The man who lit Lady Liberty
Actor, producer, real estate developer, promoter, hotelier, benefactor, and murder suspect, M. B. Curtis was a prominent figure in 1880s New York City. But his enduring, if rarely acknowledged, accomplishment still shines bright – he advocated and even paid for the lighting of the then-new Statue of Liberty.
Berkeley-based author and historian Richard Schwartz tells the story in “The Man Who Lit Lady Liberty: The Extraordinary Rise and Fall of Actor M.B. Curtis.” His March 10 lecture, part of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society’s “Second Saturday” series, will be held at the Sonoma Community Center at 2 p.m.
It’s hard to imagine now, but the statue sat “unlit, unloved and unfunded by American politicians” until Curtis took up the cause. He became, Schwartz said, the only private citizen in history to pay for lighting.
“Curtis’s rise to the top of his profession and his resulting fall from grace is a dramatic arc that rivals anything created for the stage.”
Schwartz is the author of “Eccentrics, Heroes, and Cutthroats of Old Berkeley” and “Earthquake Exodus,” among other works.
Admission is $5, free to historical society members and docents.
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M. B. Curtis cut his theatrical teeth in San Francisco in the 1870s and that became his West Coast base. He lived in Berkeley from about 1886-1891 or so where he built the biggest hotel in the Bay Area- the Peralta Park Hotel.
He was catapulted to fame and fortune overnight in 1880 and indeed is the only citizen to light the Statue of Liberty right after its dedication in 1886 when Congress refused to allocate funds to do so. What makes this story so timely is Curtis was an immigrant. So the only person in history to personally pay to light Lady Liberty was an immigrant citizen. And he was a minority. He was also the first Jewish male to be allowed to portray a Jewish theatrical character onstage in American history as well, opening the flood gates for what followed.
The new book “The Man Who Lit Lady Liberty” has been chosen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Margret Herrick Collection and is being sold at Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. The head historian at the Statue of Liberty wrote something for the back cover of the book. Curtis’ every move in his day was followed by the entire nation and now he is forgotten- until this book rehydrates this immensely influential and popular American Cultural Folk Hero.