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Show A THEATRICAL LANDMARK GONE. The Demolition of tho Brooklyn Theatr Recalls to Mind an Awful Disaster. The existence of the building in Brooklyn Brook-lyn which has been known for many years as the Brooklyn Theatre ended June a The old building was then pulled down and a new one will be erected on the site to be occupied by The Brooklyn Eagle, Farewell performances commemorating the long and eventful history of the theatre thea-tre were given on June 2. together with the reading of an original poem, special music, Marshall Wilder humor and a gea- THE BflOOKLTTf TREATKE. sral hurrah. Kiclmrd Manstield und How Coghlnn were the theatrical atars on these occasions. The Brooklyn theatre will be remembered remember-ed by play goers and others whose rucmor ies run back for fourteen years as the scene of the most frightful disaster thut evci happened on this continent in connection wit h the stage. It was the burning of the building on the evening of Dec. 5, 1R70, aud the loss of 295 lives. The building that was burned stood at the corner of Washington and Johnson streets. The house was of brick and nicely decorated. The Conways opened the theatre with Bulwer'a "Money" In October, 1871, and held the management for four years. After tho death of Mr. aud Mrs. Conway their daughters, Minnie and Lillian, continued to manage the theatre for a few months with poor success. Then Theodore Moss, of Wallack's, took the theatre for a short time, and was succeeded1 by Messrs. Shook and Palmer, of the Union Square theatre, who remained in possession of the theatre until Dec. 5, loTti. The curtain had risen that evening on the last act of the "Two Orphans," when Kate Claxton, who was playing the leading part, heard the actors behind the scenes exclaim "The theatre's on tire!" The flames spread rapidly, and soon the flames were leaping up the gallery and spreading in great crimson sheets over the auditorium. Then began a frightful struggle strug-gle for life. Consternation spread through the large audience, and men and women trampled upon each other in their efforts to escape. Those in the gallery became wedged in the narrow stairway leading to the street, the entrance to which had been closed by the poKce in order to shut off the draught, the officers not knowing that the passageway was choked with struggling victims. These were speedily suffocated. The roof fell iu upon their beads, and the stairs gave way beneath them. Two of the actors, Henry I. Murdock and Clnude Burroughs, Bur-roughs, were burned to death while trying to save their wardrobes. On the morrow, when the fury of the fire had spent itself, piles of bodies were removed re-moved from the ruins. Two hundred and nine!., -five persons are known to have perished per-ished in the flames and of this number less than 100 could be identified. Forty thousand thou-sand dollars was raised by subscription for the benefit of those who had been widowed and orphaned, and a public funeral took place on Saturday, Dec. 9, with the city authorities and the military in the cortege It was an imposing and solemn pageant and upwards of 50,000 persona witnessed it The unknown were buried in one grave it Greenwood cemetery and the city erectet an imposing monument over thesepnlchcr The ruins of the theatre lay undisturber. for two years. The building demolished on June 2 was then erected and on Oct. 4 1879, it was reopened by Haverly. Durin;" -he past eleven years gome of the most irominent actors in the world have player jpon its stage. |