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EJ Phillips in Cleveland Ohio

Hollenden, Cleveland Ohio
Jany 27th 1893 

My dear Son, 

Miss [Elsie] de Wolfe is quite ill -- so ill that I thought she would not be able to play last night but she did!  She and her Mother are being entertained here by one of the Cleveland 400 in grand style -- have their carriage to and from the theatre -- a servant allotted each to wait on them while they remain here.  Must cost the man as much as [illegible] dollars per day to keep up such an establishment as Miss De Wolfe described to me last Eve.  I am glad she is having such a good time, as I think it will brace her up and next week will be a comparatively easy one as we go on Monday to Columbus for 3 nights and Indianapolis 3 nights.   

  This is a splendid house.  Wish I had one like it everywhere. 

THE HOLLENDEN
                                  Fire proof
                                  American plan
                                  $3.00 to $5.00 per day
                                  European plan rooms
                                  $1.00 to $2.50 per day
                                  Cleveland, Ohio  Friday Novr 17th, 1893
 
My dear Son,
The clipping you sent from the Sun is one of many in which Mr. [AM] Palmer still uses my name, but I do not think it will do him any good.  I think Chas Frohman will fulfill his contract with me for this season, and then will perhaps want me for the next season.  In going to California with Palmers Co I would still be under Chas Frohman's & [Al] Hayman's management.  It is a mixed up affair all around.  In fact a game of Battledore and Shuttle-cock.  And the Actor is the latter and the manager Battledores him where ever he pleases.
 
Miss Elsie deWolfe did not gain her bit of diplomacy as Miss Ada Dyas & Mrs. Thorndike Boucicault are engaged for A Woman of No Importance.  It was a cheeky bit of work for Miss deWolfe and she did not deserve to succeed.  And it is well for herself she didn't for, it would have been her third dramatic failure.
 
We had an accident coming across the Lake Wednesday night.  The Steamer, City of Detroit, ran into a schooner and we were near the spot.  I feared something was the matter as our engines stopped and bells sounded, whistles blew but I kept quiet and did not know about it until Morning, though I did not sleep until about an hour before landing in Cleveland.  Nobody was hurt.  The schooner was loaded with lumber which prevented her sinking and a tug took her into port at Amherstburg.  The Lake was very rough, but I did not get seasick.
 
We opened to a very nice house last night and two performances tomorrow.  We go to Louisville for three nights.  Then to Evansville 1 night, Lafayette 1 & Peoria 1.  Three miserable bad towns,  hotels and theatres bad.  Then go to St Louis.  Play in the old Olympic where I used to belong to the Stock Co [with Benedict DeBar].  

I do not know where I shall stop in Cincinnati.  The Burnet House I did not like last Winter.  It was expensive and not particularly comfortable. 
 
I feel pretty well but not as strong as I used to be.  And have to be careful what I eat.  Indigestion has got hold of me & I have to eat plain food or I have to pay up for it in pain and nervousness.  Love and Kisses to all three of you, dear children from your loving    Mother 

THE HOLLENDEN 
Cleveland, Ohio 
March 7th 1895

My dear Son, 

Mr. Dolman is very ill.  Dr. says it is consumption.  He has had hemorrhages and he said to the Dr. on Monday night, "Dr., this is the beginning of the end".  I have wondered for some time how he got about.  And I do not think he will last very long.  And no one to take his place in that big family.  This in haste from your loving Mother

19th and 21st century Cleveland
Mary Glen went to Cleveland in June 2019 to give a talk at the SLA Annual conference, and realized that while EJ Phillips hadn't spent much time in Cleveland and there wasn't much left of what she did see (and hadn't really researched much in advance) she could use her iPad and see what was in these letters and see what else might be nearby, as well as go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Looking for the Euclid Avenue Theatre led me to the Cleveland Arcade on Sunday morning, which was a delight. I also saw the Soldiers and Sailors Monument which was built in 1894.  http://www.soldiersandsailors.com/

Superior  Holldendon HOTEL, once the most glamorous and colorful of Cleveland's hostelries, opened on 7 June 1885 … Designed by architect GEO. F. HAMMOND, it boasted electric lights, 100 private baths, and fireproof construction, a lavish interior with paneled walls, redwood and mahogany fittings, and crystal chandeliers. Politicians claimed the dining room and made it famous as a meeting place. Replaced by 14 story hotel 1965, demolished 1989, now a 32 story office building.
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollenden_Hotel

http://www.summitmemory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/campbell&CISOPTR=383&CISOBOX=1&REC=5   

Cahn's 1897 Theatrical guide lists Hollenden rates as $2.50 and up.

Cleveland Cahn's 1897 Theatrical Guide lists the Euclid Avenue Opera House, Cleveland Theatre and Lyceum Theatre. Lady Windermee's Fan in 1893 was at the Euclid Avenue Theatre, " at Euclid and 9th Street in downtown Cleveland which is long gone" http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/26831

Cleveland Arcade  a Victorian-era structure of two nine-story buildings, joined by a five-story arcade with a glass skylight spanning over 300 feet (91 m), along the four balconies.^[2] Erected in 1890, at a cost of $867,000 ($24,200,000 in 2018 dollars), the Arcade opened on Memorial Day (May 30, 1890),^[2] and is identified as one of the earliest indoor shopping malls in the United States.^[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Arcade

Interior 2019 June  Exterior

Arcade Cleveland https://www.theclevelandarcade.com/   East 4th and Arcades https://www.clevelandgatewaydistrict.com/east4th

Cleveland Illustrated http://www.clevelandgatewaydistrict.com/history/buildings-landmarks/lower-euclid-ave/
Cleveland in the Gilded age https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Cleveland#Cleveland_during_the_Gilded_Age:_1865-1900
Euclid Avenue Cleveland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclid_Avenue_(Cleveland)

Last revised August 24,  2020

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