Show World (May 1909)

May 22, 1909. THE SHOW WORLD » CHICAGO’S WHITE CITY RIVERVIEW EXPOSITION OPEN FOR THE SEASON FIGHTS THE WEATHER High Wind Interferes With Enjoyment of Patrons—Attractions Are Cold Days and Colder Nights Handicap the Big A1 Fresco Show— Very Interesting. Some Concessions Not Ready. White City opened last Saturday. The attendance in the afternoon was very light. At night there was an av¬ erage crowd. White: City is lucky in drawing opening days on which there is no rainfall. The season of 1909 was no .exception in this respect, although a ®ind blowing 51 miles an hour was as great an obstacle to en- ^TheHyoung men found amusement l chasing the hats whirled from their eads by a playful wind. The young ,adies were kept busy minding their skirts which seemed determined to swish higher than they should and display stockings they were intended to conceal. The wind was so strong that it top¬ pled over an unguarded glass of beer i in the Terrace garden and switched a "' newspaper from a man’s hand. The newspaper performed all the circling ‘It accomplished by a boomerang but in- 1 stead of returning to the starting ‘(point settled down among the players ,!t in Creatore’s band. I In spite of the wind the afternoon "‘ jerowd missed but little of the music 'Mind the fact that Creatore failed to “"lippear did not seem to be a disap¬ pointment. Several numbers were en- I cored. 11 The' Destruction of Messina and , Golgotha was not ready yet and there * were other evidences of a premature i, I opening. There was little new or ’novel to be seen last Saturday, yet ithere were evidences on every hand I of a continued prosperity in the third (season of the life of the resort. An Exceptional Attraction, j White- City has an exceptionally [(good attraction this season in The j| Finneys, who givg an exhibition of 1 swimming and diving which is familiar r : ( in vaudeville. James, Elsie, Gladys and : ’Maud are united in the White City I act and perform in a pool of water •' arranged especially. The cold blasts rif of wind did not interfere with the IS first performance of the season which ’''(was as satisfactory an attraction as 'i l has ever been exhibited in a park. Walter F. Parker is announcer for , Mr. Finney, “Curly” Brown is ticket- seller and Cal. Robinson ticket-taker. The vaudeville theater is expected lo do a fine business this summer as has little or no opposition. The 1 (first performance was well attended, considering the slim crowd at the park. Charles R. Hagedorn is man- I ager, Eddie Deneen is ticket-seller, , 'Fred,Waters is ticket-taker, Russell V' Ewing is drummer, Mrs. Hope is pian- wr ist, Joe Brevault is stage manager, El- i mer Thompson assistant stage man- j ager, and Joe Sullivan electrician. The first bill will continue until next Mon- 1 day. Hereafter the new players open ; i | on Monday. The opening bill includ- ® «d: The Seamons, O. W. Courtney, Godfrey' Sisters, Marie Mundall & Co., and motion pictures. The New York Newsboys’ Quartette jvas a spe¬ cial feature last Sunday. Among the Concessions. Dr. Couney, who has 16 infant in¬ cubator displayed at as many parks, , has his exhibition well located. A. J. Knauf is assistant manager, Harry Walker announcer, G. D. Tripp ticket- laker and Bessie Harris ticket-seller. R- E. Carey has the weight guessing machines, it being his third year at White City. John Manix and F. Miller have the country bird store and the wind Sat¬ urday made the arrangement of the display difficult; indeed it was not accomplished without giving one or two birds their liberty. Prof. William Frick and G. Bonner wve the flea circus for another sea¬ son. Edith Blakemore is their ticket- seller. Julius Rhode has the ball privilege. The Park Attractions. John Giles has charge of the minia¬ ture railroad. C. Miles is announcer and Anna Brown ticket-seller. A. D. O’Hanly is in charge of the rolling coaster. E. G. Kingsbury is in charge of the social whirl with J. Blakemore as as¬ sistant. C. Johnson is manager of “The Boat Ride Through Venice,” F. Caslin is his assistant, William Rabbitt is watchman, and R. Cahill, H. Loutt- stein, J. Malatesta and O. Pierson are the boatmen. Sam Linnick is in charge of the shooting gallery. Herman Marsh has charge of the scenic railway, and Sid