Hello again, welcome back to Where & When! As we return to our regularly scheduled mayhem after the holiday, we adjust our pictures to take a peek into the past and ponder this photo as it unfolds:
A relatively easy one to figure out; obvious clues and all. Perhaps we can find out the name and address of the edifice above, as well as the date this photo was taken, then the first person to correctly deduce both will get a nice barrel of root beer to enjoy throughout the week. The bonus of course would be to tell us both the history of this building and what, if anything, stands in its place now; that will garner you a sundae of your choice. All the rest of us will receive a complimentary glass of cold cream soda.
So, you probably know the rules at this point so don’t let us down; enjoy and we’ll see you back in the afternoon. Cheers!
Photo Credit: Shorpy
Must be the Casino Theatre at1404 Broadway at 39th St. The year is 1900.
(Googling the name of the show got it instantly.)
That very photo is on the theatre's Wikipedia page.
Hm, I got it, but I guess the two links somehow got my comment hung in moderation.
Oh, I think I know why! It's the Cas*no Theatre, but that word looks suspicious to spam-catchers.
39th and Broadway, 1900.
Right, that was it. So, it's 1404 Broadway.
Here's the theatre's Wikipedia page:
http://bit.ly/1z8V0t1
(It has this very picture on it.)
First picture to show up in google pictures for "The Belle of Bohemia" is the shorpy picture, which is the photo credit, so I'm not going there.
Just a general web search brings up the Cas1no Theatre built in 1882, closed and demolished in 1930. 1404 Broadway (W. 39th)
http://www.broadwayworld.com/shows/theatre.php?theatre_id=7167
Trolleys, horse & carriage, no cars, so I'm guessing the 1800s. Bowler hats are prevalent, I'm guessing the 1890s. Googling the address dates that photo to 1900 in wikipedia (with appropriate caveats regarding wikipedia)
Placard below the window reads Belle of Bohemia, and given the listing of what played when, it wasn't winter, so 9/24 - 11/10/ 1900. "Last nights" makes it early November, 1900.
Evelyn Nesbit was one of the chorus girls there. Now it looks like there's just a bland office building there.
Great photo. So much detail. You can even tell which way the wind was blowing via the weather vane atop the building to the right of the Knickerbocker Theatre. And the time of day from the clock on the same building.
And if the 1900 date is correct, then Maude Adams was playing L'Aglion (Napoleon's son) at the Knickerbocker. Can't really make out the title itself in the pic, but it looks like it has an apostrophe in there. That would make it October or later of 1900. Adams would later become the first actress to play Peter Pan on Broadway.