Location,
Date, Name
|
Current
Status
|
Notes
|
Akron
|
bef. 1911
Clark Opera House
|
?? No information.
|
Listings of events
at the Clark Opera House are found in the Akron Weekly Pioneer
from 1911 through 1921.
|
Alamosa
|
ca. 1884
San Juan Opera House
|
 No
information.
|
The Alamosa
Journal for April 24, 1884 and later issues refer to meetings and
social events in the San Juan opera house.
|
1901
Oliver Opera House
|
The opera
house was built by Alexander Oliver
(born in Scotland in 1860), real estate investor and newspaper
publisher, on the site of Armory Hall. Its address, on the north side
of the
street, was 212 Fifth St., which became 605 Main St. when the streets
were renamed.
|
An article in the Alamosa
Journal for July 23, 1903, notes the
opera house opened "two years ago", so that establishes the Oliver's
opening in 1901. The
opera house is mentioned in the newspaper through 1915. The Dec 2,
1915, issue of the Alamosa Journal states "work has started on
the remodeling of the Oliver Opera House into a business house for the
United Stores' people." A photograph from the mid-1920s shows it as a
J. C. Penney store.
|
bef, 1908
Colorado Opera House
|
Presumably
demolished; no information.
|
The earliest
mention of this house, found so far, is in the Creede Candle of
June 20, 1908. An item in the Alamosa Journal of May 3, 1912
tells of plans for moving the Ruby & Livingston garage "for the
purpose of opening up the Colorado again as an opera house or skating
rink." The opera house is mentioned in issues of the Alamosa Journal
through 1916. A. B. Ruby was the manager.
|
1912
Isis Theatre
|
 Now called the Grove Theatre. Building is at
615 Main. It has been considerably modified, the original arcade
entrance covered. The theater currently is not operating.
|
An article in the Alamosa
Journal for Oct 18, 1912, mentions
the ordering of opera
chairs for the "new Isis Theatre." This is under the headline: "New
Opera House to Have Special Chairs." In 1913 moving pictures were being
shown there and the theatre was referred to as a motion picture house
in a Sep 30, 1915, article in the Alamosa Journal.
|
Alma
|
|
1897
Fehringer Opera House
|
?? No information.
|
Adolph ('Dolph)
Fehringer, from Illinois, established a drug store in Alma in
1879. In 1883 he put his younger brother, Otto, in charge of
the Alma store and started another in Fairplay. The Fehringer brothers
also added mining shares and ranches to their investments and from
their multiple businesses became substantial citizens of South Park.
Otto built the Fehringer Opera House as a community center for this
mining town when it had about 900 citizens. Stelzel's Opera House in
Alma is mentioned in the Fairplay newspaper in 1903 to 1905; it may
have been new name of the Fehringer or else another opera house.
Fairplay also had an opera house, at least in 1900 to 1911.
|
Antonito
|
bef. 1911
Antonito Opera House
|
 Now the Golden Nugget Night Club. |
"Antonito Opera
House, Antonito Amusement Co props, J D Frazey mgr." is a listing in
the 1911 Gazetteer Publishing Company's Business Directory for
Antonito. The Feb 3, 1911, issue of the Alamosa Journal has an
item mentioning a dance at the Antonito Opera House. It is listed in F.
A. McKinney's San Luis Valley City Directory 1913-1914.
|
 Aspen
|
1881
Corkhill Opera House
|
Replaced by the
Wheeler Opera House in 1899 as the theatre for Aspen. Fate unknown.
|
Aspen's
first permanent structure intended for theatrical productions. May have
become the Rink Opera House in 1884, which was renamed the Tivoli
Theatre in 1890. This house was added to McCourt's circuit in 1888, to
seve until the Wheeler was finished.
|
1889
Wheeler
Opera House
|
By
1909 the Wheeler had become a motion picture house. In 1912 two
mysterious fires destroyed much of the building. A
series of renovations
and
restorations have taken place starting in 1949, and it is now
Aspen's
premiere performing
arts
center; summer operas.
|
Jerome B. Wheeler,
a wealthy investor in Aspen mining properties originally from New York,
then living in Manitou Springs, where he had built a bank and opera
house combination, built a fine home and, in 1889, the Hotel Jerome and
the Wheeler Block (The Wheeler Opera House Building). The Opera House
was on the third floor. The Gala Grand Opening of the Wheeler Opera
House on April 23 and 24, 1889, featured a performance by Conried's
English Comic Opera
Co. of The King's Fool. Also on the bill was a
tantalizing
performance by a group of Viennese lady fencers.
|
Berthoud
|
1885
Fairbairn
Hall
|
When Berthoud's
first high school was built in 1921, the hall fell into disuse as a
public meeting place. The stage and basketball goals were gone by the
1950s. Shortly after the lumber company was closed in 1968 the building
was razed to make way for the fire department building and community
center that occupies the site today.
|
A
large room on the second floor of a building that had the Fairbairn
lumber and coal business on the first floor, was fitted with a stage
with "wings" and a curtain.
There traveling shows, local talent shows, commencement exercises, and
dances were held. In 1894 Fairbairn traded the lumberyard to C.M.
Tilton for his farm and the hall became Tilton Hall. In 1899 Fairbairn
regained the business and again became Fairbairn Hall. By 1903 when the
300-person town of Berthoud graduated its first twelfth class, the
commencement exercise was held at the hall that local residents also
called the opera house. In 1908 it became Mintener Hall Opera House
when a Minnesota businessman acquired it.
|
Boulder
|
1906
Curran
Opera
House
|
The Fox Theater Company purchased
the building in 1935 and tore it down. The Boulder
Theater, an art-deco style movie house, was built in its place and
opened in 1936.
|
Opened
in 1906 as Curran
Opera House by wealthy billboard sign owner
James Curran, the venue featured opera, musical productions and silent
movies. Curran also leased opera houses in Erie, Lafayette and
Louisville, which formed the "Curran Circuit." R. P. Penney was the
manager of all four houses, according to Cahn's Official Theatrical
Guide for 1908. When films outnumbered other productions, the hall was
called the Curran Theatre.
|
Breckenridge
|
1907
Breckenridge Opera House
|
Fate
unknown, but presumably no longer exists.
|
The Breckenridge
Bulletin for April 2, 1907, speaks of citizens commencing "to talk
up
the scheme of a new stone opera house for Breckenridge." By November of
that year there are items in the newspaper about events at the opera
house.
|
Brighton
|
????
Higgins Opera House
|
??
