Circa 1910 Light Board, Tabor Opera House, Leadville, CO

Bricks

Member
Hi all, been lurking a while and finally created an account to show these really cool lighting controls!

The docent who sent the images said they're circa 1910s-1920s. These are still functional. People occasionally use them to show that they work, and wear thick insulating gloves when they do so.

The Tabor Opera House in Leadville, CO (not the opera house of the same name in Denver) is also home to one of the largest early collections of painted scenery in the US, just as an added bit of trivia.

Thanks for viewing!
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That’s absolutely wild! Look at all that exposed Knob & Tube just dangling against the wall!
 
The K&T wiring looks period for the 1st decade of the 20th Century but I thought that the plug fuses ere later than that. I've seen a lot of late 19th-early 20th with lead wire fuses. These were lead wires of varying diameters for different currents, about 1-1/2" long with copper spade lugs soldered to the ends. The "fuse panel" consisted of pairs of binding posts for each fuse mounted on a slate backboard. To replace a fuse we had to turn everything on the circuit off to avoid sparks when putting in the new fuse.
 
The K&T wiring looks period for the 1st decade of the 20th Century but I thought that the plug fuses ere later than that. I've seen a lot of late 19th-early 20th with lead wire fuses. These were lead wires of varying diameters for different currents, about 1-1/2" long with copper spade lugs soldered to the ends. The "fuse panel" consisted of pairs of binding posts for each fuse mounted on a slate backboard. To replace a fuse we had to turn everything on the circuit off to avoid sparks when putting in the new fuse.
@JonCarter The era of fused neutrals you say. This was common in Canada when those new-fangled electric wires were pulled through your perfectly serviceable gas pipes.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
Ron, I've always wondered abou that. I'd heard that the "new-fangled electric wires" were pulled through existing gas pipes, but that doesn't seem too likely. Can you imagine getting a snake through gas pipe elbows & tees? Much less pulling a pair of good ol' type R fabric-covered wire through them.
 
The Tabor Grand!

For those unfamiliar, Horace Tabor "went West, young man" after marrying Augusta, only to have an affair with Elizabeth "Baby Doe" McCourt that cost his marriage to Augusta. Tabor was big on silver (his daughter with Baby Doe was named Silver Dollar Tabor) and acquired great wealth until the Panic of 1893 and the soon to follow struggle over coinage of silver (which led to William Jennings Bryan's famous "Cross of Gold" speech).

Enough sleaze, money and politics to fill an opera, which it did. Douglas Moore and John Latouche penned The Ballad of Baby Doe. Suggest a YooToob search...
 
Ron, I've always wondered abou that. I'd heard that the "new-fangled electric wires" were pulled through existing gas pipes, but that doesn't seem too likely. Can you imagine getting a snake through gas pipe elbows & tees? Much less pulling a pair of good ol' type R fabric-covered wire through them.
@JonCarter The Players' Guild Of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada is a 3 story + basement structure erected at 80 Queen Street South in the heart of downtown Hamilton in the late 1800's and piped for gas lighting throughout. When electricity came, condulets were installed where needed and the wiring was pulled in. typically 2 conductors per pipe. Within the last decade the wiring in the gas pipes has been totally replaced.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
The Ellen Theatre, Bozeman, Mt. Circa 1919. I've got a whole post I'm working on about the rigging that will blow your mind. I just need time to write it.

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Thanks for sharing, these photos are terrifying!
 

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