Century Theatre
12 Mary Street,
Hamilton,
ON
L81 1A5
12 Mary Street,
Hamilton,
ON
L81 1A5
9 people
favorited this theater
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I’ve noticed some of the posts here from the old days are getting quoted on social media. So I thought I would take the opportunity to correct something based upon research that I’ve done over the last 5 years. Tomorrow, Monday November 25, 2024, is the 103rd anniversary, of a real life incident, that happened backstage, at the Lyric Theatre, at 12 Mary Street, in Hamilton, Ontario.
In 1940, the Lyric Theatre, was renamed the Century Theatre, when it was bought out by 20th Century Theatres Inc. It operated as a cinema, until it was closed, by Famous Players, in September 1989. After thirty years, of sitting empty, it was demolished in January 2010.
The Lyric Theatre, in 1921, was leased by the Keith / Albee circuit, and had a mixed bill of eight live acts of vaudeville, followed by a Hollywood feature film. The three hour long program was repeated twice daily at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm.
The week of November 21, the film was “The Servant In The House” starring Jean Hershel, John Gilbert, and Jack Curtis, and the top vaudeville act was “Under The Apple Tree”, a musical comedy, written by Darl MacBoyle, and featuring music composed by Walter L. Rosemont. The production featured a cast of fourteen, and starred Loring Smith, who later went on to have a notable career on Broadway. He was part of the original Broadway production of “Hello Dolly”.
The play, which was a rewritten version of an earlier sketch from 1916, called “Oh Please, Mr Detective”, concerned a stolen wallet, and the comedian who had stolen it, being unable to get rid of it, with it always making its way back to him, like the proverbial “cat with nine lives”.
The short play was produced by a man called George Choos, who also had a number of similar productions, touring the Keith, Orpheum, and Pantages Vaudeville circuits. By the time, “Under The Apple Tree”, got to Hamilton, the production had been on the road for more than twenty months.
Cecile Bartley, was a twenty-one year old chorus girl, she joined the “Under The Apple Tree” company in Indiana, in March of 1921. She was the daughter of an Irish Catholic railroad engineer, who worked on Chicago’s elevated railway. Before joining the play, she had spent a year touring in a production called “Tickle Me”, that starred Frank Tinney.
John “Jack” Grubb, was a 45 year old, overweight, stage carpenter originally from Baltimore, Maryland. He had been with “Under The Apple Tree”, since the production had opened in January 1920, in Chester, Pennsylvania. He had a small speaking part in the play, but his main role was as an IATSE stage hand, being responsible for getting forty steamer trunks, full of wardrobe and scenery, on and off the trains, which was how the production got from town to town.
During the latter part of 1921, Grubb became obsessed with Bartley, and even though he was not a Catholic, had asked her to marry him. Things came to head, when “Under The Apple Tree”, arrived in Hamilton, Ontario, as Bartley, had at last complained to the manager of the act, about Grubb’s harassment of her. Grubb, was ordered to refrain from bothering her further, otherwise he would be fired.
On the afternoon of Friday November 25, 1921, the matinee performance went on without incident. Cecile Bartley, and another chorus girl, Helen Campbell, remained in their dressing room, below the stage, to do some sewing. The rest of the company, and the local stage hands, all went for their dinner break. At around 5:30pm, with the theatre empty, except for an usher turning back seats, Bartley, and Campbell, climbed the stairs, and were confronted by Grubb, on the empty stage. Being rebuffed once again, he pulled out a revolver, and fired three shots into Bartley. In terror, she ran down the stairs, before collapsing. Grubb, then fired two shots into his own heart.
Local police officers, who were directly across the street, at Central Station, were on the scene in minutes. The only direct witness, who could tell them what happened was Helen Campbell, as Bartley remained unconscious for several days. The Chief of Police, and the local coroner, saw no need for an inquest.
Astonishingly, there was one final performance of “Under The Apple Tree”, on the evening of November 25, even though the act was now missing two members of the company. The news broke across North America, on Saturday November 26, by which time most of the actors, had caught the early train, back to New York.
