St. George Opera House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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St. George Social Hall
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 Location in Utah
Location in the United States
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| Location | 212 N. Main St., St. George, Utah |
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| Built | 1864 |
| NRHP reference No. | 91000360 |
| Added to NRHP | April 3, 1991 |
The St. George Opera House, also known as the St. George Social Hall, is a very old and important building in St. George, Utah. It was first built in 1864 by a group called the St. George Gardeners' Club. They used it as a place to store wine.
Later, when people needed less wine, the building was made bigger. It became a place where people could watch plays and shows. It was used for performances until 1936. Then, it was sold to a sugar company. In 1988, the building was fixed up and became an opera house again. Today, you can visit it and enjoy shows there.
Contents
A Look Back: The History of the Opera House
Why St. George Was Settled
In 1861, a leader named Brigham Young sent about 300 Mormon families to the southern part of Utah Territory. He wanted them to start a new town. Young hoped that this new area would help the Mormon people become self-sufficient. This meant they could grow and make everything they needed themselves.
One big goal was to grow cotton. The area was much warmer than Salt Lake City in the north. People thought this warm weather would be perfect for cotton. But it turned out to be too hot in the summer, and they only grew small amounts of cotton.
From Wine Cellar to Social Hub
The St. George Opera House started as a place to store wine. Growing grapes was a good way for the settlers to earn extra money. In the mid-1860s, the St. George Gardeners' Club was formed. This group helped farmers in the community.
In 1864, one of their first projects was building the cellar. It was a cool place to keep extra wine and to process grapes. Most of the building was built underground, into the side of a hill.
Becoming a Place for Performances
Over time, people needed less wine. This was partly because some mines closed and because of pressure from the church. So, new plans were made for the cellar building. The Gardeners' Club sold it to the Social Hall Company in the late 1870s.
The building was made bigger. They added parts on top and to the west of the cellar. This created a stage and seats for up to 400 people. Performing arts were very important in Mormon culture. Brigham Young always made sure that artists were among the families sent to new settlements.
Miles P. Romney was in charge of the Social Hall Company. He also led the St. George Dramatic Association and sometimes acted in plays. Soon after it opened, Mormon missionaries sent materials from an opera house in New York City that had gone out of business. The St. George Social Hall held its first opera in 1886.
Changes Over the Years
In 1900, the hall was given to the local LDS church. This happened because the Social Hall Company owed the church a lot of money. But the church kept using the building for shows and plays.
During The Great Depression, times were tough. The church had to sell the building in 1936 to the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company. This company used the building to process sugar beet seeds. This was an important way for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to earn money.
Finally, in 1988, the sugar company sold the building to the St. George Neighborhood Redevelopment Agency. This agency fixed up the building. They made it into an opera house again, and it is still used for performances today!
See also
In Spanish: Ópera de St. George para niños
