Columbus' First Theater (Side 1)
A pioneer theatrical entrepreneur, Sol Smith, 1801-1869, built many theaters in the Deep South, including New Orleans and Mobile and the first permanent theater west of the Mississippi in St. Louis, a city that he and partner Noah Ludlow dominated. Smith came to Columbus in 1831 to a primitive log structure in the 800 block of Broadway, which builder Asa Bates had completed in one week. "Pizzaro" was his company´s first production there. Later, Smith toured Georgia´s theater circuit accompanied by friend Mirabeau B. Lamar, founding editor of teh Columbus Enquirer and later second president of the Republic of Texas.
Erected by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission and the Historic Columbus Foundation, Inc., 2002
Plaque courtesy Lat34North.com.
Original page, with additional info, here.
Photo credit: Byron Hooks of Lat34North.com.