Became
a saloon. The Presbyterians first met for services in this
building during the period when it was a saloon.
|
This
house seated 1,200. Said by Draper to be Brighton's first opera house,
it was at 24
N. Main where the Gamble store used to be. The building was erected by
H. Wormingon who also built the Orlando Hotel.
|
1888
Carmichael
Opera House
(Wire Opera House)
|
Burned July
25, 1955.
|
A
two-story building, situated on land later occupied by both J. C.
Penney and Woolworth stores, the opera house on the second floor seated
1,000. The first floor was occupied by a large number of offices and
businesses, including a livery stable. Although the building changed
hands several times, it continued to be referred to as the Wire
Building.
|
Brush
|
1902
Knearl Opera House
|
Currently is the Cattlemen's Inn, with a tavern downstairs
and rooms to let upstairs, where the auditorium once was. The address
is 101 Clayton St.
|
Built by Brush
pioneer, William Knearl (1855-1947), the two-story red brick building,
with a full basement,
is the largest in Brush. Excavation and the footing were done in March,
1902 and the building was completed on July 20, 1902. Knearl Hall was
on the upper floor where dances and school graduation ceremonies were
held. The lower floor contained the post office and Kneral's Mercantile
Store, a supply point on the old Texas-Montana Cattle Trail that
followed Beaver Creek Valley through Brush.
|
Buena Vista
|
1882
Hiller-Hallock Opera House
|
No longer
exists. It was on the southeast corner of Colorado and Main, perhaps
about 50 feet from the present Orpheum Theater.
|
The
building cost $8,000. County offices were on the lower floor. The
public hall on the second floor seated 300. Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience was performed there in
1889. Horace Tabor donated the curtain for the opera house. Hiller and
Hallock were founders of the First National Bank of
Buena Vista.
|
bef. 1907
Pyle Opera House
|
Fate
of building unknown.
|
Harry S. Pyle,
owner and manager of Pyle's opera house, committed suicide in 1907 in
his room in the Opera House block.
|
1910
Orpheum
Theater
|
A
cinder block
building, topped by a corrugated iron stagehouse; at 411 East Main; the
theatre was on the 2nd story; the lower floor was once a garage; now
houses
several businesses. The cornerstone date
is 1910. |
The
largest single structure on Main St. except for the courthouse, this
building once held the
Orpheum Theatre upstairs and the Lincoln Garage downstairs. The
building, now on the state Register of Historic Buildings, was
purchased by John
M. Cogswell in 1994. With funds from the Colorado
State Historical Society, the structural aspects of the Theater have
been renovated and the property is to be deeded to the Orpheum Theater,
Inc., a non-profit organization which presently has control of the
Theater.
|
Cañon
City
|
1885
Cañon City Opera House
|
A snow collapsed
the roof in 1960. It then stood empty until it was torn down in
1967 to make room for a parking lot.
|
Two
local businessmen, Bridwell and Cassidy, converted their skating rink
into the theatre in the summer of 1885. The house, located at 614 Main
St., seated 500. It was a
cinema, showing silent movies in 1914-15 and then talkies in the 20s,
and still later became a bowling alley.
|
Center
|
bef. 1910
Center Opera House
|
Located on the southwest corner of Worth and 3rd, the
lower floor of this two-story building is a Big R
Store. The upper floor, which was the opera house, is closed and not in
use.
|
An item in the San
Juan Prospector of Del Norte for December 17, 1910, p. 2, mentions
a meeting held at the Center Opera House. It is listed in F.
A. McKinney's San Luis Valley City Directory 1913-1914 as being in the
Bank Block, N. C.
Gilbreath manager. In addition to managing the opera house, Newton C.
Gilbreath is listed as president and manager of the Center Mercantile
Co., suggesting that the lower floor was the business that supported
the second floor opera house.
|
Central City
|
1861
Montana
Theatre
(in the photograph, the Montana is right of center with the round
window and flag
pole)
|
Built
of logs,
it burned in the May 22, 1874, fire that destroyed most of Central
City. Site now occupied by the Edmundson Block.
|
 Built
by George W. Harrison on Eureka Street
in 1861,
it was called the National Theatre. The name was changed to Montana
Theatre in 1862. Plays and later light operas were presented there for 3 months each year. The Howson Opera Troupe
performed there for 2 weeks in July 1869. The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein by
Offenbach was their opening performance on
July 5 and that, presumably, was the first
professionally performed opera in Central City. In 1872 a new
owner renamed the building The Olympic Theatre, but by the end of the
summer it again was called the Montana.
Click
picture to play the Wedding March
from The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein
|
1875
Belvidere
Theatre
|
The City of Black
Hawk and Central City recently joined forces to develop the Belvidere
Theatre into a regional community theatre.
|
H.
M.
Teller and Judge S. B. Hahn sponsored the construction of a brick
building to house the town
armory. The second floor was a theatre, the Belvidere, which was
equipped with plain oak chairs, a stage and seven sets of scenery. In
1877 Balfe's opera, The Bohemian Girl,
was performed there. The
structure later became a stable with a feed and coal store, then
home to the Central Bottling Works, the Fire Department, the Colorado
militia, the Central City Garage and dealership, and a basketball court
and recreation center.
|
1878
Central
City Opera House
|
Three
operas
performed in repertory
every summer.
The two-story Renaissance Revival style stone building is the oldest
surviving and first permanent opera house in Colorado. |
It
was built
with funds raised by a citizens' group interested in bringing cultural
opportunities to the area, the Gilpin County Opera House Association.
Between 1910 and 1927, the building functioned as a motion picture
theater. Donated to the University of Denver in 1931, the building was
restored by the Central City Opera House Association to serve as a
venue for an ongoing summer opera program.
|
Colorado City
|
1901
Waycott Opera House
(Mack's Opera House)
|
At 2432 West
Colorado Ave., Meadow
Muffins
bar and restaurant on first floor; Producers Group Studios on
second
floor where opera house used to be; third floor has offices. (Listed
in the 1909 Colorado City & Manitou Springs Directory as Mack's
Opera House, J. J. McCorkle mgr.).
|
The
Waycott Building was at the corner of 5th and Colorado, two blocks
north of the Colorado Midland Railway Depot. Its first occupants were
the First National Bank, Stewart & Tiger Bicycles in the basement,
and the Waycott Opera House on the second floor. The third floor,
billed as "the best dance floor in the state," was the W. O. W. Hall.
