First and Second Park Theatres Façades, New York City

Two elevations of the façades of the Park Theater, facing Park Row, New York City. Drawing by architect Alexander Jackson Davis, pen and ink with blue, green, and gray washes on cream-colored paper. Source: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. The drawing was dated by this institution as "ca. 1821", acquired in 1938 as a bequest from Erskine Hewitt (1871-1938). However, this drawing was probably made between 1823 (when Davis returned to NYC) and 1828, when a renovation of the Park Theatre was planned and completed by 1830.

The first Park Theatre was designed by French architects, including Marc Isambard Brunel (1769-1849). It opened on January 23, 1798, as the "New Theatre" and was destroyed by fire on May 25, 1820. The second Park Theatre opened in September 1821 and was destroyed by fire in 1848.

Alexander Jackson Davis (1803–1892) was an architect and illustrator born in New York City. Just before he turned fifteen years old, he was sent to Alexandria, Virginia, to learn the printing trade in a half-brother’s newspaper office. He returned to New York by 1823. Then, he studied at the American Academy of Fine Arts and the New-York Drawing Association. From 1826 he worked as a draftsman for architect Josiah R. Brady (ca. 1760–1832) for whom Davis made a drawing of the first Merchants' Exchange, in 1826. He joined Ithiel Town (1784-1844) in 1829 and the firm designed many public buildings in the Greek Revival style, including the Custom House on Wall Street. Later he adopted the Gothic Revival style in many of his buildings. He also designed many picturesque country houses.

The drawing at the top has the inscription "First Park Theatre by Holland · 1797". British architect and scene painter John Joseph Holland (1776-1820) was commissioned to renovate the Theatre, which was completed in 1807. This drawing by Holland has some architectural differences compared to the two other known independent illustrations of the front of the Theatre by E. Tisdale (1797) and C. Milbourne (1798). They show Corinthian columns and some balcony ironwork on the façade, whereas Holland drew Ionic columns and no balconies, and a round window at the pediment, absent in the previous illustrations. It is possible that this drawing, actually by Davis, was based on a drawing Holland made for the renovation of the building, meaning that this may not be the original façade built in 1797.

By Jonildo Bacelar