OOM: The Tremont, Galveston, TX -- 1888 -- for Captain J. Kirk

[ikissdhimbck]

[following this:]


The Tremont Opera House* may in fact be the most notable playhouse ever built in Texas. Standing on the corner of Tremont and Market Streets, the Tremont Theatre replicates the famous Booth Theatre in Manhattan (whose owner, Edwin Booth, comes to perform often). Its Italianate details, Corinthian columns, and beaux-art cast iron facades on the north and west sides of the building, set the opera house apart from the other theaters peppered across Galveston.

Designed by architect T.H. Adams and built by Galveston News editor and senior proprietor Willard Richardson, the Tremont — originally known simply as The Galveston Opera House — helped triple the population of Galveston. Richardson fulfilled his passion for theater by building the Tremont on the site of his newspaper offices, which the Galveston fire of 1869 destroyed along with more than one hundred other downtown buildings. It lifted the cultural life of the city during the boom after the Civil War, and has become a cultural mecca in the Southwest, drawing international stars of stage and opera.


Kate's door leads out of the hotel she's currently staying in, three blocks from the theater. However, it's a nice night for a respectable pair to take a stroll, and there's no more respectable a pair than Kate and Jim in their current attire, respectively. They link arms, and make their way to the grand Market Street entrance.

Jim, knowing his history as he does, may be aware that Victorian burlesque and vaudevillian comedies are the vogue at the moment; however, with such a distinguished orchestra and players, not to mention Kate's repeated insistence he'll love what she has in store for him, who knows what he might see tonight?


*Links to a .pdf, THE TREMONT OPERA HOUSE OF GALVESTON: THE FIRST YEARS, for additional history and information on the building, the players, and city.

Comments

[works_in_space]

The first thing Jim notices is the sea air. He wasn't expecting that. Even though he should have. But that would explain how a captain of a naval vessel would go about unremarked.

Hard not to notice the architecture, either, or the clothes, or the overall feel of the town. It reminds him of the photos he's seen often of San Francisco before the '06 quake. And for a moment, he remembers that Galveston, too, will suffer devastation at the hands of nature, in the form of a 1900 hurricane that even in his own day would be the worst killer in American weather history.

But that is not a topic for today. "It's all so stunning, Kate. And alive."

[ikissdhimbck]

To be sure, the cornices and stone fronts are pocked with saltwater decay up and down the broad way. Jim and Kate are dead center in the neck of the island, several blocks from the shore, but being surrounded round about by water leaves its indelible mark on everything.

Kate breathes deep, eyes shining when she turns to answer.

"Well, of course. Y'didn't think I'd stepped out of the pages of a book, did you?"

[works_in_space]

"Of course not, Miss Barlow. But the pictures I've seen of this era are all in black and white. Or sepia. Take it from an old hand at time travel...seeing an era for the first time is very different than hearing about it." Especially when it's the old west, and every representation is nothing like the reality.

[ikissdhimbck]

She chuckles softly.

"As an old hand at time travel, I'm sure you'll adjust jus' fine. S'true, though. Seein' New York City in black an' white was nothin' like bein' there in person, though with the time difference I had been expectin' that."

Strange, the things the bar opens up to you. Kate, in a lot of respects, skipped straight past the black-and-white era of photography, both still and motion. And here they are, heels echoing on the boardwalk, the scent of sea and horses and rich German foods on the air, ladies dressed in a parade of colors that rival the fancy fenced gardens they stroll by.

[works_in_space]

"You will have to tell me about New York some other time." Funny how that isn't a city he's ever come to know, even in his own time. "Today belongs to...today."

[ikissdhimbck]

"It's a date."

She loves to travel, seeing and experiencing new things. Part of that love is sharing the stories when all is through. Sometimes she has to leave out some details, but there's always something fond to remember about even her most unsavory adventures.

As they steer toward the entrance of the theater, other operagoers start to accumulate. You might think you were in Paris for a moment, the massive brick and iron building admitting them through a large entrance into a second storey lobby, finely laid floors adorned with red rugs, tapestries and heavy curtains dressing the walls.

"I rather think today belongs t'you an' I, Captain."

She smiles.

[works_in_space]

He smiles, and (as he often does) ponders what it could have been like had he met her when he was younger. But that thought passes quickly, as usual. Kate is too dear a friend for such things now.

"I haven't seen anything like this on Earth. The closest I ever came was a colony that felt like the best way to start a new world was to start in the past." Though that meant a 19th century theater standing next to a smaller version of the Transamerica Pyramid. It was a mess.

[ikissdhimbck]

She arches an eyebrow.

"I'm surprised. Your future sounds so wonderful — though, I shouldn't like to live in a world without places like this."

Many of the gentlemen tip their hats to the captain, and the ladies curtsy and smile.

"Do you like it?"

[works_in_space]

"I like it very much. I think I would miss home if I had to be here more than two weeks, but I like it." Two weeks in the 30s waiting for McCoy to surface all those years ago was his limit then, and would be now.

"So what are we getting to see?"

[ikissdhimbck]

She chuckles.

"I promise I won't hold y'hostage."

Her lips curl with a mischievous smile. She had told him Wagner when they were in the bar, but as she directs him to the nearest usher she reflects:

"Well, I had thought I'd take you to a variety show, perhaps t'see the can-can. How d'you feel about Sullivan?"

[works_in_space]

"And Gilbert? I like their works. Almost auditioned for a production of Pinafore in the academy." Before he came to his senses. He can't sing a whit.

[ikissdhimbck]

"Did you really?"

She looks nothing short of delighted. My, but she's learning all sorts of new things about Jim tonight.