The Waycott Building's street address at 431 Colorado changed to 2432
West Colorado in 1917. In later times, Mack's Ice Cream, where ice
cream and candy were made and
sold in the parlor, was in the basement, the Idle Hour Theater
(vaudeville and, later, cinema) was on the first floor, the opera house
remained on the second and the third floor was a meeting place for
various
city lodges. Opera patrons accessed a side entrance on 25th Street and
went up a flight of stairs to purchase tickets before entering the
double doors to the theatre. The building survived a fire in December
2002 with only water and smoke damage, while four buildings to the east
of it were completely destroyed.
|
Colorado
Springs
|
1881
Colorado
Springs Opera House
|
After being
remodeled into
an office building, it is now a night club complex. S. N. Nye resigned
in 1913 as manager of the opera house after 30 years in the position.
|
The
three-story
building at 18 N. Tejon St. cost $80,000, and many thought it could not
be surpassed West
of the Mississippi. (See interior views: one, two.)
The third story was a Masonic lodge and banquet
room. It became a vaudeville house in 1904 and was converted to a movie
theater in 1919. When its days of entertainment ended about 10 years
later, it was converted into a storefront with a soda fountain and
offices upstairs. In 1947 it was converted to a Woolworth store. In
1989
the variety store closed and the building became vacant.
|
1912
Burns Theatre
|
Demolished in
1973 and is now the site for a drive-through banking facility.
|
Built
in
1912 with $300,000 worth of Cripple Creek gold on Pikes Peak Ave. In
1928 it was turned into a movie house and renamed the Paramount and
then the Chief.
|
Como
|
|
1885
Broadway Opera House
|
No
details known.
|
Como was on a rail
line from Denver to Breckenridge and was a train stop with a
roundhouse, remains of which can still be seen there. The Broadway
appears to have been re-named De Barneure's Opera House in late 1885
and then by 1897 called the Como Opera House.
|
Cortez
|
1898
Cortez Opera House
(Woodmen of the World Hall)
|
The site is now occupied
by county offices.
|
Built
by the Woodmen of the World, a fraternal order. The first county fair
was held there in 1905. In 1919 it was leased
for movies. The building was used as a theatre
until the building of the high school auditorium in 1923. After
remodeling was completed in 1950, it became the home of the Elk's lodge
and
was so used until sometime in the 1960s.
|
Craig
|
ca.
1891
Craig Opera House
|
Burned in
1896.
|
The
opera house was on the site where the Galaxy Restaurnat now stands on
the west side of Yampa St. between Victory Way and 6th St. That
building was orginally the Town Hall, built about 1912.
|
1897
Craig Opera House
|
Presently is owned by a
plumbing and heating business.
|
On
the west side of Russell St., between Victory Way and 6th St. The
building was dedicated on Janury 1, 1897.
|
Creede
|
1892
Bachelor Opera House
|
Fate
unknown.
|
Bachelor
(officially Teller) was a suburb or Creede in the 1890s. The Bachelor
Opera
House is first mentioned in the Creede Candle Dec 2, 1892 as
the new opera house; also mentioned in the issues of Jun 29 and Oct 19,
1894.
|
ca. 1904
Derrick Opera House
|
Fate
unknown; may have been
re-named Collins Opera House (see
next).
|
The Derrick Opera
House is mentioned in the Creede Candle Aug 13 and June 25,
1904, and Jan 28, 1905.
|
1905
Collins Opera House
|
Burned in 1937.
|
The
new Collins Opera House opened Augus 5, 1905, and the Marie Co., a
troupe well known to Creede, gave the first performance. It is listed
in F.
A. McKinney's San Luis Valley City Directory 1913-1914 with A. M.
Collins as manager.
The opera
house was used in
later years as a cinema.
|
ca. 1908
I.O.O.F. Opera House
|
Fate
unknown.
|
The I.O.O.F. Opera
House is mentioned in the Creede Candle Apr 25, 1908.
|
Cripple Creek
|
1892
Grand Opera House
|
Burned in one
of the
1896 fires. |
Was
located at 128 E. Myers. The opera house was upstairs, with a livery
down below.
|
bef.
1894
Koch Opera House
|
??
No information.
|
Listed
in the 1894 History and Description
of the Cripple Creek Mining District. Was in use in early 1900s.
|
ca.
1896
Abbott Opera House |
Absent from
Sanborn Map of 1900; may have been sacrificed to make way for the
Teller County Courthouse, which was begun in 1900.
|
It
is
shown on the Sanborn map for 1896. Was
at 121-125 W. Bennett.
|
1897
Butte
Opera House |
The original Butte
Opera House, a two-story brick building on the south side of Myers,
burned in 1896. The new house hosts melodramas by
the Cripple
Creek
Players plus movies and local plays.
|
Prior
to the opening of the 1898-99 season, it was announced that the Butte
would be closed indefinitely. In
1998, the city of Cripple Creek spent $4 million in historic
preservation funds to totally dismantle the building and
reconstruct it from original brick. The fire department occupies the
downstairs, while the upstairs is beautifully renovated and probably
fancier than the original Butte ever was.
|
1897
Grand
Opera House
|
Destroyed in
the fire of July 19, 1907. Large ruins of rock walls remain. |
Was
on the South side of Myers Ave. between 3rd and 4th St. Built by H. V.
Levie for $27,000, it operated first as the Topic Theatre. In 1900 the
Lombardi Grand
Opera Company gave two performances there and the Maurice Grau Opera
Company also performed. The Tivoli Opera Company gave performances in
1901. The world's first indoor rodeo was staged at the Grand.
|
1909
Lyric
Opera House |
Burned in May,
1916, after
someone dropped a cigarette; was not listed in
the 1917-18 city directory.
|
Was
at 434 E. Bennett Ave.; originally built by the Odd Fellows, it was
remodeled in 1910 to replace the former opera house, The Grand; became
a movie
theater; site now occupied by
Double Eagle Casino. Interior
view.
|
Del Norte
|
bef. 1881
Elliott Opera House
|
?? Fate unknown.
|
An item in the San
Juan Prospector for July 2, 1881 states that "C. W. Adams has
leased the old Elliott opera house, on Grand Avenue, and will open out
a dance hall as soon as the building can be put in shape."
|
1883
Del Norte Opera House
|
In
decrepit condition, it was demolished in the mid-1960s. The site is now
a parking lot.
|
Begun
in June, 1882, at the corner of Grand Ave. and Spruce St. and built for
$14,000, it was know as the Kiel-Warren building. The first floor and
cellar were to be commercial space. The opera
house was on the 2nd floor, which was leased by the Masons. Seated 350.
