Maxzyne and the Old Horse Theatre

Old and New

While in Chicago, I loved finding vestiges of the past during my travels around town. The incongruous juxtaposition of the old hidden in plain view of the new, found me romancing the past and connecting the present, often igniting my imagination. When I discovered an actual horse theatre in Old Town, I was instantly smitten. I bought a ticket to the show and was transported to another time and place as the skilled horses and daredevil riders enchanted the mostly young audience seated around the indoor dirt ring. My nose puzzled over the aroma of hot buttered popcorn drifting from the concession stand, mingled with the ancient scents of dirt, straw, leather, manure and horse sweat. The cavernous stone amphitheatre was cold inside and the austere wooden benches uncomfortable. But who cared? All that mattered was this magical performance. An old story conveyed by this beautiful partnership between man and beast. I'll never forget the beauty inside that old stone building that I stumbled upon one gray Chicago day. It's a particularly treasured memory since the horse theatre was razed several years ago and a new skyscraper was born.