By Tom Collins 

For decades, the Sharlot Hall Museum has possessed in its archives a fine photo entitled "Interior of an unidentified opera house, c. 1890s." And, since the Museum lacks photos of the interiors of the Prescott Theatre on the corner of Alarcon and Liberty streets (1878-1883); the so-called Prescott (or Bashford's) Opera House in the Howey building on the southeast corner of Cortez and Goodwin (1884-99); nor Patton's Opera House on the south side of West Gurley Street (1894-1897) (or known later as Dake's Opera House from 1897-1903); this, until-now unidentifiable photo, is a rare historical artifact of some significance and curiosity.

Is it the Prescott Opera House, Patton's Opera House, the Elks Theatre, an out-of-town theatre, or, in fact, just one of the many 'halls' in Prescott occupied by secret societies? Is this a theatrical performance or a ritual installation of secret society officers? And who is the little girl with the blackened face? 

The mystery has now been solved. On November 14, 2006, the writer of this article and Ryan Flahive, director of the Sharlot Hall Museum Archives, upon applying a large magnifying glass to the right-hand edge of the photo, recognized the fragment of a large theatre poster as an ad for a coming attraction. Of the play's title, only the letters "T," "Co," and "L" are visible, but immediately below are the words, "by Clyde," and a list of other plays whose titles are also partly cut off. This writer identified the playwright as the one and only Clyde Fitch (1865-1909), one of America's most famous and popular dramatists at the turn of the century. The coming attraction above his name was one of his then-current hits, "The Cowboy and the Lady," first produced in New York in 1899, and, according to an Arizona Daily Journal Miner notice of December 21, 1901, due to play in Prescott. The photo cannot possibly be from the 1890s because three of Fitch's plays listed on the poster: "Sapho," "Captain Jinx of the Horse Marines" and "Lovers Lane" did not premiere until late 1900 and February of 1901. 

What about the tableau of men on the stage? From the fact that several of the men are in black face, we may speculate that this is a minstrel show. One can see tambourines in a few of the mens' hands. On the back of the photo, the two center men in the front row of the audience and eight of the people on stage have already been identified (one incorrectly). Browsing through the newspapers of late 1901, this writer discovered notices of the Elks' Minstrel Show, to be performed at the 'opera house' on December 5, 1901, and a detailed review that followed the performance written on December 6. (Note: the Elk's Opera House was not built until 1904-05.) 

Since the width and height of the proscenium arch clearly exceed the dimensions of the theatre in the Howey building, there is no question that this photo depicts Dake's Opera House (formerly known as Patton's Opera House, after its architect Samuel Eason Patton). In 1897, Patton sold the theatre to the widow of Major C.P. Dake (Catherine), who then went into business with her son, Charles, the owner of a local saloon and a thriving mercantile business. They added a fly loft and enlarged the stage to the size seen in this photo. 

In the photo are several dignitaries of Prescott's social, legal, and business life. Seated at the center is Ed Campbell, the 'interlocutor' of the minstrel show. He "performed the duties of the position, as if that had been his business for years, being perfectly composed and self possessed, and delivered his lines without hesitation or any afffectation." "It is no disparagement to the others to say that the gem of the evening was a solo by E. S. Campbell, who received a rousing encore" (Arizona Daily Journal Miner, Dec. 6, 1901). Behind him, in the back row, third from the left, stands Ed Block, the proprietor of a men's clothing business. The sentimental soloists were tenors H. M. Thomas and Ed Litt, and bassos Frank E. Andrews and Hedrick D. Aitken. Andrews, seated fifth from the right in the first row, owned and operated the local horseshoeing shop. Aitken, fourth from the right next to Andrews, moved from Nova Scotia with his brothers, John and Alvord, and went to work for Levi Bashford, of the famous Bashford-Burmister Co., in 1886. A talented singer and business manager, Aitken became the co-manager of Bashford's Opera House in the Howey building in 1891. He and B.M. Goldwater remodeled that theatre and opened it with a rousing performance of "H.M.S.Pinafore," in which Aitken played Captain Corcoran. He went on to play the Judge in Gilbert & Sullivan's "Trial by Jury" at Patton's Opera House (Sept., 1896) and sang in several concerts there. 

