SPRING 2014, VOLUME 17, ISSUE 1
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Spring Edition
Whats In A Name???
The Plum Street Hall
The cultural center of Vineland in its early days was
located on Plum Street, just east of Sixth Street.
Through several changes in name, it was first Plum
Street Hall, then Cosmopolitan Hall and finally the
Auditorium. This venue building housed many of
the town's significant events and activities. As Dr.
Russell Conwell said. "One of the many speakers
who lectured at the venue, declared at the start of
the 20th century, the hall had "been a friend to education, temperance, politics, religion and peace." A
place where "the people of Vineland have come to
laugh, to listen, to applaud, to learn, without regard
to class."
The origin of the facility actually lies in the formation of the Friends of Progress, a society of free
thinkers who were early settlers in Vineland. Once
organized in 1864, the group set about constructing
a hall that could be utilized for its purposes.
ALSO KNOWN AS THE PLUM STREET HALL,
NOW A PARKING LOT
In the same way he would encourage the growth of
religious communities by providing property where
places of worship could be constructed, town founder Charles K. Landis offered three building lots on
Plum Street to the Friends of Progress. The society
also purchased three lots on Pear Street after which
the construction of Plum Street Hall was underway
According to Thelma H. Taylor's article on the history of Cosmopolitan Hall in the Vineland Historical Magazine, the structure was 60 by 70 feet with
a flat roof. It was lit by oil lamps and heated by
four iron stoves. Settees that seated up to six individuals
SPRING 2014, VOLUME 17, ISSUE 1
Page 2
at a cost of $2.500. The stage was expanded, the
roof replaced and intrusive center posts removed.
The following year, gas lights were added. Along
with the physical changes, the building was rechristened Cosmopolitan Hall but continued to present the standard fare that it had in the past.
That were not cushioned but were movable so that
audiences could enjoy dancing. The motto of the
Friends of Progress, "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity," was emblazoned in bold letters above the stage,
located on the north side of the building. Three large
entryways were at the south end.
The hall hosted a variety of events, including socials,
religious services, concerts, lectures, festivals and
political rallies.
When, in 1870, the need for a high school in Vineland arose, the hall served as a temporary facility for
Principal Charles Wright, his teachers, and the 90 students under their charge. Even after the high school
building "was constructed, commencement exercises
continued to be held in the hall.
The hall would undergo one more transformation and
name change. In 1907, after years of complaints
about the deteriorating conditions of the building,
plans were made to construct a new building and
sites were explored. At the time, however, the
Friends of Progress, whose numbers were diminishing, were willing to sell the hall and the additional
lots for $4,000, so the decision was made to remodel
Cosmopolitan Hall once again, renaming it "the Auditorium in the process.
Amidst the changes it underwent, the hall also happened to host some of the most distinguished visitors
to Vineland, notables like President Ulysses, S.
Grant, Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass.
But most importantly the hall was the center of
many events in Vineland's early days, inspiring intellectual thought, providing entertainment and honoring individuals and organizations who led the
town through its formative years.
For another 30 years. Taylor points out that it was
common to sell tickets, take up collections or charge
admission to graduation ceremonies. She writes that
a 10-cent admission fee was part of the 1887 commencement. The money collected was used for the
library fund.
The building also served for years as a gathering
point for residents on New Year's Day when they
would be greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Landis. Taylors
account also reports that debates were common at
the hall. On many occasions, a speaker presented a
particular viewpoint during one evening and the opposing view was discussed by another resident the
following night. Each speaker was then given anoth- The current use of the space is as a parking lot oppoer evening for rebuttal. Such events would provide site the administrative building of the Vineland
the townspeople with a full weeknight schedule.
School System
Inside the Hall
In 1875, the Friends of Progress remodeled the hall
SPRING 2014, VOLU ME 17, ISSUE 1
Meucci
was born in a
borough
of
Florence,
Italy. In November 1821, at
the age of 15,
he was admitted
to the Florence
Academy
of
Fine Arts as its
youngest student, where he
studied
chemical
Antonio Giuseppe Meucci and mechanical
Inventor of the Telephone engineering. He
ceased full-time
studies
two
years later due to insufficient funds, but continued
studying part-time after obtaining employment as an
assistant gatekeeper and customs official for the Florentine government. Meucci later became employed at
the Teatro della Pergola in Florence as a stage technician.
In 1834 Meucci constructed a type of acoustic telephone to communicate between the stage and control
room at the Teatro della Pergola. This telephone was
constructed on the principles of pipe telephones used
on ships. It is still being used.
Meucci was alleged to be part of a conspiracy involving the Italian unification movement in 18331834,
and was imprisoned for three months.