Listed
in F.
A. McKinney's San Luis Valley City Directory 1913-1914; Glenn O.
Cochran mgr. The
first floor became
a cinema (Princess Theater) and the opera house floor a dance hall.
|
Delta
|
1896
AnnaDora
Opera
House
(in picture, opera house entrance is at far right; opera house on
second floor, hardware store on first)
|
Burned
December 27, 1939. The AnnaDora Opera House was famous for its
performances of
Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, directed by Thomas Kearns. |
The
opera house was built by J. Frank Sanders, pioneer businessman and
entrepreneur, who discovered a gold vein in Ouray country and became
wealthy. It was at the corner of Third and Main and named after his
daughter Anna and for Dora, the daughter of business associate Ray
Simpson. It was the only place large enough for public meetings from
1897 until
1921, when a new high school with a larger auditorium was built.
Shortly thereafter, the AnnaDora was used only as a storage unit for
the Delta Hardware store below.
|
Denver |
1861
Denver Theatre
|
Destroyed by
fire March 19, 1877.
(Grant and Hill leased the theatre in
November 1876 and changed the name to Denver Opera House, but their
tenure lasted only a few weeks and the name reverted to Denver Theatre.)
|
Opened
in November, 1861, as the Platte Valley Theater on the northeast corner
of 16th and Lawrence streets, it was bought in August, 1862, by Jack
Langrishe
and Mike Dougherty, who made improvements and renamed it the Denver
Theater. The Howson
Opera Troupe performed there in 1869, apparently the first time
an opera was performed in Denver. The Aimée Opera Company gave
performances there in 1872 and the Oates Opera Company appeared in
1876.
|
1873
Turner Hall
(Turnhalle)
|
Figaro's
Hochzeit was staged in the Turnhalle by the
Richings-Bernard Grand
English Opera Co. in 1877 and in 1878, because these Sunday
performances were not permitted in Forrester's Opera House. The Kellogg
and Cary Grand Concerts took place here in November 1877.
|
Built on Holladay
St. (now 20th and Market) by the Turnverein Society of the German
community for athletic
activities, social affairs, German operas and concerts. Additions were
made in 1875 and 1879, but the neighborhood deteriorated, leading to
selling of the hall in 1887. After a failed attempt to build a new hall
at Curtis and 20th, an impressive Turnhalle between 21st and 22nd on
Arapahoe opened in 1890. This
East Denver
Turnhalle burned in
1920.
The existing Turnverein Hall
at 1570 Clarkson St. was then built in 1921.
The West
Denver Turnhalle Opera House, also known as Vorkwaert's Turnhalle, was
built by Max
Melsheimer in
1882 as part of his brewery, in the 1300 block of 10th St., which later
became the Tivoli Brewery and
is today within the Student Center complex of Metro State University,
largely in original state. (There may have been a second West
Denver Turnverein meeting hall built in 1893 at 133 12th St.; it no
longer exists.)
|
1873
Forrester
Opera House
(known successively as Guard Opera House, Guard Hall, Forrester Opera
House, Denver Opera
House, and Armory Hall)
|
Use as an opera
house ceased when the Tabor Grand opened in 1881. By 1901 the
building's ground floor was storerooms and the
upper
two were apartments. It was demolished in 1915. |
Completed
in 1873 by a military organization, the Governor's Guard, as a
place to drill. The structure, on the northwest corner of 15th and
Curtis, included a hall for lectures, concerts,
plays and operas. Known first as the Governor's Guard Hall, in 1877 it
became Forrester Opera House when leased by Nate Forrester. It later
operated as the Denver
Opera House. The
Ware-Linton Opera Company "direct from England" in 1875, and the
Richings-Bernard Grand English Opera
Company in 1877 and 1878 appeared there.
|
1881
16th Street Theatre
|
Torn
down in 1885. The theatre was opened in
January 24, 1881, and used as such for a little over a year. It was
located across the street from the Tabor Grand, which opened 8 months
later and took its business away. The building then became a billiard
parlor.
|
Jack Langrishe,
famous Denver actor and impresario, whose Denver Theatre had burned in
1877, was the prime mover of this theatre. Although short lived, the
16th Street Theatre hosted some of the best productions to play in
Denver during 1881, including Patience and Pirates of
Penzance by the Denver Opera Company and a set of four opéra
bouffe by the Soldene Comic Opera Company.
|
1881
Tabor
Grand
Opera House
|
It was located at
16th
and Curtis Streets. By the 50s lower downtown Denver had deteriorated
and the Tabor was playing to a skid row audience, showing cheap "B"
movies. The mighty Tabor was demolished in 1964 and replaced by a
Federal Reserve Bank. |
Opened
in September 1881, the Tabor
Grand was regarded as the best-equipped theater
between the
midwest and San Francisco, and cost in the neighborhood of $850,000 in
1881 dollars--a phenomenal sum for the time. It seated 1.500. Peter
McCourt became
manager in 1884. During the height of its
popularity, people came from all over the world to enjoy premiere
theater and musical performances. This continued until 1921, when the
Tabor Grand was reorganized as The Colorado movie house. Eight years
later it became the Tabor
Theatre, and featured plays and eventually
films off and on until its demise in 1964.
|
1882
Academy of Music
(rebuilt as Denver Music Hall; in November 1888 renamed Denver Theater)
|
Destroyed by
fire July 6, 1886. It was rebuilt 6 months later and named Denver
Music
Hall.
|
The
building was
located at the southwest corner of 16th and Market, directly opposite
the old Mint. It had a seating capacity of 1,000. Several touring opera
companies performed there. Mme. Adelina Patti
sang in the Denver Music Hall in 1887. The date of demise of the Denver
Theater is not known. The site is now occupied by the 16 Market
Building, a high rise with a bank and lofts.
|
1889
Metropolitan Theater
(also called The Metropolitan; later named 15th Street Theater and then
People's Theatre)
|
Burned to the
ground June 10, 1892.
|
The
theatre was built on the corner of 15th and Cleveland Place. It was
named 15th Street Theatre for a while in 1890. Eventually
coming under the ownership of Horace Tabor, the name was
changed to People's Theatre, but when only 3 years old the 1,000
seat theatre burned. The theater was managed by Philip McCourt, whose
brother was Peter McCourt and sister was Baby Doe Tabor. Among the
opera companies that performed there
were the California Opera Company, Grand Italian Opera Company, and
Emma Juch Grand English Opera Company.
|
1890
Broadway
Theatre
|
Demolished
in February 1955. It had become a movie house in 1935 with occasional
musical productions.
