The home to the Marionette Theater is a
quaint Baltic
fir log cottage of Swedish origin called the Swedish Cottage.
Built in 1875 it was originally a traditional schoolhouse.
Transported to the United States by the Swedish
government it was exhibited at the U.S. Centennial
Exposition, held in 1876 in Philadelphia.
This Nordic Romantic style structure was showcased
as an example of the Swedes' superior woodworking
craftsmanship. The charm of the Cottage made an indelible
impression with the New York City Board of Commissioners,
which purchased it after the Exhibition for $1,500. Central Park's chief landscape architect, Frederick
Law Olmsted recommended that the Cottage be taken
apart, transported to New York City, and reassembled
at its present site in 1877.
First used as a tool house and then a library it was
later turned into a comfort station and lunchroom
and then into the Park's entomological laboratory only
to become the district headquarters for the Civil Defense
during WWII.
It wasn't until 1947, under the leadership of
Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and Parks Commissioner
Robert Moses that the Cottage became the official
workshop of the Park
Department's Traveling Marionette Theater. In the
mid-1970s, a permanent theater was constructed
inside the Cottage so that children could see marionette performances in Central
Park.
Recently transformed again through restoration the
Cottage environment is completely delightful and so
perfectly suited for its audience and its genre of theater.
