Wheeler Opera House facts for kids
South elevation and west profile, 2010
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| Address | 320 E. Hyman Avenue Aspen, CO USA |
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| Coordinates | 39°11′21″N 106°49′11″W / 39.18917°N 106.81972°W |
| Owner | City of Aspen |
| Designation | NRHP# 72000276 |
| Capacity | 503 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1889 |
| Closed | 1913–50 |
| Rebuilt | 1950, Herbert Bayer |
| Years active | 1889–1912, 1950–present |
| Architect | Willoughby J. Edbrooke |
| Website | |
| http://www.wheeleroperahouse.com/ | |
The Wheeler Opera House is a historic building in Aspen, Colorado. It stands at the corner of East Hyman Avenue and South Mill Street. Built in the 1890s, it was designed by Willoughby J. Edbrooke. The building mixes styles like Romanesque Revival and Italianate.
In 1972, the Wheeler Opera House became the first building in Aspen to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's a very important historical site. The theater inside hosts many events each year. You can see famous music and comedy shows, parts of the Aspen Music Festival, and local community plays.
The building is named after Jerome B. Wheeler, an early developer in Aspen. At first, the opera house was on the third floor. Shops were on the first floor, and offices were on the second. A fire in the early 1900s damaged the inside. After the fire, the theater was not used for a long time. The city then took ownership because of unpaid taxes.
Later in the century, the building was fixed up many times. Herbert Bayer designed two of these renovations. For a while, the Pitkin County Library was also located there. Today, the Wheeler Opera House has shops and a restaurant. It is also still a busy theater. It's one of Aspen's most famous landmarks. The city helps pay for its operations using a special tax.
Many famous people have performed at the Wheeler. These include Lily Tomlin, Renée Fleming, Phish, John Denver, and Bill Maher. Kate Hudson even made her first stage appearance there as a child. The band INXS recorded their last official live show with Michael Hutchence at the Wheeler.
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Exploring the Wheeler Opera House Building
The Wheeler Opera House is in the middle of Aspen. It sits on the northwest corner of East Hyman Avenue and South Mill Street. These streets are now pedestrian malls, meaning only people can walk there. The area around it has many buildings, but none are as tall as the Wheeler. This makes the opera house stand out.
The building has three stories and a sloped roof. Its main sides are made of peach-colored sandstone. The other sides are made of plain brick. The main entrance is on East Hyman Street. There's another entrance on the corner.
Outside the Wheeler Opera House
The windows on the first floor are rounded. They have stone arches and awnings. Above them, a small ledge has the word "Bank" carved into it. This reminds us that a bank used to be there. Another larger ledge separates the first and second floors.
The second-floor windows are tall and rectangular. They have stone tops. Most of these windows are set back a little. On the third floor, the windows are also arched. Some of these windows are just for decoration. One small, round window is on the east side.
The roof has a fancy edge made of pressed tin. The middle part of the south side has a triangular top. The corner of the building has a smaller, rounded top.
Inside the Wheeler Opera House
The first floor of the Wheeler Opera House has shops and the ticket office. The second floor has dressing rooms for performers. It also has the theater lobby. The lobby walls are painted with a special plaster and a picture of the building. There's a fire escape and an elevator to help everyone get around. A red-carpeted staircase leads to the theater. You can also see an old safe that Jerome Wheeler bought for his bank.
The main theater is on the third floor. It has 503 seats. This room is twice as tall as the other floors. It mixes old designs with some new ones. The seats are covered in leather. The walls are decorated in blue, green, and orange colors. The ceiling is curved and has silver stars. A large chandelier hangs from it.
At the front is the stage with a red and gold arch. A red velvet curtain hangs there. Above the stage, you can see an emblem with Roman helmets and musical instruments. From the south windows, you can see the mountain clearly. There are also special box seats on the sides.
A curved wooden railing separates the balcony area. It is held up by orange-colored metal columns. Two small side stages are next to the main stage. Behind the stage are more dressing rooms. There's also a special walkway for actors to move from one side of the stage to the other without being seen. This area also connects to the fire escape and elevator.
