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

[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.