 Many of the day's great actors and political figures performed there, including Edwin Booth, Lawrence Barrett, John Philip Sousa, Theodore Roosevelt, and Booker T. Washington.The theater was part of a large entertainment complex that included a bike riding park, a man-made lagoon, a promenade, and a ten-thousand-seat outdoor amphitheatre used for fireworks shows, including "The Last Days of Pompei" and "Americus".After Norton's death in 1903, no buyers could be found for the Auditorium or surrounding attractions.