John Bailey McElfatrick (1828–1906) was an architect known for his design of theaters in the United States and Canada. He eventually went into practice with his sons

William H. McElfatrick William H. McElfatrick (1854 - September 28, 1922) was an American architect who specialized in theaters. Early life McElfatrick was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1854, son of the theater architect John Bailey McElfatrick. He learned the archit ...

and John Morgan McElfatrick (1853-1891) in the firm J. B. McElfatrick & Sons.

Early life

McElfatrick studied architecture and engineering with his father, Edward McElfatrick.

Career

In 1851, he established a practice with offices in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

and

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 ...

. The firm later expanded to

St Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He also designed theaters in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He is credited with the design of more than 100 theaters and for instituting improved sight lines, multiple exits, fire sprinkler systems, and continuous rows of seating without aisles on the ground floor. His works include the Central Colored School at 542 West Kentucky Street in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, which is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Several theaters he designed, including BAM Harvey Theater in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, Metropolitan Opera House in

Miller Symphony Hall Miller Symphony Hall is a 1,100-seat performing arts facility in Allentown, Pennsylvania that hosts the Allentown Symphony Orchestra. The hall was previously known as Central Market (1896), Lyric Theater (1899), and Allentown Symphony Hall (1959). ...

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

, remain in use as of the early 21st century.

Works

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a multi-arts center in Brooklyn, New York City. It hosts progressive and avant-garde performances, with theater, dance, music, opera, film programming across multiple nearby venues. BAM was chartered in 18 ...

's BAM Harvey Theater in

(open) * Colonial Theatre in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...

* Metropolitan Opera House in

(open) *

(open), by

* National Theatre in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, an earlier building *

New Victory Theatre The New Victory Theater is a theater at 209 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, near Times Square. Built in 1900 as the Republic Theatre (also Theatre Republic), it was designed by Albert Westover an ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

(open) *Waynesburg Theater & Arts Center in Waynesburg * Bijou Theatre (1883) at 1239

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 Stre ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Harlem Opera House Harlem Opera House was an opera house located at 211 West 125th Street, in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Designed by architect John B. McElfatrick, it was built in 1889 by Oscar Hammerstein; it was his f ...

(1889) *

Columbus Theatre Columbus Theatre may refer to: * Columbus Theatre (New York City) * Columbus Theatre (Providence, Rhode Island) *Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón () is a historic opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera ...

(1890) *

Holyoke Opera House The Holyoke Opera House was a theatre operating in Holyoke, Massachusetts during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Built in 1877, and christened on March 25, 1878, the theater was built by then-mayor William Whiting who privately funded its con ...

(1894, refurbishing of galleries and stage) * Hammerstein's Olympia (1895) *

Parsons Theatre Parsons Theatre, also given as Parsons' Theatre, was a theatre located in Hartford, Connecticut, at 66 Prospect Street at the interaction of Prospect St., Central Row, and American Row. Construction began on the theatre in 1895 and it opened in 1896 ...

(1896) *Harlem Alhambra (1905) *

Manhattan Opera House The Manhattan Center is a building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1906 and located at 311 West 34th Street, it houses Manhattan Center Studios, the location of two recording studios; its Grand Ballroom; and the Hammerstein Ballroo ...

(1906) *Gayety Theater (1906) in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

*Howard Auditorium Music Hall (1895) in Baltimore

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McElfatrick, J. B. 1828 births 1906 deaths 19th-century American architects