 |
| The Fatal Panic and Crush at the Colosseum Music-Hall, Liverpool in 1878 Sir Luke Fildes, 1878 The Victoria & Albert Museum |
This print shows an illustration of the fatal
panic and crush at the Colosseum Music-Hall, Liverpool in 1878. It was published by The Illustrated London
News in the same year. Sir Luke Fildes,
(KB, KCVO, RA, born 1844 - died 1927) served as the illustrator.
The Colosseum Music Hall in Liverpool had been
converted around 1850 from an octagonal-shaped Unitarian Chapel which had been
built in 1791. The structure was heavily
altered to accommodate two auditoria, one for variety acts and one for straight
theater. The alterations to the building
had been made poorly and hastily and, on October 11, 1878, part of the ceiling
fell—crushing 37 people and injuring many others in the ensuring panic.
By 1879, the theatre—which had been closed since
the tragedy—reopened after having undergone extensive repair and
renovation. Gone were the two auditoria—replaced
with one which could hold 3000 people.
Sadly, the tragedy tainted the theatre and the new incarnation of the
venue failed, closing and reopening again in 1880 as the Star Music Hall. Since that time, the theatre has undergone
many changes and been called by many different names. By 1916 it had become a warehouse. The structure was bombed during the Second
World War and was, then, subsequently demolished.
No comments:
Post a Comment