John Bailey McElfatrick
John Bailey McElfatrick (1828–1906) was an architect known for his design of theaters in the United States and Canada. He eventually went into practice with his sons William H. McElfatrick and John Morgan McElfatrick (1853–1891) in the firm J. McElfatrick & Sons.
Also recorded as John McElfatrick · J. B. McElfatrick
John Bailey McElfatrick
Harper Bros. · Charles Frohman: Manager and Man [1], New York: Harper Brothers, 1916, OCLC 1548290 · Public domain
- Born
- 1828
- Died
- 1906
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- architect
- Known for
- Harlem Opera House
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John Bailey McElfatrick (1828–1906) was an architect known for his design of theaters in the United States and Canada. He eventually went into practice with his sons William H. McElfatrick and John Morgan McElfatrick (1853–1891) in the firm J. McElfatrick & Sons.
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John Bailey McElfatrick (1828–1906) was an architect, of American nationality. Among the works is Harlem Opera House.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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wikidata · Q60198043 · wikipedia · J. B. McElfatrick
In this article
Early life
Early life
McElfatrick studied architecture and engineering with his father, Edward McElfatrick.
Career
Career
In 1851, he established a practice with offices in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. The firm later expanded to St Louis, Cleveland, and Chicago. He also designed theaters in Ottawa and Montreal in Canada. He is credited with the design of more than 100 theaters and for instituting improved sight lines, multiple exits, fire sprinkler systems, and continuous rows of seating without aisles on the ground floor. His works include the Central Colored School at 542 West Kentucky Street in Louisville, Kentucky, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Several theaters he designed, including BAM Harvey Theater in Brooklyn, Metropolitan Opera House in Philadelphia, Miller Symphony Hall in Allentown, Pennsylvania, remain in use as of the early 21st century.
Works
Works
• Brooklyn Academy of Music's BAM Harvey Theater in Brooklyn (open) • Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Massachusetts • Metropolitan Opera House in Philadelphia (open) • Miller Symphony Hall in Allentown, Pennsylvania (open), by William H. McElfatrick • National Theatre in Washington, D.C., an earlier building • New Victory Theatre in New York City (open) • Waynesburg Theater & Arts Center in Waynesburg • Bijou Theatre (1883) at 1239 Broadway in Manhattan • Harlem Opera House (1889) • Columbus Theatre (1890) • Court Square Theater in Springfield, Massachusetts (1892) • Holyoke Opera House (1894, refurbishing of galleries and stage) • Hammerstein's Olympia (1895) • Parsons Theatre (1896) • Harlem Alhambra (1905) • Manhattan Opera House (1906) • Gayety Theater (1906) in Baltimore • Howard Auditorium Music Hall (1895) in Baltimore
Violet Kemble-Cooper John Barrymore in the Michael Strange (Blanche Oelrichs)'s play Clair de Lune, Empire Theatre, Broadway - publicity still (cropped)
White Studio, N.Y. · monsterkidclassichorrorforum
John Bailey McElfatrick, (King1893NYC) pg601 BROADWAY AND 40TH STREET, EMPIRE THEATRE AND ORIENTAL HOTEL
This file is from the Mechanical Curator collection, a set of over 1 million images scanned from out-of-copyright books and released to Flickr Commons by the British Library. View image on Flickr Vie
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.McElfatrick, John Bailey (1826 - 1906) -- Philadelphia Architects and Buildings. www.philadelphiabuildings.org.
- 2.J. B. McElfatrick & Son (fl. 1884 - 1906) -- Philadelphia Architects and Buildings. www.philadelphiabuildings.org.
- 3.McElfatrick, John Bailey - Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada. dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org.
- 4.Movie Theaters Designed by John Bailey McElfatrick - Cinema Treasures.
- 5.Brown, Thomas Allston. A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901, Volume 3. Dodd, Mead & Co. 558–565. 1903.
- 6.New Theater on Elm Street. The Springfield Daily Republican. 9. July 4, 1891.
- 7.Holyoke's Fine Opera House; The Interior of the Handsome Building, Which Was Opened so Successfully Last Week. Springfield Republican. 9. September 23, 1894.
- 8.Morrison, Andrew Craig. Theaters. W. W. Norton & Company. 103. 2005. 9780393731088.
References
Citations
References
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General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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