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The Nisbet/Darley plan indicates that the passage to the first lobby boxes, shown here in green, terminates in a door which provides access to the backstage. To the east of the lobby passage (on the left as you look at the drawing, in purple) is a wall which separates the lobby passage from what was probably a storage area in the east wing of the building. This wall continued to the north (up-stage) wall of the theatre, and it is clear from the Nisbet/Darley plan that there was no off-stage wing space in the Chestnut Street Theatre. | |
| The problem in reconstruction, then, was how to fit the proscenium door and some sort of stairway to the balcony above, into a very limited space. After much experimentation, the solution provided in this drawing and the detail below was arrived at. Stairs, rather than a ladder, seem appropriate, as it would have been extremely difficult for a woman, dressed in 19th century clothing, to negotiate a steep ladder. These stairs would have been bad enough! | ||
| In this view of the stage right proscenium, looking from upstage right toward the auditorium, we see the masking for the balcony (cut-away, in yellow), and the masking wall (dark blue ) which hid the stairway when the proscenium door was opened. |  |
