New York Clipper (Jul 1923)

6 THE NEW YORK CLIPPER July 4, 1923 RICKARD AND RINGLING WILL ERECT $18,000,0 00 AMUSEM ENT ARENA Promoters, Backed by Big Bankers Have Taken Over Square Block Railway Company ami Will Build Monsto* Edifice vdiich Will Include Theatre and Office Building. G. L. (Tex.) Rickard, John Ringling, the circus magnate, and a group of bank- ers have completed negotiations whereby they -will take possession of the property located on Sixth and Seventh avenues and running from Fiftieth to Fifty-first street, now occupied by the New York Gty Rail- ways as a car bam, for the site of a new Madison Square Garden, which will scat 26,215 people, a twenty-six story oiTice building and a theatre to seat 4,MK> per- sons, which will be erected at an estimated cost of $18,000,000. Little b'ght would be shed on the proj- ect by those interested. All that would be said on the project at the Rickard oflficc was that Mr. Rickard on Monday was signing important pa(>crs at a lawyer's of- fice, while at the Ringling office all in- quiries were referred to Rickard or John J. KeUejr, attorney for the Ringliogs, who is now in Chicago. Efforts to ascertain the identity of thi; bankers in bade of the project were futile. Negotiations for the site of the "largest indoor arena in the world" have been going on for several months. Difficulties in closing the deal were due to cotnplications brought about through the street railway company being in the hands of Job Hedges, receiver. AH of the terms of the sale have been agreed upon by the interested parties and it is said that as soon as Judge Julius M. Mayer, of the Federal Court, approves the sale, title would pass from the present owners to the New Madison Square Gar- den Corporationi which Rickard and Ring- ling recently had incorporated. The ac(iuirmg of the site by Rickard and his associates and the erection of the arena, theatre and office iHiilding, will in no way conflict with the further operation of Madison Square Garden by Rickard. Rickard has a lease on Madison Square Garden which still has eight years to run. and Rickard will continue to operate it along the same lines as he has in the past. First light of the new proposition was gleaned through the announcement by Rickard to several personal friends that he had a good thing coming and invited them to participate in the subscribing of stock for the project. It was through one of these friends that the plans became known. - This friend, however, is not in a position to know the identity of the four banking concerns which will participate in the un- derwriting and launching of the new ven- ture. This nc<w corporation filed its certificate at the office of the Secretary of State in Albany on May 31. According to present plans It is to take pver all of the interests of Rickard in the United States. Profits from his activities in America and in for- eign countries will go to the corporation, which he is imder agreement to serve for twenty years from May, 1923. The place of Chairman of the Board of Governors of the corporation will be filled by John Ringling. Prominent men in the .financial and sporting world who are to invest in the project will compose the other portion of the board of governors. The new indoor arena is said to be only one iJiase of the activities of the new cor- poration. It has taken over not only the management of ^^adison Square Garden at Twenty-sixth street and Madison ave- nue, but of Boyle's Thirty .Acres in Jersey Oty, where Rickard has been staging prize fights for the past few years, through the transfer of the lease of the property to the corporation from Rickard. The corpora- tion will also have control of the big open air arena. <which Rickard has announced he will built next Winter for use next Summer as a place to stace boxing bouts, bicycle races and other athletic contests. The corporation also plans to build big open air swimming pools in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Kansas, City, Omaha, Sl Louis, and in several other cities. The new indoor arena, according to present plans, at the start will not be used for prize fights. It will be called a great amusement center and will contain a swim- ming tank twice the size of the one in Madison Square Garden. It will also be laid out so as to be able to be the per- manent headquarters for the annual Horse Show, Automobile Show, Motor Boat Show, Silk Show and other shows which are staged in New York annually. It will probably be offered as the headquarters for the Democratic national convention in 1924, in case New York is chosen as the con- vention city. It is said the work will be rushed so as to have the place ready for use by the convention in case it comes to New York in June, 1924. Ringling Brothers and Banium and Bailey Circus will play their annual New York engagement at the new arena in the place of Madison Square Garden. The new arena will have seating room for more than twice as many people as the old G&rden, and John Ringling figures he can put on a bigger and much better show in the newer place than he could at the smaller Garden. Thomas Lamb, architect, has prepared the plans for the gigantic structure. Noth- ing could be learned as to how or by whom the 4.500-SMt theatre which will be built ill conjunction with which the arena will be operated. PLAN BENEFIT FOR CARYLL WIDOW Word from London reveals the fact that plans are now being formulated in New York to give a boidit in aid of Mrs. Ivan Caryll and family, who are the widow and children of Ivan Caiyll the noted musical cou*dy composer. According to a London despacth Mrs. Caryll is not getting the returns from the estate of her husband which it was believed she would. It was imderstood at the time of the death of Caryll that his widow and family had been well provided for. It is said that Caryll's generosity to his friends and those in need was unbounded and that in this way he distributed a great part of the fortune he was thought to have left his widow and children. Efforts to ascertain who was arranging the benefit for Mrs. Caryll and her family met with no response, but it is said that theatrical associates of Caryll and a num- ber of composers and authors are launch- ing a movement for a monster benefit to be held in a New York theatre early in tiK- fall. ADLER TO DO YUAISH STOCK Charles Adlcr, dancer in "Helen of Troy, N. Y.," at the Selwyn Theatre will leave the cast of the show late in August to retire from the stage and manage a Yiddish stock company which he will install at the .