Ted Jennings of Summerville, 2019 В© Do Not Use Without Written Consent Another researcher suggests it was rebuilt in 1754 after a fire ( 9). One researcher has suggested that the Queen Street theater may have succumbed to the hurricane of 1752 and been rebuilt after that time ( 14). The location of this вЂњnew theatreвЂќ is not listed, and it may or may not have been located near the site of CharlestonвЂ™s earlier playhouse. There are no clear references to the venue after this decade, and by October 1754, a вЂњNew Theatre in this town was openedвЂќ ( 3). Thus it is possible that the original theater either survived the fire or was rebuilt. The blaze stopped one block short of the theater, however ( 13), and further notices in the Gazette promote balls to be held at вЂњthe theater in Queen StreetвЂќ in 17 ( 3). Some say it was out of commission by 1738 ( 11) and subsequently destroyed during the fire of 1740 ( 12). Though the revision was made in 1734, it does not appear to have taken hold вЂ“ at least in common parlance вЂ“ until 1736.ДЄfter this point, the history of the original theater becomes even cloudier. This change was authorized by an Act of Assembly to honor of Caroline of Anspach, wife of George II ( 10). The reason for this shift is that Dock Street had been renamed Queen Street. These performances were likely given in the same structure, which by then appears in advertisements as the вЂњTheatre in Queen streetвЂќ and вЂњthe new theater, Queen StreetвЂќ ( 3).

South Caroliniana Library, Works Progress Administration, 1930-1940 Also, in spite of the sale, Henry Holt continued to host dance classes and balls there ( 4). The old adage that says вЂњthe show must go onвЂќ must have been in effect, however, for at least three different titles were advertised during the period between November 1736 and January 1737 вЂ“ Cato, The Recruiting Officer, and Flora, which had been executed at the Court Room in 1735 ( 4) in what is widely regarded as AmericaвЂ™s earliest operatic performance. A notice in a May 1736 edition of the South-Carolina Gazette announces the sale as follows: вЂњTo be sold to the best bidder on Wednesday next the 12th instant at the Theatre in Queen street, one half (or the whole) of the said Theatre with the ground thereunto belonging, containing front in Church-street 57 feet, depth 119 feet, with all the scenes, cloathing, &c.вЂќ ( 4). It was managed by either him or dancer-turned-thespian Henry Holt, who posted sale of the building just four months after its first performance. Shepheard who owned the Court Room, as it is known that subscriptions for a winter season were organized by him and collected at his Broad Street location in 1735 ( 3).

The proprietor of the theater was likely the same Mr. How did the original theater fare? Not well, weвЂ™re afraid. The only pieces of this building that are believed to have been part of the original 1736 theater are a few вЂњfragmentary brick wallsвЂќ ( 9).Д¬irca 1936: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-csas-03935 It is also important to note that the current auditorium is not yet even 80 years old.Дating between 19, what we now think of as the Dock Street Theatre was built after the Great Depression under the direction of the WPA, using the 19th-century facade of the former Planters Hotel ( 6) and вЂњremnants of 18th-century buildings that were incorporated into larger nineteenth-century structureвЂќ ( 9). In actuality, the old theater, which does not appear to have been called Dock Street Theatre but simply вЂњthe new theatre in Dock Street,вЂќ was predated by a theater built in Williamsburg two decades before ( 8). Pete Lawrence of Sumter, 2014 В© Do Not Use Without Written ConsentДЄll this being said, the first evidence of an actual theater venue in Charleston вЂ“ built explicitly for that purpose вЂ“ dates from another advertisement in the South-Carolina Gazette, published on January 24, 1736, which reads, вЂњOn Thursday, the 12th of February, will be opened the new theatre in Dock Street, in which will be performed the comedy callвЂ™d вЂThe Recruiting Officer'вЂќ ( 3).ДЇrom this single source, some have surmised that the Dock Street Theatre вЂњwas the first building in America built exclusively to be used for theatrical performancesвЂќ ( 7).

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