They called it an "Opera House" because it was a temple of music; a playhouse of thespian art; a venue for education, science, and culture; and most of all a center of civic pride. This fancy big-city term for a theater, or theatre to use the more refined spelling, was adopted in the 19th and early 20th centuries by countless small communities all across America from Maine to California. Some towns built their opera house with public funds that incorporated civic offices like police and fire departments into the building. Others were private ventures into America's burgeoning entertainment industry that subsidized the investment in a theatre by renting out ground floor space to small shops and businesses. Many opera houses were built by fraternal societies as both a lodge assembly hall and a community auditorium. These innumerable stages in small towns served as as platforms for politicians' speeches, high school commencements, church conclaves, music school recitals, and much more.
And in the center of the continent, in the state of Kansas there were a surprising number of opera houses. Want to make a guess how many? The answer will be revealed at the end of this story.
We begin with this colorized half-tone photo of a stout red brick building situated on the corner of two unpaved streets. It is the Opera House of Caldwell, Kansas that was pictured on a postcard sent from Caldwell on 4 July 1909 at 7:30 PM to Floyd A. Barnes of Ft Worth, Texas.
Dear Floyd,
Did you get my letter
about the papers. Don't
over look sending them
because I would like to
keep up with the club &
also will have to send
off my report from here.
Yours
F. E. Ligon
P. O. Box 312
Caldwell, Kansas is a city in Sumner County, Kansas that was founded in 1871. In 1910 it boasted of 2,205 citizens, but over a century later in 2020 its population has reduced to 1,025. It is located about 2 miles north of the Oklahoma border and 45 miles south of Wichita, Kansas.
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| Caldwell KS News 25 March 1909 |
Melodramas and comedies were standard fare for theatres like the Caldwell Opera House. In the late 19th and early 20th century small companies of actors traveled the continent by rail following a growing circuit of small town theaters. A theatrical troupe was booked by an opera house manager, usually through an agency, and the production would be promoted by the local newspapers. In March 1909 the Opera House offered "A Dangerous Friend", "a comedy drama that's just right. No play of late years has met with such success and praise. 50 nights in New York. 35 nights in Chicago." The newspaper advert for the show shows a scene from the production with two women, and four men. A couple of fellows look like they need some help getting off the floor.
Though it was called an "opera house" this theater presented all kinds of entertainment from plays to concerts to lectures. Many performances were by local talent or groups. Most theaters would also employ local musicians to accompany acts. According to the 1905 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide, the Caldwell Opera House seated 800 and used oil lamps for illumination. Its proscenium opening was 24 ft wide and 30 ft high. There was one hotel in Caldwell that charged $1.50 and $2 for rooms.
Today in 2026, on the corner of South Main Street (U.S. 81) and West 2nd Avenue in Caldwell, Kansas is a sign that commemorates the opera house and its historic importance to the people of Caldwell.
The Grand Opera House
By 1884 the growing city of Caldwell was interested in promoting the finer cultural aspects of life and plans were made to construct a new Grand Opera House. During that year an opulent three story brick structure was erected on this site. It was the pride of Caldwell and its size and elegance were unmatched anywhere in the Southwest. It was erected at a cost of $20,000, seated about 1200 people and contained a roller skating rink in the basement. The dedication was held on the evening of January 12, 1885 and was followed by the opening performance of "The Mascotte" presented by the Fay Templeton Comic Opera Company.
Over the years it became the hub of the Caldwell social scene and was used for such events as graduation ceremonies as well as being visited by the major theatrical troupes of the day, such as the Boston Opera Company.
On February 19, 1918, the Grand Opera House was destroyed in a spectacular fire. While nearby businesses were saved, the Opera House was a total loss along with 25 trained dogs which were kennelled in the basement and a number of Home Guard rifles which added to the flames. Plans were immediately begun to build again on the old site, but never came to fruition.
Erected 1993 by The Caldwell Historical Society.
