Christine Wetherill Stevenson (April 12, 1878 – November 21, 1922) was an heiress of the Pittsburgh Paint Company and founder of the Philadelphia Art Alliance. She helped fund the Daisy Dell which became the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...

, in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills is a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It borders Studio City, Universal City and Burbank on the north, Griffith Park on the north and east, Los Feliz on the southeast, Hollyw ...

neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. She established the Pilgrimage Theatre (now known as the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre) in Hollywood Hills. She played a major role in the theater's first production, ''Life of Christ'', which received significant advance newspaper coverage and was described "an American

Oberammergau Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The small town on the Ammer River is known for its woodcarvers and woodcarvings, for its NATO School, and around the world for its 380-year tradition of ...

Early life

Born on April 12, 1878, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, as Christine Wetherill, she was a daughter of Samuel Price Wetherill (1846-1926) and Christine (Northrop) Wetherill (1852-1930). Her father was a descendant of Samuel Wetherill, who was a fellow member, with Betsy Ross, of the Free Quaker Meeting House. Christine Wetherill was married twice, first to John V. Rice, Jr., whom she divorced in 1902, and then to William Yorke Stevenson, son of Cornelius and Sara Yorke Stevenson, in 1908.

Career

During the late 1910s and early 1920s, Stevenson formed an art alliance with Marie Rankin Clarke, and raised money with her to buy a piece of land on Cahuenga Pass called "Daisy Dell". They then rehearsed together for their first play there, ''Light of Asia''. A second series of plays was planned, '' The Pilgrimage'', when resistance was met from Clarke and others in the group who wanted to expand the venue's themes. Leaving them to form the

, she bought of land on the other side of Cahuenga Pass to build a new amphitheater for her plays, naming it The Pilgrimage Theatre, and created the ''Pilgrimage Play''. Today The Pilgrimage Theatre is known as the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Stevenson was also known as the founder of the Philadelphia Art Alliance, which is housed in the former Samuel Price Wetherill Mansion.

Death and legacy

She died in

Media, Pennsylvania Media is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located about west of Philadelphia. It is part of the Delaware Valley, also known as the Philadelphia metropolitan area. ...

, on November 21, 1922, and was interred at Philadelphia's

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery, also called Laurel Hill East to distinguish it from the affiliated West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, Bala Cynwyd, is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls, Philadelphia, East Falls neighborhood ...

. A memorial service was held in her honor on Sunday, November 26, 1922, at 3:00 p.m. in the Pilgrimage Theater. In pre-memorial announcements about the planned event, newspapers reported: "Hollywood is asked to attend the service, and pay tribute in all reverence to the woman who brought the Pilgrimage Play to Hollywood." The Hollywood Cross, a thirty-two-foot-high steel cross, at 2580 Cahuenga Boulevard was erected in 1923 to her memory.

Timeline – Hollywood Bowl and Pilgrimage Theatre

* 1916 – Hollywood's first outdoor theatre production takes place in nearby Beachwood Canyon. * 1918 – First organizational meeting leads to plans for a permanent park and art center in Hollywood; Christine Wetherill Stevenson produces the religious drama, Light of Asia, on the grounds of the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society is the organizational body of Theosophy, an esoteric new religious movement. It was founded in New York City, U.S.A. in 1875. Among its founders were Helena Blavatsky, a Russian mystic and the principal thinker of the ...

above Beachwood Canyon. * 1919 – Theatre Arts Alliance incorporated, with Christine Wetherill Stevenson as president; purchase of in Bolton Canyon for $47,500 on which to build a community park and art center. * 1920 – Christine leaves the Theatre Art Alliance and purchases of land on the other side of Cahuenga Pass to build a new amphitheater for her plays. * 1920 – Community Park and Art Association established, replacing Theatre Arts Alliance * 1922 – Christine Wetherill Stevenson dies * 1929 – Fire destroys Pilgrimage Theatre and theatre rebuilt

References

External links

Pilgrimage Theatre, Los Angeles

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Christine Weatherall 1878 births 1922 deaths 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Actresses from Philadelphia American philanthropists American women dramatists and playwrights Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Writers from Philadelphia