The Billboard 1906-04-28: Vol 18 Iss 17 (1906-04-28)

APRIL 28, 1906. The Bi liboard 37 PARKS As They Are Conducted In England. Peculiarities of the British Amusement Resort—Its Advantages and Shortcomings. N amusement park, as it {s understood In America, is entirely unknown in England, Those who study the evolution of things will find some features of the English fairs in American county fairs, though in many ways the American exhibitions are unlike anything on earth. Likewise the English galas seem precursors of American street fairs, though Un cle Sam's street shows have no earthly duplicate considering their amazing eccentricities. It would seem we must go to the Continent to trace the root idea of summer amusement parks, which are doubtless an evolution from the “Sohmer’ or ‘Summer’ gardens of the Fatherland, with the musical and concert features. Thus ‘“‘Sohmer Park’’ in Montreal would seem of Germon origin. There are still many land and forest advantages like the States, will In time become great countries for exhibition parks. A new project of this kind is now un| der way near the foot of Chapultepee Hill, the Mexican President’s residence. (Out there | are grand trees bearded with Spanish moss | which were old when Montezuma walked anfong them, and having been over the ground myself | | | can promise something fine. On a trip to Buneos Aires, 1 was greatly impressed with | the “Jardin des Imfantes,’’ surely one of the loveliest parks in the world, where C. Seguin, a millionaire vaudeville magnate, gives the costliest shows with fine European talent. He | also conducts the Pargue Flamineuse, Rio de | Janeiro, which looks like a tropical drop in its | beauty of vine and palm, and has nice seating | accommodation for fully ten thousand people There are other amusement parks in Brazil, and I have even heard rumors of one uf the river Amazon. CUSTOM IN ENGLAND Here the English beaches. as aforesaid, give the only steady summer out-door entertainment. Big money is paid for some of the beach allotments, but shows are on the montebank order, with penny seats and passing hats, ete. The periodical out-door shows are served up by galas and old time English fairs, which drift side of the sea, the growth of out-of-door amusements in America beats anything the world has ever seen. New places seen to be opening every day and some of them are astonishing in their magnitude and the audac ity of their conception. c. C. BARTRAM. .FAIRS.. EXPOSITIONS EVOLUTIONS OF THE FAIR The fair as an institution has long since passed the stage of the insignificant and unimportant pumpkin show. Through the natural process of development it has become a legitimate form of speculative investment as well from town to town. Some vacant and outlring square is converted into a fair field, and here the showmen erect their great mirrored and gilded fronts, of the kind Mr. Bostock has shown you at Coney Island. ‘There are also| carousals of fabulous cost, and all the smaller rif-raff with nigger-heads, try-your luck racks, “cokernut stands’’ and a world of mummers and shouters. There are also many attractive signs with a sort of midway suggestiveness, “This is the place where the girls are,’’ etc. The ‘“Showmen of the Empire,” as they now proudly call themselves, bave federated into as a potent factor in the agricultural and industrial education of our race and time. The show feature of the fair has been largely instrumental in developing the whole business. The masses are educated to the point of culture | that renders it pleasant to take knowl| edge “straight.” They want it well | diluted and flavored with amusement. | Men and women are but children FAIR NOTES Gregory's new pyrotechnic spectacle, Moscow, will be the principal feature at the great Minnesota State Fair next fall. The story of the spectale-drama is taken from recent events in Russia, and will depict scenes in the world-famed capital, followed by the outbreak of rioting caused by the oppregsions of the government, fighting in the streets between Cossacks and the people, and the final destruction of the principal »uildings by fire. The Minnesota State Fair will be greater than ever this year. The Gregory engagement is a notable one and insures the success of the event. Prospects for an _ Inter-American Fair are bright at El Paso, Tex., twenty-five thausand dollars scribed by promient citizens. where over bas been sub E. Kirke Adams & Co. have signed with Talbot's Fighting the Flames. BO I I IP II I I rrr Te ee eT eT ee ee eee eee WwW. H. Hill, The Billboard, New York. Dear Sir—Our ad. in the Spring Special has brought more business to our firm than we can possibly care for. It