John Wilkes Booth at the Academy of Music

The Academy of Music was located on Bank (West 6th) Street between St. Clair and Superior Avenues. The theatre opened in 1853 and was originally known As National Hall, and later as Foster's Varieties, Cleveland Theater and Theater Comique. The theatre was destroyed by fire on June 30, 1889, later rebuilt, a second fire on September 8, 1892 closed the theatre for good. The building was rebuilt as a dancehall and later became a commercial building that stood well into the 1990's.

John Ellsler was a noted actor and theatrical manager who made the Academy the finest house in Cleveland. Ellsler would go on to later fame at the Euclid Avenue Opera House which he constructed in 1873.

From November 26 through December 5, 1863 John Wilkes Booth appeared at the Acadamy for nine nights in a variety of roles, including Richard III.

Cleveland Morning Leader, November 26, 1863.

Cleveland Morning Leader, December 3, 1863.

Ad from the Plain Dealer, December 4, 1863.

Cleveland Morning Leader, December 5, 1863.

Western Reserve Historical Society photo.

John Wilkes Booth