The biggest hits of the evening were the comic songs. Leon Hahn, an out-of-towner and future director of the Prescott Stock Company (an amateur theatre troupe that performed plays at Dake's Opera House in 1902) directed the entire minstrel show and favored the enthusiastic audience with monologues, dances, and a hilarious song, "The Minstrel Man." He was repeatedly recalled until he was exhausted and had to ask the audience to excuse him. His fellow Prescott actor, Milton Tregalles, seated in the front row second from the right, sang the comic song, "I've Got a Gal for Every Day of the Week." Another future Prescott Stock Company actor, H. L. Parsons, warbled "The Medicine Man." Local attorney, Joseph E. Morrison, who acted in several of Prescott's amateur productions, sang "Goo-goo Eyes." (A political prankster, Morrison once attended a democratic rally in Prescott and buffaloed everyone by delivering a republican speech!) Harry Ling, the eight-year-old son of Reese M. and Nellie Ling sang, "Little Black Me" in an affecting manner. Parsons, Hahn, Tregalles, and Morrison "raised suspicions that they were no strangers to burnt cork" with their superb makeup jobs and their mastery of their musical instruments. 

Attorney P. A. Altman made his stage debut in a number called, "Just a Few Words," in which he kept the audience in an uproar of laughter as the "colored comedian from Texas." G. D. Jenkins surprised and delighted the audience with his "dextrous manipulations of his banjos." W. J. Craft did some clever feats in tumbling and balancing, while Harry Cotton and his company of "Coleville Coon Cadets" furnished a pleasant number. The Olympic musical sextette, composed of L.N. Tobey, F.C. Little, H.K. Major, W.S. Widenor, E.A. Sanford, and J. H. Brown, played a lively number on five mandolins and a guitar. 

Standing at the interlocutor's left hand was the 'Shirley Temple' (or 'Baby June') of Prescott, Miss Maud Hanna. A popular favorite with local audiences, "The little lady has appeared at a number of entertainments, but never has she made such a decided hit as she did last evening." Her solo song "set the audience wild." The ten-year-old daughter of Henry and Caroline Hanna, Maud amazed everyone with the song-and-dance routines she performed between the acts of the plays presented by the Prescott Stock Company in 1902. 

The concluding scene was an emotional appeal for Arizona statehood. Maud Hanna appeared as Columbia, while Master Harry Ling "dressed in the proverbial garb of Uncle Sam. Across his breast was pinned a banner of Arizona," prospective of the young state. He marched to the front of the stage where all could see the banner and then turned to go to the rear of the stage when the string to statehood appeared to the audience in great, big letters on his back - "May Be" (Miner, Dec. 6). In another ten years and two months, that desire would be fulfilled. 

Lavish professional minstrel shows, with both all-white and all-black casts, and once with an all-female troupe, attracted huge crowds at Dake's (formerly Patton's) Opera House between 1894 and 1903. By 1910 or so, these much-beloved variety shows, so popular with turn-of-the-century audiences, were replaced on the professional stage by Vaudeville. Amateur performances continued sporadically into the 1950s, but with the burgeoning civil rights movement minstrel shows came to be perceived as 'politically incorrect' and gradually disappeared from the American stage. Dake's Opera House building, only nine years old, was torn down in April of 1903, but our museum's priceless photo will forever serve as a reminder of its glory-days. 

(Tom Collins is a volunteer in the Sharlot Hall Museum Archives.) 

Our readers' thoughts... 

posted May 8, 2007 

It's amazing how much we can rediscover about the past from a single photo, painstakingly researched. Thanks so much for bringing this theatrical moment back to life a full century later. 

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(bui201p)
Reuse only by permission.
The former "unidentified opera house" photo, now identified as Dake's Opera House, c. 1901, in this historical photo found in the Sharlot Hall Museum archives. 

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(bub8030pe)
Reuse only by permission.
On the southeast corner of Gurley and Marina Streets, Dake's Opera House (formerly Patton's) is the center building on this photo (undated) with the Yavapai Club on the right of the photo.