Canterbury Hall was an edifice located at 663

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in the 19th century. It was used for entertainment and political meetings. It was a three-story building where bawdy ''concerts'' took place. The building had a front of 40 feet and a depth of 125 feet.

History

Often called Mozart Hall, it was also a gathering place of anti-

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

political forces in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Fernando Wood Fernando Wood (February 14, 1812 – February 13, 1881) was an American Democratic Party politician, merchant, and real estate investor who served as the 73rd and 75th Mayor of New York City. He also represented the city for several terms in ...

, New York Mayor and Congressman, founded the organization. The edifice burned entirely in the early morning hours of March 24, 1861. Proceedings at the venue were frowned upon by newspaper writers such as one from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. He commented about Canterbury Hall advertisements promoting ''the prettiest waiter girls in town''. Along with a rival theater, the Melodeon, the establishment was "a nightly disgrace to Broadway and its adjacent streets". In November 1860 the proprietors of the business, Fox & Curran, were compelled to pay a license fee of $500 to keep the venue open. A ''New York Times'' editorialist expressed the opinion that this was a first measure in ridding the city of such ''nuisances'', which he predicted the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an officia ...

would soon entirely eliminate.''Amusements'', ''The New York Times'', November 16, 1860, pg. 5. The property on which Canterbury Hall stood was formerly owned by a Reverend Wiley. His estate encompassed additional buildings on Broadway and was insured for $15,000. The fire which consumed the structure began among stage scenery and was discovered by watchmen. The owners of Canterbury Hall suffered an estimated loss of $10,000. A

fire marshal A fire marshal, in the United States and Canada, is often a member of a state, provincial or territorial government, but may be part of a building department or a separate department altogether. Fire marshals' duties vary but usually in ...

began an investigation into the cause of the fire which was considered to be of incendiary origin."Canterbury Hall Burned Down", ''The New York Times'', March 25, 1861, pg. 8.

References

Buildings and structures demolished in 1861 Cultural history of New York City Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan Burned buildings and structures in the United States Broadway (Manhattan) Lower Manhattan Event venues in Manhattan {{Manhattan-struct-stub