|
|
|
Greenlaw Opera House |
|
...Memphis'
First Grand Opera House |
|
|
|
|
|
Built in 1860, the Greenlaw was a 4 story Romanesque
Opera House that had been built with greatness in mind: a
ballroom that could accommodate 300 couples; an opera house
with 8 foot wide doors operated by pulleys and counterweights;
and an auditorium with fifty foot ceilings. It's 200 foot
frontage faced Second Street. The entire ground floor
consisted of shops, stores, and restaurants. Several halls were
available for meetings, lectures, social events and theatrical
productions. But the stage measured only 10 feet deep -
sufficient for singers and speakers but limited for
actors in a theatrical production. Thus there was generally competition between the Greenlaw
Opera House and The Memphis Theatre for the major
productions. |
|
 |
|
Greenlaw Opera
??? |
|
|
|
 |
In 1872 the Greenlaw was extensively renovated and renamed GRAND
OPERA HOUSE. In the 1872, 1873, 1874 Memphis Directories, it's
listed as "Grand Opera House (Greenlaw Building)". Of course, every
building in Memphis seems to have had more than one name at various
times, and folks just continue referring to them by their original
names. However, it's important to note that the old Orpheum
Building at Main and Beale streets was not the first to have the name "Grand
Opera House".
The Greenlaw Opera House is
listed in the 1865 through 1883 Memphis Directories. The
seating capacity was 2200 seats and after the 1872 renovation, the
seating was reduced to 1800. |
|
| |
|
The Greenlaw burned in 1883 and was not rebuilt. A marker for the
Opera House is in place today in Barbaro Alley, just off Second
Street. Although there are numerous
historical references to the Greenlaw building in newspapers and
magazines, we have not been able to
locate a photo or drawing of it.
Finding that elusive drawing or photo
has become our major quest since this website began.
We hope this page will alert folks that we are searching for
it? |
 |
 |
| |
Greenlaw Opera Marker |
Marker
in Barbaro Alley |
|
| |
| |
| |
|
Click on small photos to
enlarge them. |
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| J. O.
Greenlaw and
W. B. Greenlaw |
| |
|
Brothers
John Oliver Greenlaw and William Bowden Greenlaw conceived, planned, and built the
Greenlaw Opera House. In 1861, they were ranked as the fourth
wealthiest men of property in Memphis. They had just built the
first suburb in the city - "Greenlaw". For the architect of the
Opera, they chose the
firm of Fay, Winter, and Foster - the same firm that
had designed the New Memphis Theatre three years earlier. The
foundation was laid during the late summer of 1860 and because of
the Civil War, the first story wasn't completed until the following
year. And work was sporadic during the first year of the war, but
by the end of May 1862, the Daily Appeal reported that "The Greenlaw
Building is nearly complete. The large oriel window at
the top of the front is nearly finished...The main roof is
rapidly progressing". >> |
|
| |
Oriel Window |
|
| |
 |
|
Photo
of
William B.
Greenlaw |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
J.O.Greenlaw
|
W. B. Greenlaw |
Eugene
Greenlaw |
Fannie
Greenlaw |
1855
Directory |
1859
Directory |
1866
Directory |
|
| |
|
By the
early 1860's the brothers had also built the first Memphis suburb
just north of the Bayou Gayoso. It was named "Greenlaw" and
was promoted at the time as "a place away from the hustle and bustle
of the city", The neighborhood attracted
mixed-income families and became a good variety of larger homes and
smaller shot-gun homes. Today, the area is becoming popular
again. |
| |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Greenlaw Suburb |
Greenlaw Suburb - Mill Place |
Coat of
Arms |
Greenlaw
Dishes |
Mill Place 1912 Flood |
|
| |
|
J. O. Greenlaw died in 1864 and in his will
he directed that his brother "...William B. Greenlaw , who
preferred to be called "Bowden", proceed to
finish and complete the building at the corner of Union and Second
Streets in the City of Memphis, known as "Greenlaws Hall". |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
1867 Ad |
Greenlaw - Elmwood |
J. O. Greenlaw |
W. B. Greenlaw |
W. B. Greenlaw Obits ... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Productions and Performers at the
Greenlaw Opera House ...
