>> THE AUSTIN TOWN HALL FIELD

HOUSE IS A PIECE OF MUNICIPAL

ARCHITECTURE BUT IS IT ALL JUST

A FACADE?

GEOFFREY BAER IS HERE TO RIP THE

COVER OFF OF THAT AND OTHER

VIEWER QUESTIONS IN TONIGHT'S

"ASK GEOFFREY".

GOOD TO SEE YOU.

LET'S GET TO A MUSICAL

QUESTION...

>> HOW ABOUT THAT?

AS YOU CAN HEAR IT IS NOT A

QUESTION.

IT IS A STATEMENT.

BUT WE ARE GLAD OUR VIEWER WROTE

WITH WITH THAT BECAUSE

ANTOINETTE RICH WAS A

FASCINATING PERSON.

WHEN SHE WAS 30 SHE INDEED

FORMED A 12-PIANO SYMPHONY

ORCHESTRA IN CHICAGO.

>> WHAT IS A PIANO SYMPHONY?

>> IT IS AN ENSEMBLE MADE UP OF

PIANOS ARRANGED TO EVOKE THE

SOUND OF INSTRUMENTS.

ALL THE MUSICIANS WERE YOUNG

WOMEN FROM AGES 18-30.

RICH CLAIMED IT WAS THE ONLY ALL

WOMEN ORGANIZATION OF ITS KIND

IN THE WORLD.

>> IMAGINING WHAT THAT MIGHT

HAVE SOUNDED LIKE?

>> SO WAS I.

LET'S COMPARE WHAT A REGULAR

ORCHESTRA SOUNDS LIKE WITH A

PIANO ORCHESTRA.

FIRST WE HAVE A CLIP OF THE

CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA...

[♪♪♪]

>> THAT WAS THE CSO.

>> POWERFUL.

>> AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY

RECORDINGS OF MS. RICH'S

ORCHESTRA BUT WE FOUND THE

MOVEMENT AT THE MUSIC LIBRARY

PLAYED BY A FAMILY OF PIANISTS

THE FIVE BROWNS, WHICH IS

SIMILAR KIND OF PIANO ORCHESTRA.

[♪♪♪]

>> SO THAT WAS JUST FIVE PIANOS.

IMAGINE MS. RICH'S ORCHESTRA 12

PIANOS.

SHE HAD SOLOISTS ON TWO GRAND

PIANOS TWO MORE ON THREE UP

RIGHT PIANOS, AND TWO GIRLS EACH

ON SEVEN MORE UP RIGHT PIANOS.

AND ON STAGE THE PIANOS WERE

ARRANGED ON TIERED RISERS WITH

ANTOINETTE RICH CONDUCTING UP AT

THE TOP.

THEY WERE ARRANGED SO THAT THE

PIANISTS HANDS WERE VISIBLE TO

THE AUDIENCE.

ALL OF THE WOMEN WORE LONG WHITE

GOWNS AND LIGHTING EFFECTS WERE

USED TO COLOR SELECTIONS.

RICH AND THE ORCHESTRA PERFORMED

THROUGHOUT THE 40s INCLUDING

THIS PERFORMANCE PICTURED HERE.

THEY WERE PERFORMING WITH A

CHORUS AND A HARP IN A CONCERT

CELEBRATING THE BA HIGH FAITH

BA'HAI FAITH AND THEY TRAVELED

AND PERFORMED IN FESTIVALS.

>> WHAT ELSE DO WE KNOW ABOUT

ANTOINETTE RICH?

>> SHE WAS BORN ON THE WEST SIDE

OF CHICAGO AND BECAME INTERESTED

IN PIANO SYMPHONIES DURING THREE

YEARS SHE SPENT IN PHILADELPHIA

WORKS AS AN ACTRESS AND A MODEL.

WHILE SHE WAS THERE SHE HELPED

THE AUSTRALIAN PIANIST

CARLNIZELY TO ORGANIZE A

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA BUT IT WAS

NOT EXCLUSIVELY FEMALE.

AND HE FORMED HIS OWN ALL WOMEN

PIANO SYMPHONY WHICH YOU MIGHT

CEMENT HE CLAIMED WAS THE ONLY

ONE IN THE WORLD.

>> AND SO WHAT HAPPENED TO HER

ANTOINETTE RICH?

>> WE COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING

ABOUT HER OR HER PIANO SYMPHONY

AFTER 1949.

SO IF ANY OF OUR VIEWERS KNOW

ANYTHING ABOUT HER LET US KNOW.

