Merchant and real estate magnate Amos R. Eno leased land next to his Fifth Avenue Hotel in 1862 to James Fisk Jr., who built an after-hours gold trading exchange during the U.S. Civil War. The “regular stock exchange” found the competition disruptive and soon shut down the operation. The building became a performance space, the Fifth Avenue Opera House, used by George Christy and other minstrel shows from 1865 to 1867 when C.H. Garland took it over as the Fifth Avenue Theatre for burlesque shows. The theatre closed at the beginning of 1868 after one minstrel show manager murdered another after attending a performance. John Brougham briefly managed it as Brougham's Theatre in 1869, followed by building owner Fisk, who restored the Fifth Avenue name and presented French opéra bouffe.