|
|
|
|
Bookings
at the Greenlaw were limited to the type of theatrical activity that
was available from 1866 to 1878. The season was primarily 40%
plays and 26% Vaudeville. The remaining was equally divided
among lectures, concerts, minstrels, and panoramas. The
tableaux company of "Paradise Lost" ran 3 weeks and drew respectable
audiences, but during the same season a group of gymnasts attracted
standing room only houses. Vaudeville and minstrel
performances were consistently presented. Comedians, acrobats,
magicians, ventriloquists, trapeze performers, concert singers were
booked based on their drawing power. There were twice as
many performances by magicians as there were lecturers. |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
1866 Ad >> |
Charles
Dillon |
Robert Houdin |
1866 Ad >> |
Paradise
Lost Tableau |
"Paradise Lost" |
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
1867 Ad >> |
James Carden |
1867
>> |
1867 Review >> |
Cal Wagner |
1867 Ad >> |
<<La Rue
Minstrels |
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| La Rue's
Misntrels |
1864 Ad |
1869 Ad |
1871 Review |
1874 Ad |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vaudeville
and Minstrel Troupes were booked more often than concert artists.
Magicians would pack the house. To combat the
narrowness of the programming, to coax audiences to the Opera House
and to boost sales, a "give away" of silverware and other gifts was
initiated in 1866 and this would be revived just about every other
year. "Girlie Shows" or shows featuring dancing girls or
girls posing as Greek statues became very popular. The
audience was almost entirely male. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
Greenlaw had its best season in 1872-73. The theatre had been
completely renovated and renamed The Grand Opera House (although
everyone still called it "The Greenlaw"). The managers had
anticipated the public's taste for novelty, and provided a
successful season of dramatic and variety fare.
Audiences flocked to the Opera House. |
 |
 |
 |
| |
History of
Memphis: Greenlaw Opera House |
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
1869 >> |
Harry Macarthy |
1870 Ad >> |
Carlotta
Patti |
1871 >> |
Blind Tom |
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
1871 Ad >> |
Christine Nilsson |
Henri Vieuxtemps |
Pasquale Brignoli |
1873 "Grand" Ad |
1874 Ad >> |
Haselmayer |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The 1873
Program (below) had originally been booked into the Greenlaw Opera
House. The Theatre name on the program has been marked out,
although it is still clearly visible. The program was
re-booked into the Assembly Hall - a concert hall near the current
Orpheum Theatre.
Information is not available why this concert was hastily re-booked,
but it might have been due to the renovation of the Opera not being
finished in time.
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
1873 Program |
1873 Program |
1873 Program |
Ole Bull |
Feranti Rosnati |
Graziella Ridgeway |
|
|
|
|
Commencement
>>
The
Greenlaw Opera House was the city auditorium of choice for
school commencements from 1865 to 1880 much like Ellis
Auditorium was to the schools of 1925 to 1999. This very rare
commencement program for the Memphis City High Schools is from 1875.
It lists early Memphis educator Jennie Higbee as Principal of
the Girl's High School ... >> |
 |
| |
Commencement |
|
|
|
 |
The First Fire!
In
1875, the Greenlaw Opera House suffered it's first fire.
It never fully recovered from this disaster... |
|
1st Fire - 1875 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
By
1876 the Opera House had diminished to second-class status -
partially because the owners had let it fall into disrepair.
Reviewers even felt the need to mention that the theatre had
been "newly cleansed" and "properly heated".
In 1878 the Greenlaw became a temperance hall. No more
"girlie shows". And by late summer of
1878, Yellow Fever
struck again. With a declining population, the character
of the city changed, and the Greenlaw was abandoned during the
epidemics and the after-clean-up campaigns. By
1879 it was advertised as a storehouse and became known as
"that old barn on Second Street. The fire in 1883
might have been a
blessing. While the fire was covered in almost every
newspaper in the country, the local papers mentioned it almost
as an afterthought. |
|
1876
"cleansed" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Managers ...