Page 3
countrymen committed to the Italian unification
movement (the "Risorgimento") and who had escaped political persecution. Meucci invested the substantial capital he had earned in Cuba in a tallow candle factory (the first of this kind in America) employing several Italian exiles. For two years Meucci also
hosted in his cottage his friends, General Giuseppe
Garibaldi who worked in Meucci's factory.
His wife became ill with rheumatoid arthritis. He
therefore installed a telephone-like device within his
house in order to communicate with his wife who
could not get about.. Some of Meucci's notes on that
device were written in 1857 and describe the basic
principle of electromagnetic voice transmission or in
other words, the telephone: (Note that he wrote in Italian, not French!!): Consiste in un diaframma vibrante
e in un magnete elettrizzato da un filo a spirale che lo
avvolge. Vibrando, il diaframma altera la corrente del
magnete. Queste alterazioni di corrente, trasmesse
all'altro capo del filo, imprimono analoghe vibrazioni
al diaframma ricevente e riproducono la parola.
In 1860, Meucci asked his friend Enrico Bandelari to
look for Italian capitalists willing to finance his project. However, military expeditions led by General
Garibaldi in Italy had made the political situation in
that country too unstable for anybody to invest. Meucci then published his invention in the New
York Italian-language newspaper L'Eco d'Italia, although no copy of such reports have ever been located
dating back to searches prior to his court case in the
1880's. (Editors note: the Eco dItalia also advertised
Vineland as an Italian and encouraged Italians to migrate there)
In October 1835, Meucci and his wife emigrated
to Cuba , then a Spanish province, where Meucci accepted a job at what was then called the Great Tacon
Theater in Havana (at the time, the greatest theater in
the Americas). In Havana he constructed a system for
water purification and reconstructed the Gran Teatro.
In 1849 Meucci developed a device through which
one could hear articulate human voice. He called this
device "telegrafo parlante" (lit. "talking telegraph).
Meucci's friendship with the General Giuseppe Garibaldi made him a suspect citizen in Cuba. So, on 13 Home of Meucci, Staten Island
April 1850, Meucci and his wife immigrated to the
United States. In Staten Island he helped several en credit for inventing the telephone.
Due to an
inability to
write
his
patent
in
English, and
due to a lack
of
funds,
Meucci never did reap
financial
benefit from
the invention,
and
only later
was he giv-
SPRING 2014, VOLU ME 17, ISSUE 1
We need you
contribution to
continue these
News Letters.
Page 4
Without your
donations,
we cannot
continue!
FOUNDERS DAY AT ELWYN 2014: We got rained out on Friday so the third grade classes could not come out to the
field. But, we fooled old man weather by going to the schools and giving the kids lectures that were high and dry. Apparently they appreciated the effort, as we appreciate the folks that gave the lectures.
Things worked out just great on Saturday with wonderful weather. Also, the police were there with their bicycle safety program and the helicopter from Cooper Hospital. The visitors were able to sit in the copter and imagine what it was like to
hoover over Vineland. Also, we had an antique car show and offered 5 prizes of various types. The prizes were fantastic. If
you have an antique car and would like to enter next year, we would love to have you. Hope you win!! Next year, if we can
raise the money, we hope to give every entry a little gift to remember us by.
Also, this year, for the first year, we cut loose the Civil War re-enactors. They are on their own. They will do their thing,
which of course means having battles and shooting cannon. They would like to have a Civil War Ball. If we can get a hall
nearby, we just might have it. We do intend to invite Rhet Butler from Gone With The Wind fame and might just call it the
Rhet Butler Civil War Ball.
Last but not least, we will have an event on Sunday. The Civil War guys want to make it a weekend event so we need to
expand the event to include Sunday. This will be a day when any business or office can come out for the day and advertise
their business or activity as long as they can give some useful information to the public. We would love, for example, to
have a doctor come out and explain what services he/she offers, then give the public some great hints on good health. If you
want to come, or know someone who would come, just let me know and we will accommodate them.
Finally we need MONEY. All of this will cost us about an addition 6,000 dollars. As you know, we offer everything except
food to the public for free, which means somebody else has to pay. So, if there is any person or group that wants to go to
Civil War Heaven, sponsored by the ghosts of Vineland, when they die by donating to our good cause, please do not hesitate
to come to our aid!!!! Padre Pio promised that when he died he would refuse to enter heaven until all his practitioners entered first. So, when I die, I promise that I will not enter Civil War Heaven until everybody that donated money to our Sunday Event has entered!!!
DO YOU WANT TO JOIN??
TO BE A MEMBER
BENEFACTOR $100
SPONSOR..$50
FAMILY.$35
INDIVIDUAL.$30
STUDENT .$5
MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO THE:
FRIENDS OF HISTORIC VINELAND
Name: ______________________________
ADDRESS: _________________________
CITY :__________________ STATE: _____
ZIP:. _______ PHONE: ________________
Mail to: Friends of Historic Vineland
C/O Frank De Maio, M.D.
1047 Almond St.