* * *
Thirty-four miles due east of Caldwell's Opera House is the Fifth Avenue Opera House of Arkansas City, Kansas. This three-story opera house was made of grey limestone blocks, a common building material used throughout Kansas. Just below the top edifice is an arch with "Fifth Avenue Opera House" carved in the stone. Below it is the entrance flanked with billboards for an upcoming show. On the two front corners of the building are shops with tall glass windows.
The Fifth Avenue Opera House was larger than Caldwell's with 1,400 seats, both gas and electric lights, and a square proscenium stage 36 feet wide and tall. It was served by several hotels and train connections to four railroads. It was constructed between 1886 and 1890 at a cost of over $100,000. It became a popular venue with traveling shows that considered it one of the finest theatres in Kansas.
Arkansas City is in Cowley County, Kansas, situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers in the southwestern part of the county. In 1890 when its opera house was built the Arkansas City counted 8,347 inhabitants. Its current estimate is around 11,765 citizens, roughly half the number of Etzanoa, the ancestral city of the Wichita people, which flourished there from 1450 to 1700 with an estimated population of 20,000. Arkansas City was established in 1870 and its name is pronounced R-Can-sis, unlike the state of Arkansas which is R-Can-saw. Kansas doesn't even share a border with Arkansas, which has its own Arkansas City, too.
This picture postcard of the Fifth Avenue Opera House was likely printed in around 1910 but was sent from Arkansas City on 28 January 1925 to Mrs. G. W. Kirk of Kansas City, Kansas.
Arkansas city Kansas
Jan 28th 1925
My Dear Shirley and
all received card and
am a shamed I had not
wrote but will write you
a long letter some day
Jan 28th 1925
My Dear Shirley and
all received card and
am a shamed I had not
wrote but will write you
a long letter some day
We have all been sick
with bad colds and
Tilda not(?) over hers but
is better hope your mother
get's to feeling better
yes I guess Edward is
keeping you busy these
days Tell him we are
looking for to see him
this Spring and wish
your mother could come
to and will look for
glad to tell Glad the radio
is fine these nights
ual(?) I will do better next
time love Mrs C E Stewart
with bad colds and
Tilda not(?) over hers but
is better hope your mother
get's to feeling better
yes I guess Edward is
keeping you busy these
days Tell him we are
looking for to see him
this Spring and wish
your mother could come
to and will look for
glad to tell Glad the radio
is fine these nights
ual(?) I will do better next
time love Mrs C E Stewart
In the post-war years small town theaters were competing against several new mediums. The first rival to theatrical entertainment came from cinema films, silent at first, though always accompanied by live music performed by a single keyboardist on piano or organ, or an orchestra of many instruments. In 1926
Warner Bros. studios released Don Juan, the first feature-length film with a musical score and sound effects synchronized to the film but without spoken dialogue. Then in October 1927 came Al Jolson's breakout movie The Jazz Singer which had synchronized singing and limited spoken dialogue using the Vitaphone disk system. Soon Hollywood's movie industry was taking up all the space on the entertainment page of newspapers.
The second rival to live theater shows was invisible and didn't even need an actual building. Radio broadcasting stations first began operating in the 1920s providing multiple kinds of programs with music, spoken drama, and even real opera, and as Mrs. C. E. Stewart notes it was "fine". Now anyone with a radio receiver could listen to shows in the privacy of their own home. In response many theaters in the 1920s converted their auditorium space into radio sound stages for live performances sent over the airways.
To cope with the changing times the Fifth Avenue Opera House changed its name to just the "Fifth Avenue Theatre".
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| Arkansas City, KS Daily News 24 January 1920 |
But no film or radio of this era could match a theater for a live display of a bevy of feminine charms. This 1920s advert for the Fifth Avenue Theatre promoted a "smart revue deluxe" called "Oh! Baby" with 50 performers. This newspaper illustration for the show has over a dozen women revealing far more ankles and bare shoulders than what a chorus line would have shown a decade earlier. "Seemingly a never ending vista of fair women bedecked with the masterpieces of the modiste's art making in fact and without question Queen of All Beauty Shows."