F. A. Tannehill . Robert McWade . Ben DeBar
. John Stevens . T.W. Davey |
|
|
 |
F.
A. Tannehill was manager of a stock company playing at the
Memphis Odd Fellows Hall. He leased the unfinished Opera
House and planned to form a
corporation to finance the completion of the building and
move his stock company in. That was a failure. His
later choice of developing a program in keeping with the star
system also failed. It had put the Opera in direct
competition with a similar program at the New Memphis Theatre.
This, combined with high operational costs, excessive
taxation, death of a house manager, and his own illness prior
to his opening expanded his "sea of troubles". His
tenure ended after 6 weeks. Ironically, he and his wife
(Mrs. F. A. Tannehill) stayed on as actors with the new company. |
|
F. A. Tannehill |
|
|
|
|
|
Update
10-3-2019 . Nicole Clark of NYC writes:
A
link brought me to the Greenlaw Opera House (at this website)
and I see you have information about my great-grandparents -
Frank Adamson Tannehill and Mrs. F. A. Nellie Tannehill.
I have photos of both of them. Would you like me to email them
to you? My grandfather Frank H. Tannehill, (also listed
on a program, below) and son of F.A, became a father in his
60s to my mother Frances Tannehill in 1922. My mother
was a talented and beautiful actress who passed away in 2013. |
 |
|
|
|
Mrs. F. A. Tannehill |
| |
|
|
Robert McWade
next leased the Opera House and brought in a new
stock company. However the theatre remained under direct
control of W. B. Greenlaw for the next 5 seasons.
That probably was a mistake because this is the period that
the Opera became the "second theatre" for touring companies
unable to lease the New Memphis Theatre. Robert McWade
continued as "acting manager" as well as one of the
popular actors with
the Greenlaw Stock Company. |
 |
| |
|
 |
Ben
DeBar and
John Stevens leased the Opera in 1872. They
completely renovated it and renamed it "The Grand Opera".
And because they delivered numerous stars in rapid succession,
the Opera had it best season ever in 1872-73. They
continued to program great variety and audiences flocked to
the Opera House. DeBar and Stevens were rarely in
Memphis and the theatre was actually managed by the very
popular
T. W. Davey. There were big plans for the
next season but a Yellow Fever epidemic changed all that.
Memphis went into an economic stagnation and so did The Opera
House. It began to be operated on a catch-as-catch-can
arrangement - booking by booking, with no in-house manager. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
"Colored" Gallery
1866 |
Opera
opens 1866 |
McWade - 1898 |
Stevens-DeBar-Davey
1872 |
Frank in 1883 |
Mrs. Tannehill 1914 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Competition
and
Yellow Fever ... |
|
|
|
Programming at the New Memphis Theatre was similar to that at the
Greenlaw Opera House. They were in direct competition - each
faced with booking the same stars, the same dramas, and the same
potential audience. The biggest stars chose the well known New
Memphis Theatre, because it had just been completely renovated and
re-named. Audiences went with the biggest stars.
The Greenlaw simply became the "second theatre" for touring
companies unable to lease the New Memphis Theatre. Yellow
Fever struck again in 1873 with 2,000 deaths, 1878 with 5,000
deaths, and 1879 with 600 deaths. Thousands evacuated the city
each time and the Opera couldn't recover from the declining
population and changing character of the city. |
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
New Memphis
Theatre |
Ad 1863 |
1869 Ad |
Ad 1887 |
Yellow Fever Strikes |
25,000 evacuate - 1878 |
|
|
|
 |
During the 1800's Memphis was a swampy area
and was well known as the filthiest and most foul smelling
city on earth. Open sewers contributed to the
unpleasant odor.