\mphion Theatre, Brooklyn, early in Sep- tember. Adlcr last week on behalf of the Iriarle Amusement Company purchased the Amphion Theatre property. This house for many years played legitimate attractions booked by Klaw and Erlanger, also housed stock companies, vaudeville, motion pic- tures and burlesque attractions. Adlcr will have the house remodelled and will rearrange the seating capacity of the thea- tre, install new scats which will scat 1,200 persons. DUNCAN SISTERS SHOW OPENING San- Fr.\n'Cisco, July 2.—Nctt week will see the premiere of the Duncan Sisters in "Topsy and Eva," at the Wilkes-Alcazar Theatre, which is scheduled to start on July 8. The l)ook is by Catherine Chisolm Gushing, suggested by "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Music and lyrics are by the Dun- can Sisters. Beginning, with the above mentioned at- traction the theatre will discontinue its Thursday matinees, but will give one on Wednesday instead, in addition to the regu- lar Saturday and Sunday afternoon shows. The Midweek matinees will t>e at $1.00 top, while the evening prices will be fifty cents to one dollar plus tax. The attraction this week at the Wilkcs- Alcazar is the final week of Charles Rug- gles in a revival of "The Nervous Wreck," done by Ruggles and the Stock Company. "DEW DROP INN" TO RETURN "Dew Drop Inn" which concluded its season at the Astor Theatre last Saturday niglit due to the hot spell will again open at that theatre in three weeks with the original cast headed by James Barton. The Shuberts expect to keep the musical comedy there until the fall when the Uni- versal Film Company take the house over to present motion pictures. WOODS TO DO "JURY WOMAN" Within two weeks A. H. Woods vrill place in rehearsal "Tlic Jijry Woman," a play by Bernard K. ISurns, a Milwaukee advertising agent. Vcnita Otis Skinner, d.iughtcr of Otis Skinner has been engaged to play the leading role. NO CHANCE FOR "THE MIRACLE" Morris Gest, it is reported, prior to sail- ing for Europe gave up all idea of produc- ing in New York next season Max Rein- hart's spectacle "The Miracle." Cost of production and operating expense is said to have been so enormous that Gest would have had to stand large weekly losses if he tried to stage the spectacle. Reinhart came to America early in the spring from Germany for the purpose of consulting with Gest regarding the produc- tion of "The Miracle" and several other productions. Upon his arrival here he and Gest conferred with reference to putting on the spectacle at the Hippodrome. They went to the playhouse, took measurements of the stage and house and after finding it satisfactory negotiated for the lease of the place. Gest, it is said, obtained the lease of the establishment for next season at a ren- tal of $9,000 a week, which was figured on the basis of a 33 week season. "Then began conferences with scenic artists and production builders. At the conclusion of the conferences it came to light that one set or scene alone called for the expenditure of $52,000 and that the pro- duction before it would be completed for presentation would cost in the neighborhood of $500,000. Then Reinhart informed Gest that the spectacle would have to be staged along the same line that it had been in Europe and that it would require 1,000 minor char- acters and supcrnumeries. Gest, it is said, informed Reinhart this would be impossible in America as the people that were required for this work would have to be paid from $35 to $50 a week for two performances a day and that this amount would total $40,000 weekly. Besides this expenditure another $10,000 or more would be required for the salaries of the principals. When Gest was confronted with these figures and the tentative future outlay re- quired he decided to take up the proposi- tion with Otto H. Kahn, the banker, who was to finance the venture. He presented the entire proposition, figures and all to Mr. Kahn, and the latter is said to have informed Gest that it would be futile to un- dertake the production of the foreign spec- tacle in New York under those conditions. Efforts were made by Gest to get Reinhart to reconsider his ideas of the production and present a new plan which would not call for the use of so many people and the outlay of so much money for production. He was told that the proposition was en- tirely commercial and that Gest could see no way whereby a return would be made on the money invested even if the spectacle proved to be a huge success. Reinhart, however, held to his first plan and informed Gest that "The Miracle" would only be staged by him under the conditions he originally named. Finding that no modifications of the Rein- hart plan could be made, Gest informed Kahn and the latter directed him to call this particular production off. Following this meeting with Kahn, Gest returned tiie lease he held for the Hippodrome to the United > States Realty* Corporation, owners of the property. Though Mr. Gest will not produce "The Miracle" for the time being at least he is arranging to produce several other Rein- hart vehicles in New York next season. Wliile he is abroad now, Gest is cither in close touch with Reinhart or has a man with him to handle any details of produc- tions which Prof. Reinhart will make in .•\mcrica for Gest nc.>:t season. BUDDY BALDWIN Buddjr Baldwin mad Us Orchcstrm, an orRanizatKm which fasft so cndcarcrl ilscK to patrons of tfac Hotel Nassau that it is now enjoying its fourth consecutive season at this famous Looff Beacb resort. BLOSSOM HEATH INN BANKRUPT An involuntary petition in bankruptcy was filed last week against the owners of Blossom Heath Inn, Lynbrook, L. I. Federal Judge Campbell has appointed Louis J. Castleano and Harry J. Susskind as receivers. The aggregate liabilities are $6,035. with no assets mentioned. .^mong the creditors are A. Silz, Inc., $1,387; Charles H. Nolle, Inc., $2,350; Clark and Hutcheson, ^,298. "CRASH" OPENS ON SEPTEMBER 8 Chicago. June 30.—Eugene McGillan will stage the new play "The Crash" which is to open at Dubuque, Iowa, September 8. It is the joint work of Lincoln J. Carter and Ralph T. Kettering.