|
Constructed
by William H. Bush, the 1,624 seat theatre cost $250,000 and was
located at 18th and Broadway, in the Hotel Metropole Building. The
theatre was opened August 18, 1890, by the Emma Juch Grand
English Opera Company. Peter McCourt and Bush leased the theatre
in 1896
for 5 years and began managing it.
|
1891
Elitch Theatre
|
Closed in
1991. In December 2002, the city of Denver announced a $15 million
campaign was underway to restore it. It is expected to reopen in 2005,
with about 800 seats and year-round occupancy.
|
A
popular place for summer amusements, located on West 38th Ave. between
21st and 24th Streets. Offering plays and light operas, Elitch's was
the longest continuously operating summer theatre in America. The
Boston Opera Company played a 6-week engagement in the summer of 1891
and the Aborn
Company opened Elitch's summer program
in 1892 with Olivette.
|
1891
Manhatten
Beach Theatre
|
Burned down in
December 1908.
|
Located
on the "beach" of Sloan Lake at the intersection of Byron Place and
Sheridan Blvd., the theatre
was home to the Manhattan Beach Opera Company.
|
1907
Municipal
Auditorium
|
Although it hosted
conventions, athletic events, exhibitions and other entertainments, the
auditorium became the de facto opera house of Denver. Presently
undergoing renovation as the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, it will be the
new home of Opera Colorado, with
an expanded opera season.
|
The
impetus for constructing the auditorium was to house the 1908
Democratic National Convention. It was dedicated June 1, 1908, and the
convention opened July 7. In 1909, Joseph Bosetti, a Denver
priest who founded the Denver Grand Opera Company, staged his first
opera, The Queen's Lace
Handkerchief (Strauss), at the Auditorium. A pipe organ,
dedicated with great fanfare in 1918, was dismantled during renovations
to the theater in 1955 and later sold for scrap. On May 19 and 20, 1921
the first opera
presented in its entirety over the radio was broadcast by 9ZAF in
Denver. The opera, Martha,
aired from the Auditorium.
|
Dolores
|
ca. 1909
Dolores Opera House
|
?? No information.
|
The Dolores Opera
House is cited in articles in the Montezuma Journal (Cortez)
and the Mancos Times-Tribune from Jan 14, 1909 to Sep 18, 1919.
It was owned by the Knights of Pythias. |
Durango
|
1888
Durango Opera House
(Stillwell Opera House)
|
The Strater
Hotel still stands and is Durango's most recognizable historic
landmark. The opera house was in the Strater Terrace, now Henry's
Restaurant.
|
Durango's
first opera house is
listed in the 1903 City Directory with Charles E. Stillwell, manager.
The name used through 1905 in the local newspaper was Durango Opera
House but by 1907 was being called Stilwell Opera House. An "opera
license" was issued by the City clerk for $12.50 for the
period 17 Sep. 1907 to 1 Mar. 1908.
|
ca.
1892
Hansen Opera House
|
The Leland
Hotel was replaced in about 1925 by the Elks Club.
|
The
opera house was part of the Leland Hotel at the northwest corner of
what is now 9th St. and E. 2nd Ave. It was owned and/or operated by
Chris Hansen and used for all the balls and traveling theatrical
parties.
|
bef.
1906
Redmen Opera House
|
The building
is at 146 E. 9th St. and is used for a restaurant and offices. The name
presumbaly derives from having been a lodge hall for the Improved Order
of Red Men.
|
A
stage was added to Redmen Hall, making it functionally an opera house.
The
Redmen Opera House is listed in the 1911 and 1915 City Directories.
The manager in 1911 was W. E. Alexander; in 1915 the manager was W. W.
McEwen Jr. The Masonic Lodge occupied the building in April, 1917, and
later purchased the building. Its seating
capacity was 700, according to the 1908 Cahn's Official Theatrical
Guide.
|
Eaton
|
1906
Palace Opera House
|
The building
was occupied last
by the Home Gas & Electric Company offices in 1942. It was torn
down when the CO-85 was expanded to four-lanes.
|
R.
S.
Denniss began the reconstruction of a portion of the Palace Hotel
(built in 1902 on the ne corner of Oak and 2nd Sts.) to create a
theatre capable of seating 350. Partitions were
removed on the lower west side floor and a stage and dressing rooms
were constructed at the north end. Several hundred dollars worth
of scenery, curtains and stage settings were ordered; seating consisted
of folding chairs. The first performance in the opera house was by the
Edison Theatre Company on April 9, 1906, in the incomplete house.
Feverish work the next day and the arrival of a consignment of chairs
better prepared the house for the second-night, the official opening.
|
Elizabeth
|
bef. 1897
Huber Opera House
|
Fate of
building unknown.
|
Existence of opera
house known from listing in local newspapers of the time, the Castle
Rock Journal and Elbert County Banner, from 1897 to 1909.
|
Erie
|
bef.
1900
Erie Opera House
|
The building
was remodeled in 1926 and currently is residences.
|
The
opera house is shown on Erie maps from 1900 and 1906 on Wells St. and
the alley between Briggs and Katell. It was long structure and four
lots wide; the proprietors were A. Seidler, Oakley and Edwards. Its
seating
capacity was 450. A member of the Curran Circuit. Listed in the 1908
Cahn's
Official Theatrical Guide.
|
Florence
|
ca.
1903
Florence Opera House
(Houston Opera House) |
Demolished;
now the parking lot for a bank. |
Seating
capacity 750. Listed in the 1908 Cahn's Official Theatrical Guide.
Newspaper articles mention the opera house at Florence through 1917.