Selig is in authority at the scenic route. O. B. Danner is found at the double whirl, John Hawtrey is manager and P. J. Schaefer assistant manager of the figure eight, while “The Devil’s Gorge” and the “Racing Coaster are in competent hands. Talk About People. J. G. Poorman has the chicken incu¬ bator, which promises to prove an at¬ traction with drawing power. Fred M. Sheldon has the “Girl Show,” which is styled “Salome.” Frank D. Jewell is lecturer, Leroy Cohen is pianist and there are fifteen people all told. Salkey and Stremmel have the rac¬ ing autos, which are new. Being well located and knowing just how to han¬ dle the public, they are certain to have a good season. William Jacobs is manager of “Maxim’s Models,” and Maurice Kap¬ lan is assistant. There were three young ladies publicly exhibited Satur¬ day, although it is claimed there, are eight in the living pictures. Charles Esslen is manager of the Hippodrome, which has the “Human Roulette Wheel,” the “Soup Bowl,” the “Squeeze-her,” and other attrac- There are many stands in the park so located that the fun-seeker can hardly avoid coming in contact with something or other he wants. The dining room, the refreshment place and the ball room will become popu¬ lar; the bar sprung into immediate fa¬ vor.—E. E. M. CHICAGO PARK NOTES Paul Howse is said to be behind the project for erecting a new amuse¬ ment park at Seventy-fifth street and the lake shore in Chicago. The pro¬ ject has been protested by a delega¬ tion from the Windsor Park Women’s Club, but Howse has had the backing of representatives of labor unions of South Chicago. Ravinia Park, one of Chicago’s most exclusive summer resorts, may not open this summer, although its open¬ ing was announced some time ago. It is now stated that less than one-half the sum necessary to defray the ex¬ penses of the season has been sub¬ scribed. The committee, headed by Samuel Slade, of Highland Park, has issued another appeal for funds. Sternad’s Buchanan Dancing Four introducing Young, Morgan and Thompson Sisters, is proving a hit at Forest Park and is conceded by many to be one of the most pretentious acts of its kind in vaudeville. Sternad is providing the bookings for the park. (Additional Park Notes on Page 26) Riverview Exposition threw its doors open to the public May 12 and the first Sunday passed without hav¬ ing one day which could be called “good” from a weather standpoint. Under these conditions attendance was far from what it would have been otherwise. The crowd last Sat¬ urday was big considering that a cy¬ clone was raging and the Sunday crowd was good considering the cold weather and the street car service. The last week’s crowds were at¬ tracted more by a desire to see what improvements had been made than to attend the shows. That they might be pleased some of the attractions did not begin to charge until the last end of the week. While there are many attractions which are incomplete as yet, what is offered pleases and a big businesses expected during the sea- The plan of having its own band has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage probably lies in the fact that a regularly organized park band is cheaper than a traveling or¬ ganization. The disadvantage is that the band has less drawing powers than Creatore or Conway. The music is satisfactory, however, and is not likely to cost the management one cent’s worth of business during the season. Creation Not Ready. Creation, which is to be the big feature at Riverview this season, will not be ready before June 20. The building is now being erected and is 200x240. E. W. McConnell, who has Crea¬ tion, also has the Monitor and the Merrimac, which is by long odds the big attraction at the park at present. It charged 25 cents last Sunday and had capacity when other concessions were starving. A more satisfactory production has never been given in a park. An addition to the panorama shown at Norfolk the display this season at Riverview includes a view of Old Point Comfort and Newport News. It is at least one-third larger than the show at Norfolk. Evans’ fleet con¬ cludes the exhibition and'is an added feature. A. J. Stickels is manager of The Monitor and the Merrimac and Smith Warner and E. S.' Cox are the lecturers. Mr. Warner makes a splen¬ did talk. It