Cumberland, Maryland City Hall & Academy of Music facts for kids

The Academy of Music was also Cumberland's first city hall.

The Academy of Music was a famous building in Cumberland, Maryland, that stood from 1874 to 1910. It was special because it served two big purposes: it was a grand theater for plays and shows, and it was also the city's first city hall, where the local government worked.

This was a huge and impressive building. Its walls were 18-inch (460 mm) thick, and it stood 78 feet (24 m) tall from the street to the main roof. A tall tower on top made the whole building reach a height of 140 feet (43 m). Construction started in 1874 and finished in 1876. It cost $127,000 to build, which would be like spending several million dollars today.

A Building with Two Personalities

The building was cleverly designed to house both entertainment and city business. The entire southern part was dedicated to the theater, which was officially called the Academy of Music. The other part of the building was used for the city's government.

The City's Official Home

The ground floor of the building had a Market House where people could shop. On the floors above, you could find the offices for the city's government. This included a beautifully decorated office for the mayor and the room where the city council held its meetings.

The Grand Theater

The Academy of Music opened on March 7, 1876. The first show was a play called "The Big Bonanza," presented by a group led by John T. Ford. The theater was very large, with a stage that was 30 feet by 30 feet. It had four special VIP boxes for important guests and could seat 1,300 people. For very popular shows, it was said that over 2,000 people would pack inside to watch.

Inside the Academy of Music

In 1878, a writer named Lowermilk described the theater's interior as "one of the most beautiful...in the country." The ceiling was a work of art, painted by skilled artists from Baltimore.

The seating was arranged on different levels:

• The Orchestra and Orchestra Circle were on the main floor, with almost 500 comfortable folding chairs.
• The Dress Circle was the next level up.
• The Balcony was the highest seating area.

The balconies were held up by decorative iron columns. The front of the balconies had beautiful metalwork painted in soft colors with gold details. In the center of the ceiling, a large light fixture called a "Sunlight" reflector lit up the entire room. The main curtain was a large painting showing the "Decline of Carthage." A portrait of the famous playwright Shakespeare was painted on the border of the stage.

The theater was also practical. It had dressing rooms for the actors under the stage with water, heat, and other comforts.

The End of an Era

Sadly, the Academy of Music was destroyed in a fire on March 14, 1910. What was left of the building was torn down.

A new, smaller City Hall was built on the same spot between 1911 and 1912. The new building cost $87,000. The plans for the new City Hall included a dome, but it was considered too expensive at $6,000. Even though the dome was never built, you can still see the circular foundation for it on the building's roof today.

Inside the current City Hall, a large mural painted by artist Gertrude Dubrau shows scenes from Cumberland's early history, including Fort Cumberland, General Edward Braddock, and George Washington.