Central City Opera House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Central City Opera House
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The Opera House in 1982
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 Location in Colorado
Location in the United States
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| Location | Eureka St., Central City, Colorado |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1878 |
| Architectural style | Renaissance Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 73000474 |
| Added to NRHP | January 18, 1973 |
The Central City Opera House is a famous building in Central City, Colorado. It is part of the Central City/Black Hawk Historic District. This special building was finished in 1878.
For many years, it hosted amazing opera and theater shows. Famous actors and performers came here in the late 1800s. Later, in the early 1900s, it became a movie theater. In 1973, the opera house was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is a very important historical site.
Building the Opera House and its Updates
In 1877, people in Central City wanted to build Colorado's first opera house. They formed a group called the Gilpin County Opera House Association. This group helped raise money for the project.
A designer from Denver, Robert S. Roeschlaub, drew up the plans. He designed the building in the Renaissance Revival style. It was made of stone and brick. Inside, it had a curved balcony and windows with arches. An artist from San Francisco, John C. Massman, painted a beautiful mural on the ceiling. It showed the sky and cool patterns.
Welsh and Cornish miners, along with other town residents, helped build it. These people loved music and had a strong tradition of it. A cool fact about the opera house is how it stays cool in summer. A small creek flows through a flume (a special channel) right under the building!
Electricity was added in 1896. The building was updated again in 1903, but its main structure stayed the same.
In 1929, a group of people from Denver wanted to save and reopen the opera house. They formed the Central City Opera House Association. This was a big volunteer effort. Ida Kruse McFarlane, Edna Chappell, and Anne Evans led the work. They did a huge restoration of the Opera House in 1932.
More updates happened in the 1980s and 1990s. The whole building was fixed, including its foundation. The old lighting system from the 1920s was replaced with a modern computer system. In 1999, the old wooden chairs were swapped for comfy new theater seats.
Shows and Movies at the Opera House
When the Central City Opera House first opened in 1878, it was the most important cultural spot in Colorado. That changed a bit when another opera house, the Tabor Grand Opera House, opened in 1881.
To make more money, the Opera House started showing plays too, not just operas. Many famous actors from the 1800s performed there. These included Joseph Jefferson, Edwin Booth, and Madame Januschek. Even famous entertainers like Buffalo Bill and P. T. Barnum's circus visited!
By 1910, Peter MacFarlane owned most of the Opera House. He had helped build it and worked on the 1903 updates. He turned it into a movie theater. The Opera House closed its doors in 1927.
In May 1931, MacFarlane's family gave the opera house to the University of Denver. The Central City Opera House Association then organized its restoration. In the summer of 1932, the famous actress Lillian Gish helped reopen the newly fixed opera house. She performed in a play called Camille.
This started a new tradition: summer opera and theater festivals. These festivals have become well-known across the country.
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The Central City Opera company was also created that year. It is the fifth oldest opera company in the United States! One of its most popular shows is The Ballad of Baby Doe. This opera tells the story of a rich mine owner, Horace Tabor, and his second wife, Baby Doe Tabor. It was first performed in 1956. In 2001, the company was the first in the U.S. to put on Gloriana. This opera is about Elizabeth I and was written by Benjamin Britten.
Famous singers like Samuel Ramey and Beverly Sills have performed at the opera house. Daniel Rule, who managed the Central City Opera company, once said something amazing. He noted that 29 performers from the famous Metropolitan Opera in New York had also performed in Central City!
The Central City Opera House Association owns about 30 old Victorian houses in town. During the summer, these houses are used to host the singers who perform at the opera house. Until 2000, all the operas were performed in English. Now, the Central City Opera performs its operas in their original languages.
Today, the opera house still puts on several opera shows every summer. It also screens old silent films and classic movies.
See also
