Christine Wetherill Stevenson

Christine Wetherill Stevenson (1878 – November 21, 1922) was an heiress of the Pittsburgh Paint Company.[1] Her dream was to build her own open-air theatre and hold her own plays.

Christine Wetherill Stevenson
Born1878 (1878)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedNovember 21, 1922(1922-11-21) (aged 43–44)
Media, Pennsylvania, U.S.
OccupationDramatist, actress
Spouse(s)
  • John V. Rice, Jr.
  • William Yorke Stevenson

She formed an Art Alliance with Marie Rankin Clarke to raise money to buy a piece of land on Cahuenga Pass called "Daisy Dell",[1] and together they rehearsed for the first play, Light of Asia. A second series of plays was planned, The Pilgrimage, when resistance was met from Clarke and others in the group who wanted to expand the venue's themes.[2] Leaving them to form the Hollywood Bowl, she bought 29 acres of land on the other side of Cahuenga Pass to build a new amphitheater for her plays, naming it The Pilgrimage Theatre, and created the Pilgrimage Play. Today the Pilgrimage Theatre is known as the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.[3]

The Hollywood Pilgrimage Memorial Monument (HCM No. 617), a 32-foot-high steel cross, at 2580 Cahuenga Boulevard was erected in 1923 to the memory of Miss Stevenson.

Stevenson was also known as the founder of the Philadelphia Art Alliance, which is housed in the former Samuel Price Wetherill Mansion. Samuel Price Wetherill was a descendant of Samuel Wetherill, a member along with Betsy Ross of the Free Quaker Meeting House.[4] She was married twice, first to John V. Rice, Jr., whom she divorced in 1902, and then to William Yorke Stevenson, son of Cornelius and Sara Yorke Stevenson, in 1908.[5]

She died in Media, Pennsylvania on November 21, 1922.[6]

Timeline – Hollywood Bowl and Pilgrimage Theatre
  • 1916 - Hollywood's first outdoor theatre production takes place in nearby Beachwood Canyon.
  • 1918 - First organizational meeting leads to plans for a permanent park and art center in Hollywood; Christine Wetherill Stevenson produces the religious drama, Light of Asia, on the grounds of the Theosophical Society above Beachwood Canyon.
  • 1919 - Theatre Arts Alliance incorporated, with Christine Wetherill Stevenson as president; purchase of 59 acres in Bolton Canyon for $47,500 on which to build a community park and art center.
  • 1920 - Christine leaves the Theatre Art Alliance and purchases 29 acres of land on the other side of Cahuenga Pass to build a new amphitheater for her plays.
  • 1920 - Community Park and Art Association established, replacing Theatre Arts Alliance[7]
  • 1922 - Christine Wetherill Stevenson dies
  • 1929 - Fire destroys Pilgrimage Theatre and theatre rebuilt

References
  1. McKenna, Kristine (June 30, 1996). "A Bowl Full of Memroies". Los Angeles Times. p. 184. Retrieved April 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  2. Favre, Jeff (May 27, 2005). "New work at Ford explores encounters between faiths". Daily Breeze. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  3. Pitt, Leonard; Pitt, Dale (1997). "Pilgrimage Play". Los Angeles A to Z (1 ed.). Los Angeles: University of California Press.
  4. Rittenhouse Square, US History.org
  5. "Stevenson-Rice". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, PA. June 4, 1908. p. 6. Retrieved April 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  6. "Southland Author's Pen Stilled". Los Angeles Times. November 22, 1922. p. 29. Retrieved April 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  7. "History and Architecture". Hollywood Bowl. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.


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