Early newspaper reports about the shooting, reported that the event had happened on stage in the middle of a performance, in front of two thousand people. Also that, as Bartley, was not expected to survive, it was described incorrectly, as a murder and suicide. Those early wire stories, were not corrected, leaving a “legend”, about what happened, in popular memory. “Variety”, and the “New York Dramatic Mirror”, and the local papers, reported the story accurately. Dozens, of other newspapers, reported it incorrectly, and then never wrote about it again.
Grubb’s body, was sent to Baltimore by train, after it was embalmed at the Dwyer Brothers Funeral Home at James and Cannon. He was buried at Louden Park Cemetery, with his only mourners being members of the Baltimore local of IATSE. His grave has no headstone.
Cecile Bartley, was very fortunate, to have surgeons, who had served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps, during the First World War. After spending seven weeks at the City Hospital, at Victoria and Barton, she was discharged, and returned to Chicago, with her mother. A report in the “Hamilton Herald”, in late 1922, noted that her bill, for her hospital stay, had not been paid by the “Actor’s Fund”.
As near as can be determined, Cecile Bartley, left the theatre, and never acted again. On October 2nd 1922, she married James S Holmes of Hamilton, who owned and operated a grocery store on Kenilworth Avenue. They met while she was recuperating in the Hamilton General hospital.
They had a daughter together, and she moved to Hamilton for at least a year and a half living on King Street near Tisdale Avenue. Holmes was killed in an explosion while distilling alcohol leaving her a widow.
She moved back to Chicago and by 1925 married an Italian man named Costello. In 1930, she is in US Census data, as living as a widow, with a six year old daughter named Mary. Chicago, during Prohibition, was a dangerous place to live it seems.
My play reconstruction of the vaudeville act UNDER THE APPLE TREE was performed as part of the 2018 Hamilton Fringe Festival.
A photo that I had never seen before. From November 1921.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/991332839/?match=1&clipping_id=147245690
Closed September 28th, 1989, and replaced with four more screens at the Jackson Square.
Reseated and reopened on May 19th, 1967. Ad posted.
Reopened as Century on August 22nd, 1940
Century Theatre opening ½ 22 Aug 1940, Thu The Hamilton Spectator (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) Newspapers.com
and
opened as Lyric on August 13th, 1913. Grand opening ad posted.
The Century was one of my favorite old theatres. Originally opened in the 1880’s as the Lyric Opera House, it entertained many of the most famous stars of the day. I worked there as an usher in 1974 and again as manager a few years later. I think I explored every nook and cranie of the old girl back in those days. Most of her history was hidden backstage and above the false ceiling in the front of the building. Over that false front ceiling was hidden the balcony and original projection room with the silent film projectors still in place.
I have organized a “get-together” of former employees of the Century Theatre to be held Friday,June8th..if you are interested in attending please contact me at …..come share your memories.
For a great 1940’s photo of the Century exterior, see John Sebert’s “Glamorous Ghosts” at: www.hamiltonmagazine.com/sitepages/?aid. I’d hadn’t seen this photo before. During the demolition, I got one of the wall anchors that the chain, that supported the horizontal canopy, was attached to. I saw “Mary Poppins” at the Century. First-run in l964. I remember there being a balcony, then and the line-up to get in went around the block. “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” was a long, long time ago…
It was a great theater to see a movie: big auditorium, big screen. “The Sound of Music” played for over a year (didn’t see it then). Later I saw “Yentl”, “The Exorcist”, “Rocky”, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”(pre-cult) and “Gone With the Wind” (for the first time, one of ’M-G-M’s Fabulous Four'). It was pathetic to see them tear this place down. I took a lot of pictures and video every day. And I got a lot of bricks and concrete pieces.
I found a Century Theatre ticket stub for a reserved-seating screening of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. Check it out at SilentToronto.com!