Was
on the second floor above a store; used as skating rink and dance hall
in the 1930s.
|
1917
Florence Opera House
|
No longer
exists; fate unknown.
|
An item in the
March 30, 1917, Bayfield Blade dates this opera house: "Swell
dance Celebrated opening of new opera house in Florence."
|
Florissant
|
bef. 1897
Florissant Opera House
|
Fate
unknown; does not currently exist
|
The opera house
was part of a business block. It was a member of McCourt's Silver
Circuit in 1897.
|
Fort Collins
|
1881
Fort
Collins Opera
House
(opera house in picture is 3-story lighter one at right and the fly
house is to left)
|
In 1917 the
building front was
completely remodeled; the theater became a dance hall. In the late
1980s
the Opera House
and adjacent buildings were renovated into what is now Opera Galleria.
|
"Central
Block" above the
doorway, at 127 N. College Ave., marks the
main entrance to the former Opera House, the scene of cultural and
social events in early Fort Collins. |
Fort Morgan
|
1903
Grace Opera House
|
A variety of businesses have been in the building;
currently, the
building is Warehouse Furniture Sales. The original three-bay brick
facade and pressed metal cornice is covered by metal siding. |
Grace Opera House
was built by Thomas F. Grace in 1902-1903 and is located at 221-223
Main Street in Fort Morgan. The upper level contains a large auditorium
space that was used frequently for dances, high school commencement
ceremonies, the first meeting hall for the Elks Club, and other town
functions. On the first floor, Grace operated a pool hall and a bowling
alley and rented out the other half of the space.
|
Frisco
|
bef. 1882
Graff Opera House
|
Fate
unknown; no information.
|
An item in the
Montezuma Millrun, 2 Sep. 1882, p. 3, col. 1: "The Democratic Central
Committee met at Frisco, August 26, pursuant to a call of Hon. J. S.
Wheeler, chairman... A unanimous vote of thanks was tendered to Ja. H.
Thompson for the use of the Graff Opera House.
|
Georgetown
|
1875
Cushman
Opera House
|
The opera house was the
third story audittorium of the brick building at the NW
corner of 6th and Taos. In 1969 a heavy snow collapsed the roof and
when the building was restored the third story was removed. The
building, now two stories, for several years housed a restaurant called
the
Silver Queen; it now contains a bank and restaurnat on the first floor
and offices on the second. |
The
Richings-Bernard Grand English Opera
Company performed Il Trovatore, The Bohemian Girl, and Martha
there in 1877. Used
until about 1880 when a packed house strained the auditorium's
supporting beams, the opera house was declared unsafe. When repairs
were completed in 1881 the space
became a lodge hall and appears to have been shunned as a
performance auditorium. Opera house events were then transferred to
the McClellan Opera House.
|
1876
McClellan Opera House
|
Burned in 1892
when McClellan was
attempting to thaw frozen pipes under the house with hot coals. The
opera house was on the SE corner of 6th and Taos, next to the Hotel de
Paris, which still stands. The site is now a parking lot.
|
The
building, used by churches and performers, as well as merchants,
began as McClellan Hall in 1868. It was sold to Henry and William
Teller in 1869 and then returned to McClellan in 1872. An
expansion in 1876 appears to have resulted in the creation of the opera
house, with a seating capacity of 1,200 and a stage 24 by 32 feet.
|
1892
Spruance Opera House
|
Originally
Spruance's Rink, it was adapted for an opera house in February 1892
after the McClellan burned. Torn down in
the 1940s.
|
The
opera house was on the second floor of the Fish Block, at the
northwestern corner of 7th and Rose. The
opera house, with Z. E. Harb (or Hart) as manager, a seating capacity
of 500, and
electric illumination, is listed in Cahn's Official Theatrical Guide
for 1908. The opera house, which
came to be known as the Auditorium, was purchased by the city of
Georgetown in 1920 and was later used for athletics and
as a cinema.
|
Glenwood
Springs |
1891
Durand Hall |
Headquarters
for Glenwood Springs
Eagles Lodge Aerie No. 215. |
Brick
building erected in 1888; in 1890 occupied by a hardware and
stove store; converted in 1891 by C. Ward Durand to a public use hall
with
a stage and then called an opera house; in 1905 became known as
Glenwood Springs Opera House; in 1919 as the Odeon Theater, and in 1927
as the Odeon Dance Hall; in 1948 the Fraternal Order of Eagles became
owners.
|
Golden
|
1879
Golden
Opera House |
The building,
built on capital stock
of $10,000 at 1218 Washington Street, is now
the Ace-Hi Tavern. |
The
Golden Opera House
was on
the second. It consisted of a large hall, 60 by 80 ft., seating 600,
with a stage at
one end. Many fraternal
organizations hosted meetings and dances there. It closed when
movie theaters became popular.
|
Goldfield
|
|
|
ca.
1898
Clark's Opera House |
No longer
stands. |
Was
at 9th and Independence Ave. G. W. Harrington was the proprietor.
Goldfield was in the Cripple Creek mining district.
|
Grand Junction
|
1883
Mandel
Opera House
|
It was at the
southeast corner of 6th and Main where Main Street Bagels is now
located. |
In
1885 Mesa County purchased the Mandel Opera House for
offices until 1924. Sometime in the mid-1930s it was extensively
renovated (perhaps due to
a fire) and was modified from a two-story to a one and one-half story
building with a different exterior, including the addition of glass
block bricks which remain still.
|
1885
Mesa Opera Rink
|
Currently
houses the Mesa Theater Club, at 538 Main.
|
This
house was included in McCourt's Silver Circuit bookings in 1887 and
beyond. The building is no longer listed as an opera house in 1893. It
later became a feed store and then opened as the Majestic Theater in
1909. In 1910 the building was seriously damaged, then repaired and
enlarged to a two-story structure. It was again modified around 1952.
|
1892
Park
Opera
House
|
The site is
now under the Museum of Western Colorado parking lot. |
The
building probably was first may have been a livery stable and then
converted to
an opera house. Equipped with all the latest conveniences, this 740
seat house
cost $35,000, and remained in operation until about 1919. Subsequently
the abandoned building was owned by the
Smith Family who tore it down in 1936 when they built a warehouse.
|
Greeley
|
1885
Jackson
Opera
House
|
The site is
now a parking lot. |
Built
by H.
B. Jackson, at
707 8th Ave.; a plaque under the cornice reads: "H.B. Jackson 1883", so
it may have been built 2 years before it opened as an opera house;
later used as a skating rink.
|
1886
Hunter
Opera House
(Greeley Opera House)
|
Building
totally razed and replaced by Hested's store in 1964.
The
store closed in 1976. Following a 1983-84 remodeling, the
building continues to house
offices.
|
The
three-story Opera
House block, built by
Sam D. Hunter, was on the southeast corner of Eighth Street and Eight
Avenue. The opera house, on the second floor,
was the largest and finest in the state north of Denver. It seated 800.
