Lafayette Circus (Theatre)
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Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in 1825 as an equestrian circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
arena; in 1826–1827 it was rebuilt into a conventional theatre hall with an orchestra pit
Orchestra pit
An orchestra pit is the area in a theater in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music or in cases when incidental music is required...
and advanced rigging
Rigging
Rigging is the apparatus through which the force of the wind is used to propel sailboats and sailing ships forward. This includes masts, yards, sails, and cordage.-Terms and classifications:...
. It boasted equipment for both equestrian (Hippodrama
Hippodrama
Hippodrama, or horse drama, is a genre of theatrical show blending circus horsemanship display with popular melodrama theatre. Evolving from earlier equestrian circus, pioneered by Philip Astley in the 1760s,, it relied on drama plays written specifically for the genre; trained horses were...
) and aquatic drama
Aqua drama
The theatrical genre of aqua drama that was popular in 19th century France, England, and the United States involved flooding the arenas of circuses for recreations of major naval conflicts and similar aquatic events; some venues participated to such a great extent in this once-popular form as to...
. The theatre was destroyed by fire in 1829.
Lafayette Circus (named after the Marquis de Lafayette) was built on the corner of Laurens (now West Broadway
West Broadway (Manhattan)
West Broadway, not to be confused with Broadway, is a north-south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan separated into two parts by a park. The northern part begins at TriBeCa Park, near the intersection of Sixth Avenue, Walker Street and Beach Street in TriBeCa...
) and Grand Street
Grand Street (Manhattan)
Grand Street is a street in Manhattan, New York City. It runs east-west parallel to and south of Delancey Street, from SoHo through Chinatown, Little Italy, the Lower East Side to the East River....
by Charles W. Sandford
Charles W. Sandford
Major-General Charles W. Sandford was an American militia and artillery officer, lawyer and businessman. He was a senior officer in the New York State Militia for over thirty years and commanded the First Division in every major civil disturbance in New York City up until the American Civil War,...
, a land developer and speculator who erected the theatre as a main attraction of a newly developed neighborhood. Hippodrama
Hippodrama
Hippodrama, or horse drama, is a genre of theatrical show blending circus horsemanship display with popular melodrama theatre. Evolving from earlier equestrian circus, pioneered by Philip Astley in the 1760s,, it relied on drama plays written specifically for the genre; trained horses were...
, part drama and part circus, the intended main event, was a recent invention that evolved from circus and horsemanship shows of the 18th century. It emerged in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and quickly spread to the United States. Lafayette Circus was the first American theatre specifically designed for hippodrama, followed by the Philadelphia Amphitheater and the Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
Roman Amphitheatre.
The shows attracted lower classes, laborers and seamen, "ready to riot at the slightest provocations"; "in fact, much of recorded rowdyism of the mid-1820s" took place at Lafayette Circus. Notable public disturbances and gang fights were recorded in December 1825 and in July 1826, when a watchman attempting to expel a prostitute barely escaped from the mob.
Horse drama and other para-theatrical shows failed; in 1826 the circus was sold and became the Lafayette Theatre, redesigned by Peter Grain
Peter Grain
Peter Grain was a French-American artist who achieved success in the United States. Known for his panoramas, landscapes, portraits, dioramas, portrait miniatures, and theatrical designs, he was also an architect and the author of at least one stage play...
, architect and theatrical designer. In October 1827 the New York Mirror
New York Mirror
The New-York Mirror was a weekly newspaper published in New York City from 1823 to 1842, and again as a daily newspaper renamed The Evening Mirror from 1844 to 1898.-History:...
described the building as "the largest and most splendid ever erected for theatrical purposes in the United States. The stage with its scenery and machinery exceed all former attempts in this country". Nearly 100 feet wide and 120 feet deep, the stage was greater than anything existing in the United States or the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Stage lighting
Lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate application of light to achieve some practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight...
was described as "more natural"; a new lighting layout eliminated stage lamp ladders and allowed opening the whole width of the stage to the spectators.