is worth ten times the price charged. The Billboard first and always with us. Always Weiss & Sangster Amusement Co., Geo. E. Sangster, Gen. Mgr. Se Se Be Be Bg Be Be Be Be Me Be Me Me Se Me Be De te te DD, errr re ee er ee eee eee eee ee rrr rrr rrr ere Se s+ + SSD SD 1 DD SD DD De errr rere ere ee A SCENE AT VENICE, CAL. The above illustration represents a scene from Venice, the large and beautiful new amusement resort on the ocean front, near Los Angeles, Cal. the ship Cabrillo; the concert hall; the Japanese building; and in the distance a row of concession booths. or winter, its name from the beautiful residential suburb close by, is no more This location, It is the concessioner’s paradise, is shown; reund, and Venice takes sake. In all the world there limitless expanse of beautiful blue sea. anywhere for an amusement park. the boardwalk; there is not a day, summer when the Midway is not enlivened Venice, Cal., the bounty of for at Venice he beautiful spet than together with by the stentorian voices of spielers and of broad, white beach A small portion of the beach The surf at Venice is delightful for bathing the year the chatter of gay where the houses are built along the canals that have been led in from the sea in with its fourteen miles crowds of pleasure-seekers. imitation of its Italian name rimmed with the breaking surf that rolls in from a the tropical sun in winter and the delightfully cool ocean breezes in summer, is sure to be both happy and comfortable from year’s end to year’s end. is not surpassed little “‘cafe gardens" some genuine Dreherpark Ermitage, at at Kischinelo on the Continent, and amusement parks, as Weigel’s Vienna; the Theatre Park Kiew; the Garten Nobdlesse, and the Jardin de Vichy. at Vichy, France, ete. There are also German amusement parks in Munich and other cities, mostly of pure local name and fame. ,, But these parks are not run exactly on the American idea,’ and the United States, with Perhaps four hundred vaudeville parks, no doubt leads all the rest of the world combined. The beauty of America is that new parks can opened ready made, as the country is ‘‘near to nature’s heart’? and has a wealth of fine forests unduplicated in Europe. It is true Bois de Bologne in Paris ate natural woods, like Prospect Park in Brooklyn, but that dates back to 18%. Moreover the land in Purope. though dirt itself, is not “‘as cheap as dirt,”” and ts Mostly leased and not freehold forever. ‘Round bundreds of American towns you can walk for miles in the woods, kicking the dead leaves, and parks of nature’s own making can bought outright for what would be considered & mere song in Europe, PARKS DON’T GIVE VAUDEVILLE , = most parks are municipal, and municpalities give band concerts, but don’t go in for at vaudeville. The great forests are mostly owned -~ Age lords, and are not to be cut up for een park companies to exhibit their vaudeville tet t;, Morover the weather is an unseteo matter here, and “Jupiter Pluvius,”’ the gol of rain predominates Sommer emuse ments gravitate to the sea shore, where gulerrots and “nigger singers’’ caper on ach platforms, while magnificent vaudéville > serve amusements of a higher clase et even here there is nothing in all Europe to compare with Atlantic City or Coney Istand. The parks, of Pari Promenades and pleasure gardens® Works fee, the pride of the city. but these tt done! famous places are run on municipal Ines, ‘ough a neat little theatre with adjoining con ~ halls can be found tn the Champs Elysees. r+ and has more foreet and accessible land wo England, but the rain that makes & so Ate and drives away all its snakes would M4 ‘tate against parks with a vaudeville annex. Sreover money is not so thick as In England. E DOWN THE AMERICAN COAST No doubt South America and Mexico, having with Lord George Sanger posing at their head, and count in all some seventy thousand people. F. H. Pedgrife, a bright faced man, was the founder of the guild, which has Parliamentary agents retained lawyers, etc., and is a wealthy and powerful organization. An instance of its efficiency was frecently shown at Wigan, when the local council proposed the discontinuance of the annual pleasure. What really happened was only & shifting of the fair, which will cost the igan corporation £2,000 loss in tram fares. A unique character is the van barn ‘“‘Showmen’s Parson,” the Rev. T. Horne, Honorary Chaplin of the Guild. He is a good fellow and every inch & man, and what he don’t know about showmén je not worth knowing. These men grow fond of their Gypsy life and nomadic annual rounds. In the French play Le Chemineau the hero confesses that the road is always ‘‘calling’’ him with