Chattanooga's love of concerts and plays blossomed shortly after the Civil War. John W. James tacked a rough stage onto the third floor of his building at Sixth and Market streets (future home of the Electric Power Board) in 1869, and the shows came. Sheets were used for a curtain. Spectators came through adjoining stores and offices. Performers entered the stage through a window. A brief flirtation with a skating rink interrupted many years of operas, musicals, plays and minstrel shows at James Hall.
Dr. James Livingood noted in his "Hamilton County" that Chattanooga, the railroad town, had an advantage in attracting national stars such as Edwin Booth, Joseph Jefferson, Julia Marlowe Taber and John McCullough.
Regional performers also came, including a group of Fisk University students in September 1871. The event "was very well attended, and the music was excellent. The melody and tune could hardly be surpassed."
With the real estate boom approaching, patrons felt more affluent and grew dissatisfied with the James Hall accommodations. Adolph Ochs, publisher of the Chattanooga Times, got 40 men to put up $1,000 each to renovate the old theater.
The New Opera House opened Oct. 4, 1886. The entrance from Market Street was enclosed by gates of filigree iron. The box office at the foot of the grand staircase led up to the theater proper on the second floor, heated by steam and lit by gas. The house could accommodate more than 1,000 patrons and had a gallery as well as a balcony reserved for blacks. On occasion, the theater was used as a ballroom and a grand supper room.
The Bijou Opera Co. at the opening ushered in "Opera Festival Week."
The first production, a premiere of the "Princess of Trebizonde," was met with general approval, although some in the audience showed disgust when a young lady in tights appeared on the stage.
The community outdid itself making preparations. Dressmakers were busy all week planning for "the finest display of fashionable and elegant toilets on the opening night ever seen in Chattanooga." Newspapers carried lists of scheduled productions with suggestions of appropriate neckwear for gentlemen at each show: a teck scarf for "Trebizonde," a four-in-hand for "The Mikado," a Windsor tie for "The Bohemian Girl," a sailor knot for "The Bridal Trap," a Claudent scarf for "Fra Diavolo" and a dude tie for the "Chimes of Normandy."
Almost every major successful show in larger cities played Chattanooga during the late '80s, the '90s and the first decade of the 20th century. Jan Paderewski, the Polish pianist, gave one of the most notable performances on Feb. 22, 1900.
My great-aunt Sophie Scholze Long wrote in her diary: "Every time he touched the piano, music sprang out from all sides. It was like shaking a tree full of music. Chattanooga does appreciate good music. He had seven encores, to which he responded in a graceful and delightful fashion." Sophie later became a major supporter of the Chattanooga Symphony.
Over the years, a long lineup of performers came to the theater at James Hall. Sousa's Band was one of the touring groups. Members of many Chattanooga families (Strangs, Montagues, Nicklins, Paynes, Alberts, Andrewses, Divines, Gillespies, Shepherds, Chamberlains, Evanses, Van Dykes, Kerrs, Frittses, Wilsons, Gardenhires, Bachmans, Kennedys, Vandusens, Ballards, McConnells, Webbs, Cadeks, Keys, Sharps, Sizers, Kings, McMillans and Allisons) participated in local productions.
A real-life drama unfolded in September 1899, when theatergoers gathered to see the touring play "Mr. Plaster of Paris." The curtain was ready to rise when actress Julia Morrison walked across the stage and shot Frank Leiden, the leading man, three times. He died 10 minutes later. Claiming lengthy abuse and self-defense, she was found not guilty at the trial.
James Hall, later called the New Opera House, The Opera House, the Lyric Theatre and City Auditorium, was the cultural center of Hamilton County for more than five decades. The newly organized Tennessee Electric Power Co. purchased the property in 1922 for its home office. When the James Hall was razed, one reporter wrote that "there is probably no building in all of Chattanooga which is dearer to old residents."
Frank "Mickey" Robbins, an investment adviser at Patten and Patten, is a past board member of the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Association. For more, visit Chattahistoricalassoc.org or call LaVonne Jolly 423-886-2029.