1895 Bromley Phila. City Map
Philly had its high tech entertainment moments in its day from the Centennial to the end of that Century with Cyclorama paintings too big to be housed in regular museums but having to be put into locally built round house like barn structures for that purpose. Philly had three over that short time of a high tech mechanical entertainment curve.
The Three Cyclorama Buildings in Philly were:
1876 - The Parisian Cyclorama, showing the Siege of Paris, at Elm Avenue and 40th Street, east of the Exhibition's main hall. It was no doubt a temporary structure make of corrugated iron sheets that got hauled off for recycling at the close of that World's Fair in the Fall of 1876.
Parisian Cyclorama - Centennial Exhibition
(1873 starting in NYC) and 1876 SE Broad and Locust Streets, reassembled in Philly after being disassembled in NYC, finding life as the Colosseum / Cyclorama to house showman Fred Zimmerman's imitation of the Siege of Paris at the Fair grounds with his Paris at Night show at the Colosseum.
Colosseum / Cyclorama - Broad and Locust
1885 - The Cyclorama Building at NE Broad and Cherry Streets to house the new Cyclorama Painting 300 feet long called the Battle of Gettysburg. Following in 1888 by the Jerusalem Cyclorama and then when the fad had died out, a new name and function.
Paul Philippoteaux - Cyclorama Painter
1892 - Winter Circus, they refitted the Cyclorama on North Broad street to do entertainments in the form of one ring circuses, boxing matches, ballet and other stuff under the management of S. Henry Pincus for half a dozen or so years.
A bunch of gentlemen pooled resources to make the Winter Circus a boxing Mecca to rival Madison Square Garden, newly minted in 1890 in NYC. This arrangement worked out for a year or two but then Mayor Stuart revoked the license, not big enough kickbacks to city hall I would guess, all things considered in Boxing, the main gate proceeds and the profits from on and off site "illegal" betting on these bouts. The occasional private club showings of a fight and rent a hall and rent a stage here and there after that with no specific agendas in entertainment to take advantage of the unique design of the building.
1899 - Cyclorama Building duty again with the Battle of Manila Bay. Then they knocked the place down around 1904 to make way for the Lyric Theatre.
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