There is a long-standing brick company on Lawrence Road, at the base of the Niagara Escarpment, just west of Ottawa Street. It seems entirely likely that what you found might well have originated here.
I was at the demolition site last week and was able to pick up a couple of bricks. They both had the word HAMILTON stamped on them. Is it safe to assume these came from a local brick manufacturer from the period?
As a result of the interest and the momentum generated in the Facebook page group, I’ve set up a blog as a means to an end; setting up an actual ‘memorial’ site for The Century.
That blog can be found here: [url]http://thecenturytheatre.blogspot.com/[/url]
All interested parties are invited to contribute.
Was able to spend the mornings this week to watch the destruction of the Century. Spent time with Mark M. and I believe Rich and Rob who was a usher there in it’s last days as a movie theatre. Will post on facebook the pictures I took. Was also able to get one of the Hamilton red bricks from the outside walls and a white brick fron the original back wall of the stage area.
What a shame!!!!!
Chuck there is a You tube video here..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvpTESNCcFc
Chuck there are almost 400 images of the demolition on the facebook page.. The most recent were taken today
View link
View link
Tons of stuff there. Let me know if you need any further input.
Alas, as of today the Lyric / Century is completely gone…
RIP old girl…
Thanks so much to RJB and Brian. Much appreciated at this time of loss.
Hi schmadrian,
In the early 1920s Rapp & Rapp were brought in to remodel the interior entirely. In about 1924 work began by ripping out the balcony and box seats. Then, for reasons I have yet to determine, work stopped, Keith vaudeville moved to the Tivoli, and the Lyric sat decimated and unusable for several years. In 1930 an architect named W Bruce Riddell drew up plans to convert the upper-story offices to apartments and club rooms, and to build a small box inside what was once the orchestra level, which was to be used as a new cinema. The stage, unusable without the balcony, was sealed off with a brick wall. That’s why the seating capacity was reduced to less than half of what it originally was. (Much of this info comes from Brian Morton.)
By the way, are TheSaltMan and Matt Meier reading this? If so, could you write to me? Thanks so much!
Ciao!
Adrian:
All of this stuff is in the Ontario archives in the RG11 – RG10 files.
Seating capacity when it opened was 2000 seats IN ALL ADVERTISING.. (This does not mean that there were really 2000 seats – Just that the management wanted every one to know that the Lyric was the biggest new theatre in town.)
In the 1921 Gus Hill Moving Picture Directory the Lyric Theatre is listed as having 1820 seats (Which was likely the real figure all a long). Both the Loews (1917) and the Pantages (1920) had opened by then, and they had given up on being the biggest in town.
According to the RG 11 files at the ONT archives:
Nov 8/1938 Construction report – Lyric Theatre – Lic: Ross T Stewart. 722 seats (no balcony) (This is the seating capacity since the theatre reopened in 1930 I believe).
June 25/1940 – Seating plan Century Theatre – 866 seats – Kaplan and Sprachman
March 9/1967 – Century Theatre reseating – 705 seats – Canadian seating company.
The final seating count was its capacity till Famous Players clsoed it in Sept 1989.
Demolition has started BTW…. Sad to lose the old girl.
Can anyone confirm the various seating capacity numbers? How did it drop from 2000 upon the Lyric opening to 860…or 705…upon the Century closing?
Did this happen during the renovations in ‘22? In the shift in use in 1940? In the '67 rejigging?
I’m looking for non-speculative material here, such as plans, or otherwise certified seat counts.
Went down to have a last look at the Century Friday. I parked off King William Street which is behind/next to the Century. It then dawned on me that I was parking where the Palace auditorium use to stand. A short distance down the street is where the Capital auditorium use to stand as well. Add another parking lot to that area.
Brian. You are right. There was only one balcony. Sorry about that. My parents who came from England made Hamilton their home in 1950 remember all the theatres and buildings Hamilton once had and neglected to save and or protect. From the picture with the ( one ) balcony it’s a shame that it ended up as as it did when it ended its life as a theatre.