In addition the sewer smell was enhanced by another
smell due to Memphis paving the streets with "Nicholson
Pavement" - which was wooden blocks impregnated with
creosote. These blocks had begun to decay
and send forth a poisonous smell. Plus the soil
was reeking with
the excrements of ten thousand families. And the
city had
no service to carry garbage away. It was
one filthy city with a terrible smell - and the perfect
breeding ground for Yellow Fever.
|
|
Nicolson - decayed |
|
|
|
A major positive side effect came about after the 1879
epidemic, as Memphis leaders embarked on ambitious sanitation
reform. Strict sanitation laws were finally passed
outlawing open privies. Regular trash collection was
instituted, in addition to clearing away all the garbage that
had accumulated since the 1878 epidemic due to lack of funds
to remove it. The decaying wooden paving blocks were
torn up and gravel mixed with limestone roads were laid.
During this "clean-up" the old Greenlaw Opera House had
declined and it was abandoned. |
 |
| |
New sewer system |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fire ... |
|
|
|
On October
8, 1883 the Greenlaw Opera House caught fire around 8 PM. A
building across Barbaro Alley had caught fire first and the fire
jumped across the alley to the Opera. Within a few hours the
building was gone. Fire was
big news during this time and when the burning building was a "temple
of drama" it was even bigger news. Virtually every newspaper in
the country either had an article on the Greenlaw Opera fire, or
mentioned it somewhere in their paper. But in Memphis, the Opera
House had now become known as "that old barn on Second
Street" and the local papers only gave it a casual
mention. |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Fire!!! |
NY Times |
Atlanta Constitution |
Daily Telegraph |
Second - Union today... |
Barbaro Alley-2nd
today |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description of
the Greenlaw Opera House
Excerpts Below - From
Temple to Barn: The Greenlaw Opera House in Memphis,
1860-1880, by Eugene K. Briskow
The Building:
Its
two-hundred-foot frontage facing Second Street, the Greenlaw Block
... comprised two wings and a center, built of ruddy, dry-pressed
brick. Romanesque in style, the wings were divided into four
floors; ground, first, second, and third. The center, soaring to
ninety-three feet above the pavement, featured sixty windows,
exclusive of those on the ground floor, as well as a circular
pediment ornamented with lyres and scroll work. The South Wing
contained court rooms and stores, whereas the North Wing in 1865 was
converted to house the activities of the Memphis Club. The entire
ground floor consisted of shops, stores, and restaurant. |
|
|
|
|
|
Interior organization and
description:
Three halls were available for meetings, lectures, social events and
theatrical productions. The South Wing's third floor, given over to
Chancery Court, provided space for various lectures during the 60s
and 70s. Combining ball room and theatre, the North Wing's third
floor accommodated 300 couples at a dance, or a thousand spectators
at a play, and included a gallery at the east end. Both amateur and
professional companies gave performances in the north wing, usually
identified as either the Greenlaw Opera Hall, or the Memphis Club
Hall. The Third Hall, or the Greenlaw Opera House, was located in
the central part of the Greenlaw Block. Four doors provided
entrance, a door at each corner of both front and rear. The two
front doors, each eight feet wide, were heavy enough to be rigged
with pulleys and counterweights, and each contained an inner green
door, double-hinged to open in as well as out. Once inside the
building, the patron climbed a spacious stairway that led to a
lobby, eleven feet in width, on the first floor. Six doors gave
access to the interior. |
|
|
|
|
|
The Auditorium:
The elliptically shaped auditorium measured 92 feet long, 76 feet
wide, and 50 feet high. Cornices, each 9 feet high, projected from
the walls to arch toward the center, and at a line where the
cornices terminated, the flat ceiling contained a large window.
Smaller windows perforated the dome-like portion of the ceiling
structure. In the center of the auditorium removeable chairs,
placed on level floor, delimited the parquette, or pit. Between the
pit and stage platform, at the west end, lay space for the
orchestra. From the rear of the pit, the floor inclined to form the
dress circle that extended from one side of the state to the other.
