John Street Theatre, New York City

The old John Street Theatre, New York City, in the 18th century. It opened in 1767 and closed in 1798. Illustration engraved by James H. Richardson (1823–1903) and published in the Appletons' Journal, November, 23, 1872.

John Street exists since the early 18th century and is on the James Lyne's 1730 map. It was named after John Haberdinck, a Dutch shoemaker who owned the land.

The theatre was built by David Douglass (c.1720–1786), an English actor who had emigrated to Jamaica, a trading post (now in Queens), about 1750. There he met Lewis Hallam, leader of a touring theatrical company. After Hallam's death, he married his widow, Sarah Hallam. The couple formed the American Company from Hallam's old company and toured across the British colonies. Douglass built two temporary theatres in Manhattan, on Cruger's Wharf and on Beekman Street. In 1767, he built the John Street Theatre, the first permanent playhouse in New York City.

The John Street Theatre (usually referred to simply as the "Theatre") opened on December 7, 1767 at 15 John Street, on the north side (see the location in a 1776 map), with a production of The Beaux' Stratagem, a comedy by George Farquhar. It was designed after Douglass's Southwark Theatre in Philadelphia, built in 1766, the first permanent theatre in North America, which was modeled after theatres in London. The John Street Theatre was set 60 feet back from the street, with a wooden covered walkway from the pavement to the doors. The auditorium had two tiers of boxes, a pit and a gallery. Its seating capacity was about 750 persons. The dressing rooms and green room were originally located under the stage and, later, in a neighboring shed. It was operated by the American Company and was the only playhouse in New York City during the 31 years it operated.

Prior to the Revolution the playhouse was boycotted and finally closed in 1774. Then the theatre company left for Jamaica. In 1777, after the British occupied the city, the theater reopened to boost troop morale. At this time, it was called the "Royal Theatre" and the scene-painting was Major John André (1750-1780). The British occupation ended in 1783 and, two years later, the American Company returned, resumed performances under the management of Hallam Jr. and the theater's name changed to "New York Theatre".

George Washington visited the theatre in 1789 to see The School for Scandal, The Clandestine Marriage and William Dunlap's Darby's Return.

John Hodgkinson, an English actor newly arrived in New York, joined the American Company in 1792. John Henry resigned from the company in 1794 and Lewis Hallam Jr left three years later, leaving Hodgkinson and William Dunlap as the theater's managers. In 1796, Dunlap and Benjamin Carrt produced what is considered to be North America's first musical: The Archers (subtitled The Mountaineers of Switzerland), based on the legend of William Tell.

In 1797, Dunlap and Hodgkinson became joint lessees of the New Theatre (the first Park Theatre), which was under construction on Park Row. John Street Theatre was rented to Sollee's theatrical company, from Boston, for the autumn 1797 season. Sollee's cast included Eliza Arnold, mother of Edgar Allan Poe, and Elizabeth Whitlock, sister of Sarah Siddons. The American Company also performed at the theatre on this season, before moving to the New Theatre.

The John Street Theatre closed after the last performance on Saturday, January 13, 1798: the comedy The Comet by William Milns, days before the opening of the New Theatre, on January 29, 1798. The old theater was demolished later in the same year. In 1903, a 9-story building was erected at 15 John Street.