THE VIEWER WHO MENTIONED HER TO

US, SAID SHE WAS DIVORCED AND

MOVED TO LAS VEGAS AREA BUT WE

COULD FIND NO EVIDENCE OF HER

STARTING A SIMILAR ORGANIZATION

THERE.

>> WHAT AN INTERESTING GROUP.

>> BEFORE AUSTIN WAS A CHICAGO

NEIGHBORHOOD IT WAS INDEED A

PROSPEROUS TOWN BUT THIS

BUILDING WHICH IS LABELED TOWN

HALL WAS BUILT AFTER AUSTIN WAS

ANNEXED TO CHICAGO.

IT NEVER SERVED AS A TOWN HALL.

HISTORY OF AUSTIN WAS DEVELOPED

AND MODESTLY NAMED IN 1865 BY

HENRY AUSTIN WHO WAS A CIVIC

LEADER IN NEARBY OAK PARK.

AUSTIN WAS A FANATIC ABOUT

TESTIMONY PRESENCE THAT WHEN OAK

PARK WAS VOTED DRY HE

BOUGHT UP THE LAST TAVERN IN

TOWN AND POURED OUT OUGHT THE

LIQUOR INTO THE STREET.

AND HE ENVISIONED AUSTIN AS A

SETTLEMENT WITH GRACIOUS HOMES

AND PARKS.

AUSTIN BECAME THE SEAT OF CICERO

TOWNSHIP AND A TOWNSHIP HALL WAS

BUILT IN 1870 ON THE SITE OF THE

LATER BUILDING THAT OUR VIEWER

ASKED ABOUT.

AUSTIN GOT INTO A RIVALRY WITH

OAK PARK OVER EXTENDING THE L

AND AUSTIN WANTED IT AND OAK

PARK DIDN'T.

AND SINCE AUSTIN WAS THE LARGEST

COMMUNITY IN THE TOWNSHIP IT

USED ITS CLOUT AND IT WON THE

BATTLE.

AND OAK PARK AND OTHER CICERO

TOWNSHIP COMMUNITIES GOT THEIR

REVENGE.

THEY VOTED AUSTIN OUT OF THE

TOWNSHIP OFF THE ISLAND.

ANNEXING IT TO CHICAGO.

BY 1920, AUSTIN WAS A THRIVING

NEIGHBORHOOD OF UPWARDLY MOBILE

IMMIGRANTS FROM GERMANY,

SCANDINAVIA, IRELAND AND ITALY.

THE OLD TOWN HALL WAS TORN DOWN

AND REPLACED BY THE BUILDING

THAT OUR VIEWER NOTICED AND IT

IS A PARK DISTRICT FIELD HOUSE.

SO THE NAME AUSTIN TOWN HALL

REFERS TO THE PARK THAT

SURROUNDS IT CALLED AUSTIN TOWN

HALL PARK.

AND YES, IT DOES LOOK LIKE

PHILADELPHIA'S INDEPENDENCE

HALL.

THE ARCHITECTS WERE INSPIRED BY

THAT BUILDING.

AS AUSTIN DREW MORE PEOPLE MANY

EARLY VICTORIAN HOMES WERE

REPLACED WITH BRICK TWO FLATS

AND BUNGALOWS.

AND MY MOM GREW UP IN AUSTIN

DURING THE DEPRESSION HER FAMILY

MOVED THERE.

THEY LIVED IN AN APARTMENT ABOVE

THEIR JEWELRY STORE ON MADISON

STREET.

IN THIS PICTURE YOU SEE THE

UPSTAIRS WINDOWS HER APARTMENT

WAS OUT OF THE FRAME ON THE LEFT

ON THE SECOND FLOOR THERE.

THEY WERE RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO THE

STATE THEATER A MOVIE PALACE

WHICH MY MOM USED TO LOVE TO GO

TO.

MY GRANDPARENTS STILL LIVED IN

AUSTIN WHEN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS

CHANGING FROM TO ALMOST ENTIRELY

ALMOST AFRICAN-AMERICAN.

MY GRANDPARENTS SAYING AFTER

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. WAS

KILLED, THEY COULD SEE THE SMOKE

FROM THE RIOTS AND THE FIRES

OUTSIDE THEIR APARTMENT WINDOWS

FOR DECADES, THE NEIGHBORHOOD

HAS BEEN ECONOMICALLY

DISADVANTAGED.

AND THERE HAVE BEEN

NEIGHBORHOOD-BASED EFFORTS THAT

REVITALIZATION AND SOME OF THOSE

OLD HOMES REMAIN IN THE AUSTIN

HISTORIC DISTRICT.

>> INTERESTING.

GEOFFREY THANK YOU.

>> MY PLEASURE.