The first (family circle) and second galleries surrounded both
parquette and dress circle in the shape of an ellipse. Since the
principal portion of the galleries received its support from the
roof, there were only three columns in the auditorium. Attention
had also been given to the problem of acoustics. Curves were
usually employed in place of angles. The cornices, as well as the
ceilings below the galleries were curved, and the material
separating the auditorium from the lobbies was of wood.
|
| |
| |
|
The First
Renovation:
Originally
designed for concerts and lectures, the Opera House stage, though 54
feet wide, measured only 10 feet deep - quite sufficient for singers
and speakers but severely limited for actors in theatrical
productions. As a result, when the Opera House was completed in
1866, immediate renovations were required. Greenlaw extended the
stage depth, built two dressing rooms at each side of the stage, and
furnished upholstered seats in the parquette, dress circle, and
first gallery. The forestage was also extended and supplied with
scenery. A chandelier with hundreds of gas jets, mounted from the
center dome, illuminated both stage and auditorium, while a steam
heating system was installed to keep the house warm in winter and
cool in summer. With seating capacity at 2,500, the Opera House was
divided as follows: parquette and dress circle - 1000, family
circle - 700, second gallery - 800, Aisle space was advertised as
"wide, plenty of room to pass in front of those who are seated. |
|
|
|
|
|
The Second Renovation:
The second major improvement occurred in 1872 when Ben DeBar
and Jon Stevens leased the Opera House, renamed it the GRAND OPERA
HOUSE, and thoroughly renovated the interior. The stage was raised
a foot higher and extended to 40 feet in depth. A new proscenium
arch cut the opening to 38 feet in width and framed the new drop
curtain designed by Angelo Wiesner. Additional backstage space in
depth and width enabled the management to stage spectacular
productions, replete with new scenery, properties, and furniture.
Alterations in the auditorium included an enlarged orchestra, new
chandeliers and gas brackets, recovered chairs, remodeled galleries,
and frescoed walls. Seating capacity was reduced to 2,200 or to an
$1,800 house. |
|
|
|
|
| Photo or Drawing
of the
Greenlaw Opera House
We know it's "out there"... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Credits |
|
|
|
The
Historic-Memphis website does not intentionally post copyrighted
photos and material without permission or credit.
On
occasion a "non-credited" photo might possibly be posted because we
were unable to find a name to give credit. Because of the nature of
our non-commercial, non-profit, educational website, we strongly
believe that these photos would be considered "Fair Use. We have
certainly made no monetary gain, although those using this website
for historic or Genealogy research have certainly profited. If by
chance,
we have posted your copyrighted photo, please contact us, and we'll
remove it immediately, or we'll add your credit if that's your
choice. In the past, we have found that many photographers
volunteer to have their works included on these pages and we'll
also do that if you contact us with a photo that fits a particular
page. |
|
|
|
The "Historic-Memphis" website would like to acknowledge and thank the
following for their contributions which helped make this website
possible:
Memphis
Public Library, Memphis University Library, Memphis Law Library,
Memphis Commercial Appeal, Memphis Press Scimitar, Shelby County
Register of Deeds, Memphis City Schools, Memphis Business Men's
Club, Memphis Chamber of Commerce, Memphis City Park Commission,
Memphis Film Commision, Carnival Memphis, Memphis Historical
Railroad Page, Memphis Heritage Inc, Beale Street Historic District,
Cobblestone Historic District, Memphis Historic Districts, Vance
Lauderdale Family Archives, Tennessee State Archives, Library of
Congress, Kemmons Wilson Family, Richard S. Brashier, Lee Askew,
George Whitworth, Woody Savage and many individuals whose assistance is
acknowledged on the pages of their contributions. Special
thanks to Memphis Realtor, Joe Spake, for giving us carte blanche
access to his outstanding collection of contemporary Memphis photos.
We do not have high definition copies of the photos on these
pages. If anyone wishes to secure high definition photos,
you'll have to contact the photographer or the collector.
(To avoid any possibility of contributing to SPAM, we do not
maintain a file of email addresses for anyone who contacts us). |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<><><><><> |
|
|
|
|
|
|
