Opening: July 4, 1848.
Don Antonio F. Coronel opened the Teatro Alarcon as an addition to his adobe house. The theatre was possibly named for the noted Mexican playwright Juan Ruiz de Alarcon. The theatre sported a proscenium with a drop curtain and a good supply of scenery.
The theatre was active as a spot for Spanish and English language drama presented by traveling troupes through the 1860s and 70s.
Seating: 300
Status: Demolished long ago. Calle de los Negros became an extension northward of Los Angeles St. sometime prior to 1910. Arcadia was realigned north a bit during the construction of the 101.
Looking north toward the Plaza with Arcadia St. going off to the left. Coronel's adobe is on the corner. It's a photo from the California State Library that appears on the Los Angeles Public Library website. They date it as c.1870. Their caption notes: "On the left is the adobe of Antonio Coronel; behind the adobe and with belltower is the fire station; center with a gable roof is the adobe of Vincent Lugo (facing the plaza on Los Angeles Street); and right with columns is the Antonio Maria Lugo adobe, which he willed to his son, Dolores del Carmen Lugo."
Another look at Colonel's house on the Calle de los Negros. It's a photo on the Los Angeles Public Library website from the El Pueblo Monument Collection. The Library dates it as c.1875.
An 1853 map of the Plaza area appearing on a page from the Jewish Museum of the American West. Calle Principal/Main St. runs off to the left (south) from the Plaza. The Coronel Adobe (#28) is a bloc south and east at of the Plaza at Arcadia and Calle de los Negros (#24). They note that, despite the name seen here, the first African American resident had yet top arrive in Los Angeles.
That's Main St. across the top. Los Angeles St., across the middle, was earlier called Canal St. or Calle de la Banta. Calle de los Negros has become an extension north of Los Angeles St. in this detail from plate 003 of the 1910 Baist Real Estate Survey from Historic Map Works. They also list it as Negro Alley. On this map the Colonel adobe (demolished decades earlier) would out in the middle of Los Angeles St., in front of what's shown here as the Jeanette Block.
An 1894 photo of Coronel by the F. A. Pattee Co. that appears with the Wikipedia article on A.F. Coronel. He was the fourth mayor of Los Angeles (1853-1854) and also served as State Treasurer (1867-1871).
More Information: The Alarcon is mentioned on page 19 of "Mexican American Theatre: Then and Now" by Nicolas Kenellos. Also see page 249 of "Handbook of Hispanic Cultures... " edited by Francisco Lomeli. Both are on Google Books.
Bill Rosar notes that the Alarcon is mentioned in the 2005 book "This Small City Will be a Mexican Paradise: Exploring the Origins of Mexican Culture in Los Angeles, 1821-1846" by Michael J. González. The author doesn't have any real data on what plays were performed at the Alarcon but offers his speculations.
See the Daily Mirror article "Calle de los Negros - a vanished landmark" by Larry Harnish. Mark Hurlbut commented: "'Nigger Alley'...was named for the dark-complected Indians who frequented its dens and cribs. Harris Newmark, prominent businessman, wrote of his first night in L.A. in 1853: 'Each side of Nigger Alley was occupied by saloons and gambling houses….Those in charge of the (faro) banks were always provided with pistols and were ready, if an emergency arose, to settle disputes on the spot…..Human life at this period was about the cheapest thing in Los Angeles. Nigger Alley was as tough a neighborhood as could be found anywhere.'"
KCET also has an article on Calle de los Negros.
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