Heydays of Opera Houses

I recently bought the book "Local Glories" by Ann Satterthwaite. I'm only a few chapter in and I'm hooked! In the book, Ann Satterthwaite explores the creative, social, and communal roles of the thousands of opera houses that flourished in small towns across the country.

While I could paraphrase the importance these early event venues played in our society, Ann herself says it best. Here is an excerpt from her introduction:

"By 1900, opera houses were everywhere: on second floors over hardware stores, in grand independent buildings, in the back rooms of New England town halls, and even inside the bowels of a Mississippi department store. Midwestern state were dotted with them.

With travel made easier by the newly expanded rail lines, Sarah Bernhardt, Mark Twain, and John Philip Sousa entertained thousands of townspeople, as did countless actors, theater and opera companies, innumerable minor league magicians, circuses, and lecturers, and even 500 troupes that performed nothing but Uncle Tom's Cabin. Often the town's only large space for public assembly, the local opera house served as a place for local activities such as school graduations, recitations, sports, town meetings, elections, political rallies, and even social dances and roller skating parties. Considered local landmarks, often in distinctive architect-designed buildings they aroused considerable pride and reinforced town identity.

In the twentieth century, radio and movies, and later television and changing tastes made these opera houses seem obsolete. Some were demolished, while others languished for decades until stalwart revivers discovered them again in the 1970s. The resuscitation of these opera houses today, and example of historic preservation and creative reuse, reflects the timeless quest for cultural inspiration and for local engagement to counter the anonymity of the larger world. These 'local glories' are where art and community meet, forging connection and making communities today, just as they did in the nineteenth century."

Can you imagine the Gibson City of long ago where couples got dressed up to go to the opera house to see a play, hear a political speaker, or attend a grand ball? Wouldn't you love to see Burwell's Opera House be that grand local landmark once again? I know I would and I hate to speak for M. T. Burwell himself, but I think he would love to see that 'ole opera house full of life, laughter, and merriment once again.