First Theater in California
Posted by: 
Touchstone
N 36° 36.183 W 121° 53.730
10S E 598784 N 4051406
This building was built about 1844 as a sailor's lodging house by Jack Swan. In 1848 it was commandeered by a group of mustered-out soldiers of Colonel Stevenson's regiment of New Yorkers looking for a place to put on plays and comedies. The theater afterward served as a whaling station, a lookout station having been added to the roof.
Waymark Code: WM7AT
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 02/07/2006
Views: 16
Located in Monterey State Historic Park, this
adobe theater was built by Jack Swan in 1846-47 as a lodging house and tavern
for sailors. It was used as a theatre in 1850 when U.S. Army officers from
Colonel Stevenson's 1st New York Volunteers produced plays as a money-making
venture. Swan built a small stage and provided benches, whale-oil lamps, candles
for footlights, and curtains made of red and blue blankets. Tickets sold for $5
each. First night receipts totaled $500
In later years, the First Theatre was used as a lodging house for whalers, but
fell into disrepair after Swan's death in 1896. It was purchased in 1906 by California
Historic Landmarks League and donated to the State of California. In 1937 and
until recently, the Troupers of the Gold Coast staged the first melodramas since the
1850s.