Reconstruction Sources

Iconography for the Reconstruction

A proposal for the facade of the theatre was included on the face of the stock certificates given to the theatre's share holders. A copy of the stock certificate may be found in the Rare Book Collection of the University of Pennsylvania Library. The drawing for the theatre was reproduced in Charles Durang's History of the Philadelphia Stage (ca. 1854), and in Wolcott, "English Influences on American Staging Practice: A Case Study of the Chestnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, 1794-1820" 1967. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University; University Microfilms, Ann Arbor)p.41

William Birch's 1801 drawing of the theatre, looking west on Chestnut Street, reveals the building with its facade unfinished. A rough wooden lean-to anticipates the construction of the colonnade and roof over the entrance. This drawing, in the Library of Congress, has been reproduced as Plate 9 in Richard D. Stine's The Philadelphia Theatre, 1682-1829,(University of Pennsylvania, 1951,) an unpublished dissertaion.

William Birch's drawing of 1804 shows the theatre in its finished form. The west "vestibule" or wing is in the foreground, and the colonnade and marque are clearly seen. This drawing, engraved by Gilbert Fox and in the Charles Patterson Van Pelt Library of the University of Pennsylvania, has been reproduced as Plate 10 in Richard D. Stine's The Philadelphia Theatre, 1682-1829,(University of Pennsylvania, 1951,) an unpublished dissertaion.

Clearly a copy of William Birch's earlier drawing, this view reveals the sloping roof over the socle upon which the columns stand by omitting the marquee above the colonnade. The omission is fortunate, for it validates the elevation of the facade by Nisbet and Darley after 1816. In Charles W. Jansen, The Stranger in America (London, 1807)

The interior of the theatre is represented in a drawing which appeared in the New York Magazine for April, 1794. It has been widely published

The interior of the theatre is also represented in a drawing in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, dated 1798. This does not differ in substance from the New York Magazine drawing. A copy may be found in Wolcott "English Influences on American Staging Practice," unpublished doctoral dissertation (University Microfilms, Ann Arbor; and the University of Washington School of Drama Library) p. 94

Two drawings by Henry Warren, the theatre's resident scenic artist and younger brother of William Warren, manager of the theatre during the first three decades of the 19th century, provide evidence of the stage traps, stairways and room arrangement on the building's first floor, of rooms in the upper floors, and of the scene painting shop. These drawings are privately owned, and the owner has refused permission to reproduce them for the past thirty years. They may be seen on microfilm in the Theatre Collection of The Ohio State University, and in Wolcott, English Influences on American Staging Practice: A Case Study of the Chestnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, 1794-1820, [University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.]

Reconstructing the Chestnut Street Theatre has been challenging because of the fragmentary source material which survives the early 19th century. The plan and elevation, drawn by John Nisbet, believed to have been an architect in Philadelphia, and John C. Darley, evidently his apprentice, are our best source of information regarding the elevation of the facade and the plan of the ground floor. See Jonh R. Wolcott, "Philadelphia's Chestnut Street Theatre: A Plan and Elevation," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, October 1971. Vol XXX, no. 3. pp. 209 - 218.
The original drawings of the plan and elevation are in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.
That the plan and elevation were probably completed in 1816 is attested by the presence of the gas house and the shed next to the privy which houses the gas generating equipment.