Christine Wetherill Stevenson

Christine Wetherill Stevenson (April 12, 1878 – November 21, 1922) was an heiress of the Pittsburgh Paint Company[1] and founder of the Philadelphia Art Alliance.[2]

Christine Wetherill Stevenson
Born
Christine Wetherill

(1878-04-12)April 12, 1878
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedNovember 21, 1922(1922-11-21) (aged 43–44)
Media, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation(s)Philanthropist, dramatist, actress
Known forFounded the Philadelphia Art Alliance and The Pilgrimage Theater (now the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre)
Spouses
  • John V. Rice, Jr.
  • William Yorke Stevenson

In later years, her goal was to build her own open-air theatre and hold her own plays, an objective which she achieved shortly before her death in 1922. Establishing the Pilgrimage Theatre (now known as the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre) in a rural section of Los Angeles County, she then played a major role in creating that theater's first production, Life of Christ, which received significant advance newspaper coverage and was described "an American Oberammergau."[3][4]

Biography

Born on April 12, 1878, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as Christine Wetherill, she was a daughter of Samuel Price Wetherill (1846-1926) and Christine (Northrop) Wetherill (1852-1930). Her father was a descendant of Samuel Wetherill, who was a fellow member, with Betsy Ross, of the Free Quaker Meeting House.[5]

Christine Wetherill was married twice, first to John V. Rice, Jr., whom she divorced in 1902, and then to William Yorke Stevenson, son of Cornelius and Sara Yorke Stevenson, in 1908.[6]

During the late 1910s and early 1920s, Stevenson formed an art alliance with Marie Rankin Clarke, and raised money with her to buy a piece of land on Cahuenga Pass called "Daisy Dell".[1] They then rehearsed together for their first play there, Light of Asia.[7] A second series of plays was planned, The Pilgrimage, when resistance was met from Clarke and others in the group who wanted to expand the venue's themes.[8] Leaving them to form the Hollywood Bowl, she bought twenty-nine acres of land on the other side of Cahuenga Pass to build a new amphitheater for her plays, naming it The Pilgrimage Theatre, and created the Pilgrimage Play.[9][10]

Today The Pilgrimage Theatre is known as the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.[11][12]

The Hollywood Pilgrimage Memorial Monument (HCM No. 617), a thirty-two-foot-high steel cross, at 2580 Cahuenga Boulevard was erected in 1923 to the memory of Miss Stevenson.

Stevenson was also known as the founder of the Philadelphia Art Alliance,[13] which is housed in the former Samuel Price Wetherill Mansion.

Death, interment and memorial service

She died in Media, Pennsylvania, on November 21, 1922, and was interred at Philadelphia's Laurel Hill Cemetery.[14][15]

A memorial service was held in her honor on Sunday, November 26, 1922, at 3:00 p.m. in the Pilgrimage Theater. In pre-memorial announcements about the planned event, newspapers reported: "Hollywood is asked to attend the service, and pay tribute in all reverence to the woman who brought the Pilgrimage Play to Hollywood."[16][17]

Timeline – Hollywood Bowl and Pilgrimage Theatre
  • 1916 – Hollywood's first outdoor theatre production takes place in nearby Beachwood Canyon.
  • 1918 – First organizational meeting leads to plans for a permanent park and art center in Hollywood; Christine Wetherill Stevenson produces the religious drama, Light of Asia, on the grounds of the Theosophical Society above Beachwood Canyon.
  • 1919 – Theatre Arts Alliance incorporated, with Christine Wetherill Stevenson as president; purchase of 59 acres in Bolton Canyon for $47,500 on which to build a community park and art center.
  • 1920 – Christine leaves the Theatre Art Alliance and purchases 29 acres of land on the other side of Cahuenga Pass to build a new amphitheater for her plays.
  • 1920 – Community Park and Art Association established, replacing Theatre Arts Alliance[18]
  • 1922 – Christine Wetherill Stevenson dies
  • 1929 – Fire destroys Pilgrimage Theatre and theatre rebuilt

References
  1. McKenna, Kristine (June 30, 1996). "A Bowl Full of Memories". Los Angeles Times. p. 184. Retrieved April 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  2. "Pilgrimage Play Founder Is Dead." Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, front page (subscription required).
  3. "Life of Christ" (photo essay). Brooklyn, New York: The Standard Union, July 2, 1922, p. 8 (subscription required).
  4. "California's Oberammergau." San Francisco, California: The San Francisco Examiner, May 28, 1922, p. 92 (subscription required).
  5. Rittenhouse Square, US History.org
  6. "Stevenson-Rice". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, PA. June 4, 1908. p. 6. Retrieved April 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  7. "'Light of Asia,' First of Big Outdoor Pageants." Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles Evening Post-Record, June 12, 1918, p. 7 (subscription required).
  8. Favre, Jeff (May 27, 2005). "New work at Ford explores encounters between faiths". Daily Breeze. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  9. "'Life of the Christ', Religious Play, Opens in Los Angeles July 10." El Paso, Texas: El Paso Herald, July 5, 1922, front page (subscription required).
  10. "Bay Cities Will Have Night at Play." Venice, California: Evening Vanguard, July 25, 1922, p. 2 (subscription required).
  11. Pitt, Leonard; Pitt, Dale (1997). "Pilgrimage Play". Los Angeles A to Z (1 ed.). Los Angeles: University of California Press.
  12. Christine Wetherill Steveson and Pilgrimage Play (photo essay), in "Men, Women and Things in the World's News." Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles Evening Express, June 26, 1922, p. 19 (subscription required).
  13. "Art Alliance Reveres Memory of Its Founder: Admirers of Mrs. Christine Wetherill Stevenson Attend Service at Theatre." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 22, 1923, p. 12 (subscription required).
  14. "Southland Author's Pen Stilled". Los Angeles Times. November 22, 1922. p. 29. Retrieved April 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  15. Gibson, Idah McGlone. "The Woman's Viewpoint." Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles Evening Express, November 23, 1922, p. 24 (subscription required).
  16. Many Are Expected at Service in Memory of Mrs. Stevenson." Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, November 25, 1922, front page (subscription required).
  17. "Mrs. Stevenson's Memory Honored by Gathering." Los Angeles, California: The Los Angeles Times," p. 4 (subscription required).
  18. "History and Architecture". Hollywood Bowl. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
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