As they approach the usher, he hands them a program that looks much like this; while the more expensive seats will get colorful programs filled with rich photos, this one is quite simple.

"Well, I'm glad t'hear you say so. I wouldn't dream of honestly takin' you to a can-can, but as I checked on tickets it seemed Mr. Sullivan was all they had on the bill. I've heard fine things, though."

Indeed, The Mikado as presented by the Carleton Opera Company is starting a very successful run. Comedies are doing well in Galveston at this time, though she wasn't joking about the variety shows and burlesques. There are posters in the theater for Ruy Blas alongside Millöcker's The Black Hussar, sharing top billing with Verdi and Wagner. It's a thrilling time for theater in the Old West.

[works_in_space]

Jim notes the variety of posters, and thus of shows. In his time, theaters tend to stick with more limited options. At least as far as he knows. San Francisco is not known for its live performances, and he doesn't travel to find them.

"The Mikado is always worth a visit. Though in my time, some people with a knowledge of history and anthropology wince a little at some of it."

[ikissdhimbck]

She lowers her voice while the usher shows them to their seats.

"I've noticed disparities 'tween articles of my time an' those from the bar. I s'pose y'could say the world's a much larger place now than it is in the future; we don't got all the ways of gleanin' information that you do."

They may not be the finest seats in the house, but they are quite decent. It's hard to imagine a poor seat in this theater, though.

[works_in_space]

"I try not to judge the ways of the past entirely on the ways of my own time. I'm sure my day will be looked upon with the same sort of scrutiny, after all."

The seats are surely better than most in the vast assembly halls at the academy, where the student plays had a way of echoing even with advanced sound equipment.

[ikissdhimbck]

Kate smiles, wondering not for the first time what the history books of his future might one day say about him. She can't imagine a poor report.

"The sacrifice of dignity seems t'go hand-in-hand with humor, too. Men laugh at the queerest things sometimes."

[works_in_space]

"Try to make sense of non-human senses of humor some time." He doesn't elaborate, mainly because he can't make sense of such things.

[ikissdhimbck]

She grins.

"Have y'ever met a li'l blue alien by the name of Stitch?"

Even as she asks the question, the lamps begin to dim.

[works_in_space]

"Once, I think." But Jim goes quiet, knowing it's time for the show.

[ikissdhimbck]

Stitch is perhaps the sterling example of non-human senses of humor she's yet to come across. She'll forever be baffled — and amused — by their encounter.

Music rises from the pit, and the curtains part to reveal the courtyard of Ko-Ko's Official Residence. A musician happens upon a group of gentleman, and inquires about his beloved...

[works_in_space]

Jim turns off his usual mindset. He will not think about the racism in the play. Or the flaws. He will just enjoy it. See it through the eyes of the time.

[ikissdhimbck]

Or, perhaps, through the eyes of the audience. They create their own show, rows of men with finely trimmed mustaches, white gloves, and top hats. Ladies with careful curls, and yards upon yards of fabric.

They laugh, most quiet and polite, some boisterous. They murmur when cued by the actors on stage. Kate smiles, attention torn between the opera and the crowd.

[works_in_space]

It's not how audiences behave in his day. But audiences in his day are so much more diverse. Not just in terms of color of skin, but also in terms of species, planet of birth, and culture. A native of AlphaCent applauds in a very different way than a native of Scotland. And laughter from some species is very strange. What's here is rather tame and homogeneous.

[ikissdhimbck]

No doubt Kate would love to see a show like that someday. Even just spending so much time in Milliways makes her miss the variety of life when she's home.

It's not long before intermission, and the audience applauds as the curtain is drawn.

"There should be brandy an' refreshments before the second half starts."

She nods toward one of the doorways where the audience is heading in slow waves.

[works_in_space]

"Lead on, Miss Barlow."

The crowd's goodwill and enjoyment fills the atmosphere. Jim feels utterly relaxed. So much so that he realizes how tense he's been of late. This getaway is clearly for the good.

[ikissdhimbck]

You've gotta trust Kate, Jim Kirk. She knows what's good for you.

They walk, arms linked, to where a good number of men and women are standing, conversations sprinkled across the room. Kate hands Jim a snifter of brandy, and takes one for herself.

"How do you do?" a gentleman says with a subtle Cork accent, approaching from Jim's right. "Nicholas J. Clayton, at your service."

[works_in_space]

"Captain James Kirk. And this is Miss Katherine Barlow." Or does Mr. Clayton already know this?

[hell2houston]

He bows, and Kate curtsies. This is the first time they've been introduced.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance ma'am, Captain. I served as a yeoman in the Navy back in the sixties, and felt compelled to introduce myself."

He smiles, and Kate tips her head to murmur in Jim's ear.

"Mr. Clayton is quite a successful architect. He practically built Galveston with his bare hands."

[works_in_space]

"A pleasure to meet you then, Mr. Clayton. It's a beautiful city.

"Oh. and always nice to meet a fellow Navy man." Jim assumes that someone who served in the 60s in these parts served with the CSA, but that hardly matters at this time, does it?

[hell2houston]

Mr. Clayton chuckles just under his breath, holding up a hand to ward off their compliments.

"You're too kind, I assure you. Galveston was well established by the time I found my way here, and much that I've built has already been destroyed."

"To no fault of your own," Kate interjects. "An' you're no less busy buildin' anew."

"Certainly," he smiles. "How long have you been here in Galveston?"

[works_in_space]

"I'm a late arrival. And not very familiar with it yet." Or anything else in this time, with the possible exception of parts of London and Paris that endure.