History of the Wheeler Opera House
The story of the Wheeler Opera House is like the story of Aspen itself. It was built with great excitement when Aspen was a booming silver mining town. But when the silver market crashed, the building, like much of Aspen, became quiet. People started fixing it up in the mid-1900s. This was when Aspen became a popular ski resort. More money came to the town, which helped with more repairs.
Building the Opera House During the Silver Boom (1888–1893)
Aspen started as a small settlement in 1879. It grew very fast when lots of silver was found nearby. In the 1880s, during the Colorado Silver Boom, many people moved there. One of them was Jerome Wheeler. He was a veteran of the American Civil War. He had married a rich heiress who owned part of Macy's department store.
In 1883, the Wheelers moved to Colorado for Mrs. Wheeler's health. Jerome Wheeler heard about the silver in Aspen. He invested in several mines. By 1888, he was so involved in mining that he sold his share of Macy's. He then moved to Aspen.
With his mining money, he built two important buildings that are still standing: the Hotel Jerome and the opera house. The first floor of the opera house had Wheeler's bank, a barber shop, and a clothing store. The second floor had offices for the bank, a mining company, a lawyer, and a dentist. The tall third floor was the theater.
The architect, Willoughby J. Edbrooke, designed the building. It combined the Romanesque Revival style with Italianate decorations. It took ten months to build, from June 1888 to April 1889. It cost $100,000. Aspen was one of the first cities in the West to have electricity. The theater's chandelier used 36 electric lights.
Everyone was very excited for the opening. Local hat makers even put ads in newspapers saying they were too busy to take new orders. The opening night show was The King's Fool. The local newspaper called the building "a perfect little jewel of a theater."
Aspen grew even bigger after 1890. Congress passed a law that made the government buy more silver. The city's population grew to almost 10,000 people. The Wheeler became a popular stop on a touring route called the Silver Circuit. People could see everything from Shakespeare plays to classical music and comedy shows.
Quiet Years and Fire (1893–1950)
This busy time ended in 1893. Congress stopped buying silver, and many mines closed. Jerome Wheeler lost his money. The theater became much less busy.
Aspen then entered a quiet period. The population dropped quickly. Many new buildings from the boom years became empty. Some burned down or fell apart. The Wheeler survived by showing movies.
In 1912, a fire started in the theater. It was put out quickly. But a week and a half later, another fire broke out. This fire started in three different places, so it was clearly set on purpose. It was so hot it melted the steel cables on the stage. The community was very upset. The Wheeler was closed up. The lower floors were still used, but the theater stayed empty for years. In 1918, the city took ownership of the building because of unpaid taxes.
The city didn't fix the theater. Most shows could be held at Armory Hall. By 1930, Aspen's population was only about 500 people. This was less than 10% of what it was when the Wheeler was built. Near the end of the 1930s, some visitors saw that Aspen could be a great place for Alpine skiing.
Bringing the Wheeler Back to Life (1950–1970)
After World War II, some people returned to Aspen to build a ski resort. They started the Aspen Skiing Company. Walter Paepcke and his wife Elizabeth helped a lot. They brought important cultural figures to Aspen. They started the Aspen Music Festival in 1949. This was part of their "Aspen Idea." They wanted Aspen to be a place where people could work, enjoy outdoor activities, and experience art, music, and education.
The Paepckes found the Wheeler Opera House. Its theater was neglected and full of trash. They led a community effort to clean it up. Herbert Bayer, an architect, designed a simple renovation. This allowed some events to happen, but the theater still had problems. In winter, it could only show movies. A fire escape also had to be added to the front of the building.
Aspen became more popular in the 1950s. The first renovations to the Wheeler were not enough. The Paepckes asked Bayer to design another renovation. This time, he mixed his modern style with the original Victorian design. The box seats were changed into side stages. The ceiling was fully restored, and new seats were added. The walls were painted a deep red with a special design.
