Oscar Hammerstein I an early age. His mother died when he was fifteen years old. During his youth, Hammerstein's father wanted him to continue with his education, and to specialize in subjects such as algebra, but Hammerstein wanted to pursue music. After Oscar went skating in a park one day, his father found out and whipped him as punishment; this would spur Hammerstein to run away to North America. After selling his violin, Hammerstein ran away to Liverpool, and from there, took a three-month journey to the United States arriving in New York City in 1864. Hammerstein made ends meet initially by working
Oscar Hammerstein I (1896). While it was positively received by "The New York Times", Hammerstein's personal experience was less than peaceful, with the production being plagued by monetary issues with the cast and stage set. In the end, Hammerstein had profited only one-tenth of the costs that were put into the "Santa Maria" production. Nine years later, Longacre Square was renamed Times Square, and the area had become, through his efforts, a thriving theater district. Hammerstein built three more theaters there, the Victoria Theatre (1899), which turned to vaudeville presentation in 1904 and was managed by his son, Willie Hammerstein before closing in