Newberry Opera House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Newberry Opera House
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Newberry Opera House
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 Location in South Carolina
Location in the United States
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| Location | Boyce and Nance Sts., Newberry, South Carolina |
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| Area | 0.8 acres (0.32 ha) |
| Built | 1882 (139 years ago) |
| Architect | Normann, Gottfried L. |
| Architectural style | Gothic |
| NRHP reference No. | 69000171 |
| Added to NRHP | December 03, 1969 |
The Newberry Opera House is a special old building in Newberry, South Carolina. It's been brought back to life and is now a busy place for live shows. You can see popular artists, traveling theater groups, and local events here. This historic building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.
The Opera House was designed in a style called French Gothic. When it first opened, the ground floor was used by the town government. It had offices, a jail, and even a spot for the fire truck! The top floor was built as a theater. For many years, it hosted famous touring shows and performers. Later, it became a movie theater, but it showed its last movie in 1952. The building was carefully restored starting in 1998. This project added new parts to make it a modern theater for big productions.
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A Look Back at the Newberry Opera House
The Newberry Opera House was designed to be both a fun entertainment spot and a place for the city's government. It was finished in 1881 and officially opened in 1882. The building had a tall clock tower, about 130 feet (40 m) high. On top of the tower was a cool weather vane shaped like a garfish!
What Was Inside?
The first floor of the building was planned for important city services. It had a room for the fire engine and chambers for the town council. There was also an office for the city clerk and a police officer's area. Plus, it included three jail cells.
The second floor was where all the entertainment happened. It had a large hall with 426 seats. This main hall was about 53 by 52 feet (16 m) big. On this floor, you could also find a ticket office, a "green room" (where performers relax), a cloakroom, and three dressing rooms. The stage had special drop curtains and seven different scenes or sets. One of these old landscape scenes even survived until the late 1900s!
A Hub for Entertainment
The Opera House quickly became famous as "the entertainment center of the Midlands." Many different kinds of shows came to Newberry. You could see plays from New York City, minstrel and variety shows, and famous singers. There were also lecturers, magicians, mind readers, and even boxing matches!
It wasn't just for professional performers, though. The community used the Opera House for many events. People held meetings, dances, college graduation ceremonies, and local musicals there. Some very famous artists performed on its stage. These included Edwin Booth, the John Barrymore family, and Tallulah Bankhead.
From Stage to Screen
The first movie shown at the Opera House was The Birth of a Nation in 1915. It was a silent movie, meaning it had no sound. More silent films followed. In the 1920s, early "Talkies" were introduced. These were movies with sound, often using a phonograph record. Slowly, movies started to take over from live stage shows. In the 1920s, the Opera House was updated to be a movie theater.
In 1952, after showing the movie The Outlaw, the Opera House closed as a movie theater. During the time it was a movie theater, the original horseshoe-shaped balcony was made smaller. This change meant that seating at the back of the auditorium was set aside for African Americans. At that time, many public places had separate areas for different racial groups. The city even added an outdoor staircase that African Americans were required to use to enter. Since the mid-1960s, these kinds of separate facilities have been made equal for everyone.
Saving a Landmark
By 1959, some people thought about tearing the building down. But the main hall was still used for community events, and the city government still used the first floor. In 1969, the Newberry Historical Society and other local groups worked hard to save the Opera House. Because of their efforts, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. This helped protect it.
After the City of Newberry moved out of the building in the mid-1990s, a group called the Newberry Opera House Foundation was created. They wanted to see if the building could be restored. They realized there weren't many good places for performances in the area. So, they talked to experts and made a plan to restore it. This foundation has raised money and now manages the Opera House, which they rent from the city.
Modern Restoration and New Life
The outside of the building and its windows were restored in 1994. Then, the inside renovation began in 1996. This included bringing back the original horseshoe-shaped balcony. An extra 10,000 square feet (930 m2) was added to the building. This new space made it a full theatrical production facility. It included a new loading dock, an elevator, a second stage for rehearsals, and new dressing rooms. The whole restoration cost about $5.5 million. The architects for this big project were Craig Gaulden Davis from Greenville, South Carolina.
Today, the Newberry Opera House is a very busy place. Many different touring theater companies and live performers have graced its stage. Famous artists like Willie Nelson and Michael Bolton have performed there. Local groups like the Newberry Ballet Guild and opera companies also use the hall. It can hold up to 426 people. Newberry College and other community groups also use it for their performances.
Many well-known musicians have performed at the Newberry Opera House. Some South Carolina artists include the Marshall Tucker Band, Edwin McCain, Josh Turner, Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, and Chubby Checker. Other famous performers from different places have also played there. These include The Oak Ridge Boys, Glen Campbell, Joan Baez, and The Beach Boys. More recently, artists like Christopher Cross, Ricky Skaggs, Olivia Newton-John, Travis Tritt, The Charlie Daniels Band, Eddie Money, Kansas, Arlo Guthrie, Graham Nash, and Los Lonely Boys have performed. Even rock bands like Puddle of Mudd, Tantric, Saliva, Fastball, Everclear, and Blue Öyster Cult have played at the Opera House.
See also