is said that Mr. Cox is equally convincing. The Monitor and the Merrimac and Gettysburg will be the principal at¬ tractions at Seattle and E. W. Mc- . Connell will divide his time between Chicago and Seattle this summer. He is now at Riverview but expects to leave for the northwest in a day or so. The Human Roulette Wheel. The Human Roulette Wheel is a new concession located where the pool and billiard parlor was originally and where zig-zag held forth last sea¬ son. It is much better arranged than the one at White City, having a gal¬ lery for the spectators. Ten cents ad¬ mission is charged adults and a nickel for the children. The boys and girls divide the time. E. H. Mulligan has the concession and C. D. Wainwright is in charge. J. B. Clark is assistant manager and Towner Ruby and James Newman work on the wheel. The business so far has been en¬ couraging. No admission price was charged for the first three days, but Saturday and Sunday were very good. Duncan Clark has two concessions. One is devoted to his female minstrels and the other to the Georgia Min¬ strels, a colored organization. Dun¬ can worked like a trooper Sunday, personally buttonholing everyone who passed. The business was far from satisfactory. The fronts are only or¬ dinary and the lecturer lacks the per¬ sonality which wins. Klido & Sulli¬ van are the comedians with the min¬ strel and there are several girls. W. C. Thompson is business manager and press agent of both attractions. The improvements in Riverview are many. A lagoon is now located where the court of honor was last season and the number of attractions are so many that the public should be able to find entertainment there night af¬ ter night.—E. E. M. PARK NOTES. Oak Summit Park, at Evansville, Ind., will open May 23. Many changes have been made and some new con¬ cessions have been secured. One of the new and best attractions for the park this year will be the new Hu¬ man Laundry. Spring Grove Park, at Springfield, Ohio, will open for the season on May 30. It is reported that the vau¬ deville attractions at the Casino are to be booked through the offices of the Keith circuit. Many new amuse¬ ment features and devices are being installed. Ramona Park, at Grand Rapids, Mich., opened last Saturday with con¬ cessions and amusements distributed as follows: Giant coaster and mys¬ tic chute, Austin McFadden; roller skating rink. Miss Faye; circle swing, John Merriweather; restaurant, Chas. Forman; candy wheel, H. Kalkel; pen¬ ny arcade and refreshment booth, H. W. Watson; souvenir post cards, Roy Beck; laughing gallery, J. Houze; steamboats and launches, Capt. Pois¬ son; rowboats, George Miller; shoot¬ ing gallery, doll rack, etc., S. Brown; cigars and candy, George Zindel; bathing beach, J. Rose; Japanese ball game, S. Hironka. Scranton Luna Park at Scranton, Pa., under the management of Len B. Sloss, will open Monday, May 24. In addition to the standard attractions, such as chutes, scenic railway, car¬ rousel, old mill, dancing pavilion, pony track, shooting gallery, midway, etc., a number of new attractions will be in operation this summer, including “The Sea Disaster,” Sanderson’s mar¬ ionettes, Billiken’s temple, several platform shows, a miniature electric railway, an alligator zoo, a penny ar¬ cade, glass blowers, etc., etc. Arthur J. Keller has been re-engaged as di¬ rector of publicity. Greater Dreamland, at Coney Is¬ land, New York, has opened its season with everything new. Strangers vis¬ iting the big pleasure park last Satur¬ day found a new and novel white city stretching from the street to the surf. One of the new features is a great ballroom, which was inaugurated with Saturday’s opening, and on this occa¬ sion there was played for the first time “the Dreamland Waltzes,” written by William Christopher O’Hare, and ded¬ icated to Senator W. H. Reynolds, president of the Dreamland Company. When the gates of the park were opened every show within its inclos¬ ure was in full operation. The gen¬ eral manager, S. W. Gumpertz, was besieged with congratulations upon the remarkable changes he has made in the park. Besides the great array of shows, the management has this year the largest number of free per¬ formances that they have ever given. The circus itself being made up of ten big acts.