Tony Rivenbark described it in
2010 as like “an Acropolis over
the city.” In a town of one- and
two-story buildings, he observed,
“It had to be phenomenal to
the community to watch this
building being constructed.”
28 september 2022
WBM
Above: In 1855
a contract was
let for the con-struction
of the
new building
for $35,786.
The old Inness
Academy was
pulled down,
and enough
of the foun-dation
was
laid to permit the cornerstone
ceremonies on December 27.
Right: The 1810 Belanger map
of Wilmington, when the pop-ulation
was around 2,500. The
third image from left middle
row is the Innes Academy, which
stood on the site of present-day
Thalian Hall. It was the town’s
principal theatrical venue for
more than five decades. The
venue seated about 200. The
school was on the top floor,
and the theater was below. The
stage took up approximate-ly
one-third of the first floor
and was equipped with stage
machinery, a front curtain and
an orchestra pit.
THE imposing structure at Third and Chestnut is a two-story, five bay, stucco over brick
building with a combination of Classical Revival and late Victorian design elements. The
Third Street front facade features a Corinthian four-columned portico.
It has gone by different names — The Wilm-ington
Theater, Academy of Music, the Opera House — but it
became known as Thalian Hall, or simply “the Hall.”
Physically, it’s difficult to overestimate its importance in the
city’s downtown.
The building was constructed on a rise above the Cape Fear
River. Tony Rivenbark described it in 2010 as like “an Acropolis
over the city.” In a town of one- and two-story buildings, he
observed, “It had to be phenomenal to the community to watch
this building being constructed.”
It can be found in the minutes of the Town Commissioners in
May 1853, but the references are, at best, cryptic. What would
eventually become Thalian was first referred to by commis-sioners
who appointed a committee to seek a suitable site for
a “public building to be used as a Town Hall.” No mention
was made of a theater then, since Wilmington already had a
performance space. Known as Innes Academy, it was a modest
building 70 feet long by 40 feet by 30 feet high, including the
foundation. It occupied the spot where Thalian Hall now
stands, and it was the town’s principal theatrical venue for more
than five decades.
It’s not clear what sparked the desire to replace Innes
Academy, but Rivenbark had his own opinion. Although
careful to state that his theory could not be fully documented,
Rivenbark would tell the story of a visit to Wilmington in
1850 by the “Swedish nightingale,”
Jenny Lind. On her way to
Charleston, S.C., to perform,
Ms. Lind’s train went
through Wilmington.
Learning of the presence of such an illustrious star, the town’s
prominent citizens met the train with flowers in their arms and
asked if she might perform here.
Her manager asked the size of the town’s theater, and when told
the hall’s capacity, he replied, “Gentlemen, my orchestra would fill a
large part of that space.”
Ms. Lind continued on to Charleston, leaving, Rivenbark conjec-tured,
consternation in her wake.
“You can just see people talking at the saloon … or at the gentlemen’s
club,” Rivenbark laughed, “or after church at St. James and saying, ‘We
need a decent hall here. We missed out.’”
Innes Academy didn’t embody Wilmington’s vision of itself. This, Riven-bark
explained, “was the largest city in the state, and it was the most pros-perous
and the most up-to-date. It was a status symbol at that time to have
an opera house.” Wilmington, he believed, “had a sophisticated viewpoint.”
Trains were the era’s principal mode of transportation, as was the river.
The town was a port and a rail center, and the citizens “had a view not only
to New York but also to Europe,” said Rivenbark. Even Thalian’s Italianate
style reflected current architectural tastes.
Tony Rivenbark would tell
the story of a train stop
in Wilmington in 1850 by
Jenny Lind, the “Swedish
nightingale,” which sparked
a flame in the hearts of
Wilmingtonians for a per-formance
hall that could
attract such stars.
Tony Rivenbark sits at the head of a table set
on Thalian’s main stage for Wrightsville Beach
Magazine’s The State of the Stage Dinner, part
of the Let’s Talk series, in 2007.
WBM FILE PHOTO