Fire Department Annual Ball: 38th

Event Information

Venue(s):
Academy of Music

Price: $5 admits one gentleman and two ladies; $2 per extra lady

Performance Forces:
Instrumental

Record Information

Status:
Published

Last Updated:
1 March 2016

Performance Date(s) and Time(s)

28 Feb 1867, Evening

Program Details

Re-opening of the new Academy of Music.

For the benefit of widows and orphans of fallen firemen.

Performers and/or Works Performed

Citations

1)
Announcement: New-Yorker Staats-Zeitung und Herold, 18 February 1867.
2)
Advertisement: New York Herald, 27 February 1867, 1.
3)
Advertisement: New-York Times, 28 February 1867, 7.
4)
Review: New-York Times, 01 March 1867.

“Last evening, the thirty-eighth annual ball of the late Volunteer Fire Department came off with even more than its accustomed éclat, at the now completed Academy of Music. Remembering how the lively-footed children of Manhattan were deprived of their favorite theatre of action, just as they had begun to plot their midnight revels, it is not surprising that after their long Winter’s fast they should be afflicted for a time with that expensive epidemic, Terpsichoremania. That we are going to have a terrible time of it nobody can doubt who saw the excited rush of pleasure-seekers last night. For the dances alone, the spacious floor of the Academy was but a narrow resting-place; yet, besides these, there were the hundreds who went on charitable thought alone intent, and not a few who were desirous to be present at the opening of our phenix [sic] of an Academy, which has arisen so beautiful out of its own ashes. Probably desirous to get an early peep at the interior, many hundreds had gathered and occupied the boxes long before the now-fashionable hour for arrival, say 10 or 10:30. This early visit was well rewarded by the opportunity thus gained for quietly contemplating the beautiful surroundings. We have before described fully the chaste and elaborate decorations…

Grafulla, with melodious call, brought out the dancers about 10:30. From that hour to midnight the house filled rapidly, and about this time there was quite a fair amount of crowd and crush upon the floor, and the boxes, even the ampthitheatre, was filled with spectators and the breathers between the intervals of dancing…

As fully 1,000 tickets were sold, and the attendance unquestionably large, the Firemen’s Ball may be considered this year as any other a decided success, and the fund will rejoice in an increase from this source of at least $6,000.”

5)
Review: New-York Daily Tribune, 01 March 1867.

“The rebuilt Academy of Music was ‘opened’ last night by the annual ball of the old firemen. The Grand Opening is to-night, when the ‘Grand Bal d’Opera’ comes off. The affair of last night was merely a foreflier of its great predecessor. But the entertainment was conducted with all of the éclat which usually distinguishes the balls instituted by the Old Firemen’s Association.

The new Academy does not present the same attractions as of old. It is no longer the colossal-amphitheater, with its many tiers of galleries, and its broad extent of floor. The finishing touches were hurried up yesterday in order to be ready for the ball. The ball was to take place in the evening, but at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the gilded sides of the interior were still surrounded by scaffolding. Carpenters were hammering, painters were putting on their last touches, in a great hurry, it is true, and the entire Hall having a look as though it would not be ready in a month. But as the hour of the ball drew nigh, everything began to wear a more thorough appearance. The scaffolding gradually vanished, the painter with his brushes and pigments went out of sight, the echo of the carpenter’s hammer died away, and the work of the decorator began to make itself manifest in every portion of the house. The good taste exercised in decorating the interior cannot be too highly praised. As a general thing, the beauty of the white and gold ornamentation of the galleries was allowed to go unadorned. The decoration was limited almost entirely to the stage and proscenium. These decorations were of the usual character. Standing at the back of the stage, and looking forward, the brilliant hall unfolded itself in the glory of its gilding; and looking stageward, the grandeur of the proscenium, with its festive festooning of flags and other ornaments, made a splendid back-ground. The guests began to arrive as early as 8 o’clock in the evening. There was the usual long array of carriages, and the usual press around the doors to see the fair ladies crowd into the hall in their ball-room attire. Capt. Brackett, of the Metropolitan Police, took charge of the carriages. By 11 o’clock in the evening, the great hall of the Academy was crowded to its full capacity. A thousand hearts beat merrily. The brilliant gaslight poured its rays over fair women and brave men [description of attendees’ attire]. . . . The order of dancing was very agreeably arranged; the music was most excellent; and when our reporter quitted the building, the grand floor was in a whirl of dance which was delightful to behold, and something to dream about afterward. Judging by the general crush, a great many tickets must have been sold. At any rate, it cannot be denied that the Academy of Music had a very happy reopening in the festivities of last night.”