary conditions: the Strand, the Columbia, the Colonial and the Majestic. 

Joanne Marchant Heim added, "I never knew the Hillcrest was originally called the Hippodrome!!! The Strand and the Columbia were owned by Warner Bros. They could well afford to keep up their theaters and even build more, like the Warner during the Depression, thanks to Sam Warner. In 1926, he convinced his brothers to work with a sound engineering company called Western Electric and together they formed Vitaphone. The rest is history."

You might recognize some of the theaters in this list because they also appeared in an article on Old Time Erie called Erie Theaters in 1948: Warner, Columbia, Strand, Regent and more.

Enjoy more fun historical facts about Erie, PA at: Old Time Erie