Richmond Theater fire
Richmond, Virginia, theatre fire of 1811
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| Date | December 26, 1811 |
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| Venue | Richmond Theatre |
| Location | Richmond, Virginia |
| Coordinates | 37°32′20″N 77°25′48″W / 37.538902°N 77.429876°WCoordinates: 37°32′20″N 77°25′48″W / 37.538902°N 77.429876°W |
| Type | Fire |
| Deaths | 72 |
The Richmond Theatre fire occurred in Richmond, Virginia, United States on December 26, 1811. It devastated the Richmond Theatre, located on the north side of Broad Street between what is now Twelfth and College Streets. The fire, which killed 72 people including many government officials, was the worst urban disaster in American history at the time. The Monumental Church was erected on the site as a memorial to the fire.
A previous building at the same location was known initially as the first Academy of Fine Arts and Sciences in America, and subsequently the site was known as "The Theatre Square." Chevalier Quesnay de Beaurepaire, a French officer who served in the American Revolutionary War, had developed the idea for the academy but the plan was abandoned due to the war.
Richmond's first theatre, a barn-like building, opened its doors on October 10, 1786 for the first time with a performance of School for Scandal. The Virginia Ratifying Convention of 1788 was held in this building beginning on June 3 for three weeks "after first convening in the temporary capitol at Cary and fourteenth streets." Among the many individuals in attendance were James Madison, John Marshall, James Monroe, Edmund Pendleton, George Wythe, George Nicholas, Edmund Randolph, George Mason, Richard Henry Lee, and Patrick Henry. This building was destroyed by fire in 1811.
A new multi-storey brick theatre was erected around 1810 on what was at the time the north side of H Street (now Broad). There was an orchestra section, a first balcony, and an upper balcony, with narrow doorways.
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