Big Renovations and New Festivals (1970–1983)
Aspen kept growing. More people moved there, including celebrities like John Denver and Goldie Hawn. More art and cultural groups came to the city. But there wasn't enough space for them to perform. For a while, the Pitkin County library was on the second floor of the Wheeler. The theater still couldn't be used much in winter.
It was clear the Wheeler needed a huge renovation. The Music Festival and other groups pushed for a way to pay for it. In 1979, the city council added a small tax on all property sales in Aspen. This tax started in 1980 to fund the renovations.
A company called William Kessler & Associates was chosen for the $4.5 million project. In 1982, money from the tax was used to buy the empty lot next door. They planned to expand the building. But Kessler's modern design was not liked by the community. It was called a "waving flag" and was eventually dropped.
Inside the building, many things were fixed. The box seats, curtain, and stage arch were restored to their original look. Real dressing rooms were built. The second floor became the lobby. A bar was added on the first floor. The entrance area was turned into a ticket office. An elevator was built to make the theater wheelchair accessible. This also allowed them to remove the fire escape from the front of the building. A restaurant called Bentley's opened where the bank used to be.
When the renovation finished in 1984, it wasn't perfect. The lot next door was still empty. The new ticket office was very cold in winter because of the wind. The lobby was too small for a full audience. And a strange bump was added to the north side of the building when the fire escape was removed.
But these small problems were forgotten during the grand reopening in May 1984. There were free tours of the building. Performers included pianist James Levine and cellist Lynn Harrell. A silent film from 1928, The Wind, was shown with live music. The film's star, Lillian Gish, who was 90 years old, was there too.
Festivals and Fame (1984–Present)
With the theater fully open, it became a very popular place. The Music Festival continued to hold many shows there. Audiences in the mid-1980s heard Renée Fleming when she was a student. John Denver, who lived in Aspen, performed there often. The local Aspen Community School also puts on its yearly play there. In 1986, Goldie Hawn's daughter, Kate Hudson, made her first stage appearance in Alice in Wonderland.
Stand-up comedy became popular in the 1980s. The Wheeler became famous when HBO chose it for its U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in 1985. For 13 years, comedians performed there for HBO cameras. Some of the comedians who got their start there include Bill Maher, Dave Chappelle, and Margaret Cho. Famous comedians like Lily Tomlin also performed. HBO later moved the festival to Las Vegas. But the Wheeler now hosts two other comedy festivals: the Aspen RooftopComedy Festival and the Aspen Laff Fest.
Famous musicians also played at the Wheeler. Some of their shows were recorded for live albums. Lyle Lovett played there every year. In February 1997, the Australian rock band INXS performed at the Wheeler. Six songs from that show were released on a special CD. Their lead singer, Michael Hutchence, died nine months later. This made it his last official live recording. Seven years later, John Oates released a CD and DVD of his show there.
Renovations are still happening. In late 2007, the fake wood finish in the theater was fixed. The lobby was repainted, and the mural of the Wheeler was added. The special tax that pays for the Wheeler was renewed in 2000. A strong real estate market meant the Wheeler had $28 million for future plans. They planned a big expansion, but these plans were stopped in 2009.
The Wheeler was closed for most of 2013 for important renovations to its balcony. They also updated its movie technology to digital. This was finished in time for its reopening in January 2014. In 2011, the basement and two ground-floor spaces were remodeled. Over $5 million has been spent on these projects. This helps prepare the Wheeler for another hundred years of use.
How the Wheeler Opera House is Managed
The Wheeler Opera House is run by an eight-member board. Seven members are chosen by the Aspen City Council. One member represents the Aspen Music Festival and School. The current board chair is Brian O'Neil.
An executive director leads a staff of eleven paid workers. Volunteers from Aspen also help. The theater can be rented for private and public events. However, it is mostly used by the Music Festival's Opera School from mid-June to mid-August.
See also
In Spanish: Ópera Wheeler para niños