The house, which previously had ties with the old Tabor
Circuit, joined McCourt's Silver Circuit in May, 1895.
|
1911
Sterling Opera House
|
This
Romanesque opera
house later was called the Sterling Theater. It was razed in 1968. |
The opening of the
opera house in June of 1911 was announced in several Colorado
newspapers. The Sterling Hotel and Theater building adjacent to the
Courthouse, was razed and a new Weld County office building and jail
were built on the site. Know as the Weld Centennial Center, this new
complex was dedicated in 1976.
|
Grover
|
1914
Grover Opera
House
|
Houses the Grover
Regional Library. |
The
Grover Opera
House is one of
only three remaining original buildings on the main street of Grover.
|
Gunnison
|
1882
Academy of Music |
It closed as a
performance venue on September 14, 1900, and sometime thereafter was
dismantled.
|
Originally
the Globe Theatre, it became the Academy of Music June 14, 1883. Listed
in Cahn's Theatrical Guide for 1898, with a seating capicity of 400,
John Gordon, manager. It is not listed in the 1896 nor the 1908 Guide.
|
1883
Smith
Opera
House
|
Renovated
recently as a modern office
building. |
Building
located at 114 N. Boulevard. Operated only 2 years as an
entertainment facility; it closed during the winter of 1885-86 and soon
after was remodeled and became the Grand Apartments.
|
Idaho Springs
|
1886
Idaho Springs Opera House
|
Site now
occupied by Carlson Elementary School on Miner Street.
|
A
plaque on the Central
Hose House (fire
house) on Miner Street in Idaho Springs states that it was built in
1878 and the opera house and City Hall were
next to it. However, unless there were two fire houses on Miner Street,
this structure is likely a replacement for the original, as shown in in
this circa 1900
photograph in the Denver Library collection. Another picture
from 1900 of the fire house shows a building extending to the left
by which a poster reads "Brown's in Town", advertising a popular play
of the time, and another photo shows the same building now labeled "Theater."
A
photograph in the Denver Library collection, made
between 1885 and 1910, shows the opera house interior
during a banquet of the Masons. The opera house
was built by the town on town property and was in the midst of other
town-owned buildings. The Idaho Springs Opera House joined McCourt's
Tabor
circuit in 1886.
|
1912
Idaho Springs Opera House
|
In
commercial
use. |
Located
at 1535 Miner. After its days
as an opera house, the building became a movie theater, then an antique
mall, and now shops and an office.
|
Iliff
|
1909
Opera House
|
Still existing, at 4th St. and 3rd Ave., but is severe
disrepair.
|
A two-story
building, it is in skeletal condition and the roof has collapsed.
|
Julesburg
|
1908
Julesburg Opera House |
Two-story
building located at 104-106
E. 1st Street. |
Built
by Mayor Mark Burke, the lower area was a "hose house" and
"office" for the city. The upper
hall was used for professional engagements and local talent, as well as
a skating rink. In 1914 it became the Masonic Lodge, which remained
active until the 1980s. The space is unused at the present time and two
businesses occupy the street level rooms.
|
1917
Lowe Opera House |
Destroyed by
fire in 1972. In its
later years it was a second-hand furniture store and then a teen center. |
The
building began as Lowe's Livery Stables. After a remodeling in 1916
to create an auditorium for dancing, skating and performances, again in
1917 the building was expanded and a stage added to transform it into
an opera house. It hosted a steady schedule of stock company drama
interspersed with local talent events, then in the 40s was mainly used
for dances.
|
Lafayette
|
ca.
1892
Bauer Opera House
|
Destroyed when the
town burned down on
January 24, 1900.
|
The
George Bauer Opera House was
in the 400 block of Simpson St.
|
aft.
1900
Lafayette Opera House
(Union Hall)
|
Union Hall was
still functioning in 1924, when a large road show performed there. It
no longer
exists.
|
Which
was the opera house is not known for certain. There was a 30 x 60
building, just north
of Cleveland St. and the main road, owned by John Stobbs that was a
roller rink and hall for socials, and there was a Webber Hall for the
same purposes. The most likely is Union Hall where the well-known Welsh
Choir gave concerts. The Lafayette opera house was a member of the
Curran Circuit,
as listed in the 1908 Cahn's Official Theatrical Guide, with a seating
capacity 500; it was on the ground floor.
|
La
Jara
|
1895
La Jara Opera House
|
The second-floor opera house, as well as the first
floor, are now apartments.
|
Built on the
southeast corner of Main St. and the Alamosa-Antonito highway as the
Johnson Warehouse, the upper floor was a large room with a stage at the
south end. Traveling shows, dances, parties, plays and public meeting
took place here. In 1922 George Fleischman rented the opera house and
operated it as a movie theater and was called the Paramount Theater.
|
La Junta
|
1889
La Junta Opera House
|
No longer
exists.
|
Built
by a stock company for $40,000. Probably
the opera house on the Silver Theatrical
Circuit of Peter McCourt in 1891. An opera house is stated to be in
existence in 1891 in Hall's 1895 History of the State of Colorado, v.
4.
|
1901
La Junta Opera House
(La Junta Theatre)
|
Burned Jul 28,
1909. The building was 52 x 140 feet, two stories high, built of La
Junta pressed brick and sandtone trimmings. It cost $20,000.
|
Was
located at 217 Colorado Avenue. It is listed in the
1908 Cahn's Official
Theatrical Guide, with a seating capacity of 900. It is listed in
Cahn's 1906-07 Directory. There is no listing
for an opera house/theater in the La Junta City Directory for 1914-15.
|
1913
Rourke Opera House
(Rourke Theatre)
|
Now the
Fox Theater at 11 E. 3rd St., but the theater currently is closed.
|
At item in the Akron
Weekly Pioneer Press, Apr 3, 1914, mentions the La Junta Elks
starting rehearsals for their minstrel show to be given at the "new
Rourke opera house" Apr 21 and 22. In the La Junta City Directory
1914-1915 a
Rourke Block at "Colorado av ne cor 3d" is listed among the "Halls and
Public Buildings" and the "new Rourke Theatre" is said to have cost
$40,000. The ticket office was on Colorado and a long hallway led to
the opera house to the east.
|
Lamar
|
1899
Lamar Opera House
|
Razed in 1962
to make room for a parking lot. It was on the east side of the 100
block of South Main.
|
The
two-story opera house, seating 700, was built by Fred Lee and Abraham
Deeter. The theatre was on the second floor. It became a movie house in
1910. Remodeled by Fred Lee in
1919, it was used for dances, skating, basketball, and boxing, in
addition to stage shows. Listed in the 1908
Cahn's Official Theatrical Guide.
|
Leadville
|
1879
Shoenberg Opera House |
Was used as a
courthouse until March 1881. |
The
two-story opera house was at 205 Chestnut St., near the nw corner
of Pine. The first ball of the Knights of Robert Emmet was held March
18 and their second on October 22, 1879. After the courthouse was
damaged by fire in July 1879, the opera house was leased by Lake County
to serve as a courthouse. It was purchased January 5, 1880 by the Lake
County Commissioners for use as a courthouse, in which use it continued
until March 1881 when a new courthouse was built.
