Estate / Collection: Collection of a New York Surveyor

[MAP - NEW YORK CITY]

SMITH, EDWIN. A survey map of land at the corner of Chatham and Roosevelt Street, just south of the Bowery, including The National Theatre and the adjacent buildings. "New York July 18th, 1859 Surveyed as in possession (?) by Edwin Smith City Surveyor." Manuscript map in black and pink ink, with hand-coloring in pink, on "Whatman Turkey Mill" watermarked paper, laid down to modern linen backing, with annotations to verso. Light uneven dust soiling, a few pale stains, short tears and chips to edges, two long tears along old folds, the tears have been closed and the folds flattened by the backing, one modern pencil annotation in the map.

In today's New York City, the location shown in this map would be Park Row just south of the U.S. Southern District Courthouse, a short distance from Chatham Square and the Bowery. Chatham Street was renamed Park Row in the 1860s, and Roosevelt Street ran parallel to and one block west of James Street until the 1940s-50s, when the Alfred E Smith Houses and Chatham Green housing developments were built.

The National Theatre, or The Chatham Theatre, was one of the most popular playhouses of its day. It opened in 1839 and was torn down in 1862. During its time, the theater's name and ownership changed repeatedly, and it hosted all types of entertainment. It was, at various times, a traditional playhouse, a vaudeville and minstrel theater, and a concert saloon. The most successful period was when A. H. Purdy took over operations in 1850, renaming it Purdy's National Theatre. In 1852, Purdy produced the first non-comedic stage adaptation in the United States of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, which, after an initial run of eleven performances and a new script by George L. Aiken, ran for two years with tremendous success, especially among African American audiences. The National Theatre was also the site of Edwin Booth's first appearance on the New York stage, as well as his first "announced" appearance ever, which occurred on September 27th, 1850 when Booth played Wilfred opposite his father in The Iron Chest. The following year, Booth played Richard III for the first time on this stage, acting as the understudy for his father at very short notice.

By 1859, when this survey map was drawn, The National Theatre was in a period of decline. Early in the morning on July 10th, the theatre caught fire. The fire was supposedly caused by firing guns for special effects in a play earlier that evening, and it caused around $500 worth of damage. This map is dated just eight days after the fire, and so it seems likely that the survey was conducted to aid in assessing the damaged building's value for fire insurance purposes.

For more information about The National Theatre, please see Thomas Allston Brown's A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901, pp. 297-335. For a daguerreotype view showing the theater in the background, please see https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/285464.