Nebraska Business College and Boyd Theatre, Omaha, Nebraska
Description
Color postcard (14 x 9 cm.) with an exterior view of the Nebraska Business College and Boyd's Theatre in Omaha, Nebraska. Both the Nebraska Business College and Boyd's Theatre were located in the same building on the corner of 17th and Harney Streets.
James E. Boyd was a mayor of Omaha (1881-1883) and a governor of Nebraska (1891 and 1892-1893). Boyd's Theater opened in its original location at the northeast corner of 15th and Farnam in 1881, the same year in which Boyd started serving as mayor of the city. After it burned a scant ten years later the theater moved to a new location, seen in this image, at the southeast corner of 17th and Harney, just as Boyd was starting to serve as governor of the state. In 1914 the theater was sold to the Burgess-Nash Co., who, in 1920, closed the theater and razed the building that housed it in order to make way for a new annex for their department store. The most famous performer to appear at Boyd's was Sarah Bernhardt, who appeared in 1887 (in "Fedora", "Camille", and "Frou-Frou") and 1905 (in "La Tosca"). Sources: Barbe, Lucille. A History of the Boyd Opera House in Omaha, Nebraska (1881-1889). Omaha: University of Omaha, 1963, p. 166; Millburg, Steve. "Culture and the Fine Arts Got Early Start in Omaha." Omaha World-Herald, August 18, 1985; Spencer, Jeffrey S. "Building for the Ages: Omaha's Architectural Landmarks." Omaha: Landmarks, Inc., 2003, p. 20.