|
1879
Wood's Opera House
|
Burned in 1882.
|
Colonel
Ben Wood obtained lots 103-113 on E. Chestnut, upon which Wood's Opera
House and the Windsor Hotel were built. The opera house opened October
13, 1879; it had 14 private boxes and seated 1,000. A. E. Jones became
proprietor in November 1879 and renamed the theatre the Olympic. In
1880, Jones disappeared without paying rent or performers. Wood, the
owner of the building, hired Edwin Jones to manage it and he renamed it
the Chestnut Street Theatre. Later that year when Wood and Browne were
unable to pay expenses, they were forced to close the theatre. Wood
reopened it 2 weeks later as Wood's Opera house. In 1881 Wood leased
his theater to Howard and Sullivan who changed the name to the Academy
of Music, but the academy closed shortly and it burned in 1882.
|
1879
Tabor
Opera House
|
A Leadville
landmark, largely still intact.
Used for plays,
concerts and operas. A grant from Colorado’s State
Historical Fund made possible a Historic Structure Assessment Study of
the building in 2002.
|
The
third and grandest opera house in Leadville, built
by Horace Tabor, opened November 20, 1879. Tabor lost it in the 1893
silver crash. It was
revived as the Weston Opera House, but later failed financially, and
then the Elks Lodge acquired and remodeled the
building as a theater and
meeting hall in 1901. Purchased in 1955 by her mother, Evelyn E.
Livingston Furman became
sole owner of the opera house after her mother's death in 1965. The
current owners are Sharon and Bill Bland.
|
Longmont
|
1881
Dickens
Opera House
|
The
second-floor
auditorium, which had a
seating capacity of 850, now is a
billiard parlor and bar. Stage
and proscenium still intact. |
A designated
historic landmark, located at the
corner of 3rd and Main, above
the Third Avenue
Grill. Public
entrance
at 302 Main St. opens to wide stairs that ascend to the second floor. A
stage door opens on 3rd St. Pop
music groups perform on weekends.
|
Louisville
|
1895
Louisville Opera House
(Red Men Hall)
|
Torn down in
1953. At the time it was owned by St. Louis Catholic Church of
Louisville, which acquired it in 1947.
|
The
hall, originally constructed as a meeting place for Redmen's Lodge, was
on the southwest corner of Grant and Walnut. It became a center for
recreational activities, including traveling road shows and concert
artists, local plays, school graduations, wedding receptions, dances
and roller skating. Seating
capacity 450; located on ground floor; lodge hall was on the second.
Was on the Curran Circuit.
Listed in the 1908 Cahn's Official Theatrical Guide.
|
Loveland
|
1884
Bartholf
Opera
House
(A & B Opera House)
|
Converted in
1925 into steam heated
apartments. It is located on the southwest corner at 4th and Cleveland.
The A & B name was from the men who built the house, E. S. Allen
and Frank Bartholf.
|
Seated
400; had 12 sets of scenery and an elegant drop curtain ordered
from Chicago. In the 1890's the building's exterior was
extensively remodeled and again in 1925 when the opera house closed;
additional remodelings occurred in the late 1930's and 40's. It is now
the Arcadia Hotel, 138 4th Street.
|
1903
Loveland Opera House
(Odd Fellows Opera House)
|
Home
of the Loveland Lodge of the I.O.O.F, at 315-319 4th St. Currently
being renovated to restore the facade to its original appearance. The
auditorium is on the second floor; the third story windows are in the
balcony level.
|
Several Colorado
newspapers carried this story: "The handsome new opera house at
Loveland was opened on the night of October 4th [1903], the play being
"On the Hills of California." The seating capacity is about 900." The
1904 City Directory lists the opera house as
being at 317-323 4th St. The first floor has been commercial space with
many tenants, the most
enduring having been J. C. Penny from about 1914 to 1959. It once
housed the Majestic Theatre.
|
Manassa
|
1907
Manassa Opera House
|
The
building was restored in 1988.
It is on 4th St. west of the Mormon Church.
|
A
photograph labeled "La
Jara
Opera House" in the Denver Public Library and said to have been
built
in 1906 and burned in 1910, is the same building in Alamosa's Southern
Peaks Public
Library collection as the "San Luis
Stake Academy" with the statement
that it was built in Sanford and later moved to Manassa, it burned in
later years, and in 1923-24 became Conejos County's first major
educational institution. The first story of this building appears to
have the same design as the Manassa Opera House.
|
Mancos
|
1899
Mancos Opera House
|
Burned
April 9, 1907.
|
Harry M. Davis was
the proprietor and managerof the house and also sold bicycles. Just
after the Mancos Opera House burned, the Odd Fellows announced that
they were enlarging the stage in their hall, seating 500, and adding a
curtain, to serve as an opera house.
|
1910
Mancos
Opera House
|
One
of the larger and more substantial buildings in Mancos. It is located
in the heart of
Mancos on Grand Avenue, on the north side of the first block west of
Grand's intersection with Main Street. The ground
floor of the building is the home of the Mancos Veterans of Foreign
Wars. |
Constructed
by A. J. Ames and George Woods, the two-story, red brick
structure was completed on March 1, 1910. The
upper part of the building is the theater portion. The building appears
to be three
stories high, but the second-floor auditorium is two stories high. The
'third story' windows one sees from the outside are in the balcony on
the south and west sides of the theater. Stabilization work enabled the
performance venue upstairs to be opened on a limited basis for public
events in spring 2004. For the first time in decades, school plays and
the junior prom were held there, as well as concerts, Mardi Gras
celebrations and other performances.
|
Manitou Springs
|
1889
Wheeler Hall
|
Peter
MacFarlane, who built the Central City Opera House, was the
contractor for Wheeler Hall. In about 1900, the building was converted
into a small hotel and was
known
as the Nyoda and then the El Parque. After serving as apartments for
many years, new owners restored and preserved its historic character in
1975. It now houses businesses and living quarters. |
Jerome
B. Wheeler, one of Colorado's great financiers, mining barons
and generous benefactor, who also built the Wheeler Opera House in
Aspen, erected the building in 1888-1889 as a detached, three-story
structure with extensive brick and stonework. On opening day, a bank
shared the ground floor with a dry goods store, nine offices were on
the second floor; one early te |
Colorado's opera
houses