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Academy of
Music
(14th St.
between 3rd Ave. & Irving Place,
New York)
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| Built |
1845 |
| Location |
14th
St. between 3rd Ave. &
Irving Place |
| Architect(s) |
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| Developer/Manager |
Colonel
James Mapelson |
| 1st
Production |
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| Major
Productions |
Opera,
then minstrel shows, drama
concerts, vaudeville &
finally motion pictures |
| Joseph
Haworth's Appearances |
Joseph
Haworth's brother William
played Sgt. Keller in August
Thomas' Arizona
at the Academy of Music in
the Spring of 1900. |
| Demolished |
burned
down in 1866, immediately
rebuilt, demolished in 1926
to make way for Consolidated
Edison
skyscraper |
| Interesting
Facts |
It
was built with donations
from wealthy New Yorkers at
a time when the area near
Union Square was an affluent
neighborhood. The building
was lavish and had a stage
sufficiently large for grand
opera, many private and
stage boxes, and about 4,000
seats upholstered in crimson
velvet; the interior of the
hall was painted white an
gold and illuminated by
thousands of gaslights.
Irving Hall, an annex at
Irving Place and 15th
Street, was the home of the
New York Philharmonic in
1861-63. In several seasons
from 1856-86 the
Philharmonic performed in
the main theatre of the
Academy, which for thirty
years was the principal
venue for foreign opera
singers visiting the city.
But when the Metropolitan
Opera House was built
uptown, the Academy lost its
opera audience to the newer
house. |
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| (click
photo to enlarge) |
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| Engraving |
Ballroom of the Academy of Music
c1880 |
The fire on May 21, 1866 |
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William Haworth & The Academy
of Music
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After spending much of the 1890’s
as a playwright, William Haworth returned to acting in Augustus
Thomas’ Arizona. The play had enjoyed a successful run
at the Herald Square Theatre
during the 1900 season and was to be remounted for an August 1901
reopening at the vast Academy of Music. At the Herald Square
Theatre, the United States Cavalry was represented by off-stage
sounds of horse hooves and shouts. At the Academy of Music, forty
horses dashed upon the stage, their riders covered with perspiration
and alkali dust. Also, with great press attention and fanfare,
William Haworth joined the cast for the reopening.
Rehearsals took place in the July
heat on a stock farm out on Long Island. A sergeant of the United
States Calvary was hired to drill the riders and their mounts.
Frederic Remington and Walter Burridge’s original set designs were
re-built on a massive scale. The August 19, 1901 opening was a
signal success, with Kirk LaShelle and Fred R. Hamlin’s staging
drawing huge crowds to the Academy of Music during Arizona’s long
run. In 1902, the spectacular production crossed the Atlantic, where
William Haworth got to perform the role of "Sergeant
Keller" for London audiences. |
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