the same persistency that the East cried to Kipling’s soldier, and long enough after showmen have made enough to retire upon flley continue to grow for the benefit of their health. In the past year the Rev. Horne has attendedto the business of the guild and visited over one hundred fairs. feasts and wakes. a showmen’s guild, He has corresponded with over one thousand people and conducted services on the fair grounds and in the show booths. He is an ar dent champion of the rights of showmen, and while conducting successful Christianizing s0celal and educational work, finds time to write show stories for The Bra. In closing this article it should be noted that such great establishments as the Alexandra and Crystal Palace, with their motley entertainments and diversions, are built in saree and beautiful parks, and have such occasiona out-of-door features as rope walking, betlloon and air ship demonstrations, etc. The malo hall of the Crystal Palace ts 1608 feet long, or more than one fourth of a mile Here is an open house seating 2.000; a concert hall, seatIng 4,000; the great Handel orchestra: the giant organ, costing €6,000; the “Cafe Chantant. ete. The Royal Agricultural Hall, Islington, is a great meeting place for falr managers and showmen of all kinds, and bere the American Five Peerless Potters, now astounding the ve. dicate halls made thelr first appearance anc thelr great London name in their marvelous throwing and casting act. As far as one can judge from the sutirise grown up, but by the law of natur it is necessary to have an incentive to effort, and the adult mind is not the more ready because of an added number of years to absorb knowledge. For its own sake, the child must be amused while he is being instructed. That is the method now employed in the most successful schools and colleges. Study is made entertaining; and so, | following up the figure, an amusement programme is a necessary contingent to the proper conduct of the fair. So much for ethics. Viewed solely in the light of profit, the show feature is the very backbone of any exhibit of vegetable, mineral, and industrial products. It is not only the attraction that draws the big majority of the visitors to the fair itself, | but it is likewise the source of finan cial profit to the association that has it in charge. The fair that is not profitable from a commercial standqoint is soon abandoned. Any means, therefore, that conduce to the perpetuity of a show of this kind is salutary and important. | Assuming then that amusements, in connection with the fair, are a desirable quantity, the question then turns to the proper selection of the various features and devices. Novelty and merit are essential, and the committee or secretary who has charge of the amusement features should be well posted on the various attractions suitable for fairs, especially is this advisable when the fair association books its attractions independently and not in conjunction with the circuits that are provided by the regular established agencies. ( STREET FAIRS ) \_ CARNIVALS |} FINE OPENING Made By the Heck Carnival Co. in Cincinnati— Good Crowds and Excellent Business— Roster In Full. another hit for Will S. Heck. The Heck Amusement Co. is it, at least it was last week, and this week promises to bring forth a revelation in the realm of carnivaldom. The grand opening took place at the Armory in Cincinnati, Wednesday evening, April 18, when a ten days’ engagement was begun. The crowds were immense, even the streets leading to the scene of festivities were packed like sardines with humanity struggling to get a glimpse of the splendors within and to ecarouse under the suasive voice of the splelers. Bathed in the brilllancy of powerful lights the sight was immense and the sound of revelry was enthusiasm vivified. There is a diversity of amusements. The free attractions are fine. Mlle. Leoni Bonne, aerialist, puts into her act her old-time dash and proves a splendid drawing card. The Kohler Trio, comedy acrobats, are right up to the minute in all kinds of comic antics. The shows present a solid front and every foot of both floors of the spacious arsenal is taken up. Biggest of all attractions is Buckskin Ben with his clever company and band. Although only in training since the first of January the feats performed by his dogs and ponies are CORE indeed remarkable. Especially the bareback riding of one of the dogs who succeeds in holding his place on the back of a pony while circling the ring at a goodly pace. We next see the educated ponles who very clever stunts. Buckskin Ben must complimented for his efficiency as a trainer of dogs and ponies. This act is followed by