Branches of Baltimore History

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The oldest remaining burlesque theater in Baltimore, the Gayety (Map) was once a major stop on the burlesque circuit, and famous comedians and strippers used to fill the 1,600-seat house. Designed by preeminent theatre designers J.B. McElfatrick & Sons of New York, the Gayety uses Baroque and Art Nouveau ornament in a whimsical way to advertise the entertainment within. For the first half of the 20th century, “The Block” of East Baltimore Street thrived with vaudeville, burlesque and movie theaters, as well as with bars, nightclubs and restaurants. Gutted by fire in 1969, only the facade of the Gayety remains.

39° 17′ 23.11″ N 76° 36′ 36.67″ W

The Holliday Street Theatre used to be located directly across from Baltimore’s City Hall, at the present site of War Memorial Plaza.  Junius Brutus Booth, the father of John Wilkes Booth, made his first American appearance in the historic playhouse, as did the Star-Spangled Banner.  Aside from Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre, the Holliday was the oldest in the country, having been built in 1785.  A plaque is located at the base of War Memorial Plaza’s southern flagstaff marking the original spot of the building.

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“Built by Thomas Wignell and Alexander Reinagle in 1794, it was a wooden structure and stood on Holliday Street near Peale’s Museum and directly across from the site of Baltimore’s future city hall. Although it was officially the New Theatre, it soon became known as the Holliday. Later managers included William Warren and William B. Wood. After playing there John Howard Payne noted, “The attraction was the acting, not the scenery, of which the less said the better, nor the comfort experienced by the audience, since the seats were long, uncushioned benches without backs.” In 1813 it was replaced by a brick structure called the Baltimore Theatre, but again called the Holliday by Baltimoreans. “The Star Spangled Banner” received its first public performance there in 1819. The playhouse burned in 1873 and was rebuilt with a similar facade by John T. Ford, finally officially called the Holliday Street Theatre. Management was later assumed by John W. Albaugh. Long known as Baltimore’s “Old Drury,” it remained an important playhouse until shortly before its demolition in 1917.”

On the second floor of City Hall numerous memorial sculptures and tablets are on public display.  Two statues, one of Thomas Gordon Hayes and one of William Pinkney Whyte, dominate the group.  The former Baltimore City mayors were sculpted by Edward Berge (Hayes) and Hans Schuler (Whyte), adding to the large number of local public statues created by the pair.  Another Schuler sculpture honoring the 100th anniversary of the Star-Spangled Banner is also nearby.

The Parkway Theatre (Map) was built in 1915 at what was then the northern edge of Baltimore City.  The 1000 seat auditorium has seen various phases through the years, but has mainly been used as a cinema house.  The building shut its doors in 1998, unable to deal with North Avenue’s decline.  However, there is a potential plan in place (or two) to revitalize the structure along with other buildings in the North Avenue vicinity.

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“Designed by Oliver B. Wright, The Parkway Theatre was patterned in the Louis XIV style after the West End Theatre near Leicester Square in London and envisioned as a Vaudeville performance house with about 1100 seats. It was acquired and remodeled in 1926 by the Loews organization and later, in 1952, acquired and closed by the Morris Mechanic organization. It reopened in 1956 as the Five West Art Theatre and remained under that operation until the mid-1970s, when it again closed. It was reopened in the early 1990s in an attempt to make commercial office space in the rear orchestra level, but it closed and has remained vacant since 1998.”