oscar wilde's 1882 lecture tour of america

date

Thursday, January 26th, 1882

venue

Academy of Music

subject

The English Renaissance

Revised extensively during the first month of the tour. (Beckson)

historical note

Academy of Music
516 North Howard Street
Baltimore, MD

Organized: 1870
Opened: January 5th, 1875
Architect: J. Crawford Neilson
Demolished: late 1920s

related and credits:

Bayles/Yeager Online Archive of the Performing Arts
Kilduffs.com

city

Baltimore, MD

verification

Newspaper report

The Baltimore Sun, Jan 27th, 1882.

Oscar Wilde's Lecture in Baltimore
Mr. Oscar Wilde delivered his lecture on "The English Renaissance" at the Academy of Music last night. About 800 persons were in the audience. Considering the weather there was quite a large turn out of ladies. Altogether the audience was a fair representation of the beauty and culture of the city.

[extract]

verification

Newspaper report

The New York Herald, Jan 27th, 1882.

clarifications

Previous Itineraries

These sources amend the date and venue of the Baltimore lecture, as noted in previous itineraries.

The original source for previous itineraries (although uncredited) was probably L&S p. 102. That account gave Lincoln Hall as the venue, possibly confusing their source references with the Washington lecture at Lincoln Hall three days earlier. It also gave the date of the lecture as the 25th, which would be fit conveniently with Wilde's lecture schedule. However, contemporary press cuttings strongly indicate the 26th.

The Mount Vernon Hotel

While in Baltimore, Oscar Wilde stayed at the Mount Vernon Hotel (see above). This is NOT the hotel of the same name currently on West Franklin Street, which was built in 1907.

The Mount Vernon Hotel where Wilde stayed is, however, extant at 702 Cathedral Street. Built in 1847, the building became the mansion home of U.S. Congressman William Julian Albert (1816–1879) before being converted into a hotel in 1867. It has since been a house of worship (1924), and office space. The exterior has undergone changes but the interior was restored in 1997 including a centerpiece domed skylight of hand-painted Italian glass.

Sources: ‪History of Baltimore City and County, from the earliest period to the present day‬: including biographical sketches of their representative men‬, by ‪John Thomas Scharf. ‪L.H. Everts‬, 1881.

Agora Inc. (permission sought).