Marysville Opera House facts for kids
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Marysville Opera House
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| Location | 1225 3rd Street Marysville, Washington |
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| Built | 1911 |
| Architect | A. E. Heider |
| NRHP reference No. | 82004288 |
| Added to NRHP | February 25, 1982 |
The Marysville Opera House is a historic building in Marysville, Washington. It was built in 1911 as a place for performances and community gatherings. This special building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It can hold about 400 people for different events.
Contents
History of the Opera House
Early Days of the Building
Before the current opera house, there was a simpler meeting hall. A group called the Independent Order of Oddfellows built it in 1898. This first wooden building was a community space. Sadly, it was destroyed in a fire in 1910. After the fire, the community decided to build a new, stronger building.
Building the New Opera House
The new opera house was built the very next year, in 1911. A local builder named A.E. Heider constructed it. The cost was about $20,000, which was a lot of money back then! The first stone was placed on March 26, and the building was finished by August 1911. The new opera house was designed to grow with the city. It was meant for social events and traveling shows. It was also one of the first buildings in Snohomish County, Washington to use poured concrete. Most buildings before it were made of wood or brick.
Changes Over the Years
The Oddfellows group in Marysville stopped using the building in 1966. After that, the opera house was used for many different things. It became a roller skating rink for a while. It was also a shooting range and a furniture store. For a time, it even served as a disco nightclub.
In 1982, the Marysville Fine Arts Committee worked to get the building recognized. They successfully placed it on the National Register of Historic Places. This made it the only building in Marysville on the list. The committee hoped to fix up the building. However, they could not raise enough money to do so.
Restoring and Reopening
The city of Marysville began renting the opera house in 1998. The building's owners, the Williams family, then started to fix it up. Years of not being cared for had caused the roof to leak. After the repairs, the opera house reopened in March 2001. This allowed the city to rent it out for private events.
More improvements were made in 2016. The building was repainted, and new LED lighting was added. New artwork also brightened up the space. In 2017, the opera house hosted 138 events. The city government bought the Opera House in January 2018. They paid $1.44 million for it. The city plans to keep booking events there. They also want to improve the area around the river nearby.
See also