* * *
This is a postcard of the Opera House of Colby, Kansas. According to information from the Prairie Museum of Art and History in Colby, this theater opened in 1908 but was not the success its investors hoped for. Made of brick with just two floors it is smaller than the Caldwell opera house so I'd guess that it seats only 500 patrons.
Colby, Kansas is located in the northwest corner of the state and is the county seat of Thomas County. In 1910 its population was 1,130 and its current number is about 5,590. This postcard was sent on 12 July 1910 from Colby to Miss Hazel Kowes of Wichita, Kansas.
This looks
good on
paper x Gen
but it is
dry and hot
out here
good on
paper x Gen
but it is
dry and hot
out here
As far as I can discover, real authentic opera productions were never programed at any of the small opera houses in Kansas, though many did host large musicals and minstrel shows. Nonetheless they still booked high class entertainers who would play one-night engagements as they toured the western states. Colby is about 400 miles west from Kansas City, Missouri (the larger of two Kansas Cities) and another 200 miles on to Denver, Colorado. For an artiste traveling by train it was easy money to stop in a small town for a concert and then as soon as the curtain fell, run to catch a late night train.
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| Colby KS Tribune 13 January 1910 |
In January 1910 the Colby Opera House presented an adaption of Goethe's immortal tragedy, Faust, starring Miss Olga Verne as Marguerite. This show had six acts and must have had a large company. It also brought its own elaborate scenery with "wonderful electrical effects".
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| Colby KS Free Press Tribune 7 April 1910 |
Later in April 1910 the Colby Opera House presented two nights of "illustrated lectures" by W. D. Street on "The Great Wild West" and "Camp Fires on the Plains". The speaker was William Daniel Street (1851–1911), a pioneer plainsman and Indian fighter who served as a scout and guide for General George Armstrong Custer, though he was not present at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. The newspaper illustration on the advertisement of his lecture shows an Indian warrior on horseback chasing down a buffalo. In 1910 such a scene would have been within the living memory of many Kansans.
That summer of 1910 found the Colby Opera House in dire financial trouble. Construction of the building in 1908 had cost $18,000 but its investors, all local businessmen, were only able to raise $13,000 which forced them to take out a mortgage for $5,000. In its first two seasons the theatre's ticket sales had been insufficient to cover operating costs and now payment on the note was overdue with interest. In August the bankruptcy law required that the Colby Opera House be sold by auction on the steps of the county courthouse.
On that day the investors lost their money, but the town's wealthiest businessman, J. T. Fitzgerald, owner of the county's largest general store, bought himself a great bargain as he was the only bidder at $5.000. And he was also the holder of the mortgage, too, so he was essentially paying himself. This might be a story worthy of an opera or a melodrama.
 |
| Colby KS Tribune 10 November 1910 |
In November 1910 a touring company of "Nancy" by C. H. Kerr played the Colby Opera House. It starred Grace Cameron, "America's Favorite Comedienne" and was a "Great, Soul Stirring Play of Home Life." It also came "with special music" which suggests it had songs with instrumental accompaniment.
The Colby Opera House continued to present shows for a few more years but by 1918 it began offering more movies than live acts. In 1924 the building was converted into a Baptist Church. During the next war it briefly became a National Guard armory until it was replaced by a new building. The Colby Opera House was demolished in 1959.
* * *
According to the Kansas Magazine which cites
the Kansas Historic Theatres Association
the state once had an estimated 900 "opera houses",
of which roughly 200 are still standing.
The oldest is White Cloud Opera House, constructed in 1862.
the state once had an estimated 900 "opera houses",
of which roughly 200 are still standing.
The oldest is White Cloud Opera House, constructed in 1862.
Today I featured three opera houses
which leaves just 897 more to present.
So stay tuned for the next thrilling sequel:
Opera Houses of Kansas, part 2.
which leaves just 897 more to present.
So stay tuned for the next thrilling sequel:
Opera Houses of Kansas, part 2.
This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
where Noah's ark apparently went a little off-course.
