The Elkader Opera House is a historic building located in Elkader, Iowa, United States. The building was individually listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1976. In 2012 it was included as a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...

in the Elkader Downtown Historic District.

History

The Opera House opened on November 27, 1903 replacing a previous opera house on the same location that was destroyed by fire the previous year. The first show performed on its stage was

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

's "The Governor's Son," which was performed by the Cohan Brothers. The Opera House was on the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

circuit when it first opened. Ed Wynn was on at least one

playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's pr ...

in those years. with The other functions the building has hosted have included a community room, dance hall, roller rink, library, fire station, economic development office, city hall, and the Abd el-Kader Sister City Museum. The first floor main facade was significantly altered for it to be used as a firehouse in 1949. Two double doors were placed in the center and right

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

for the firetrucks. A restoration project was begun in 1963 to return the auditorium to its original condition. It was extensively renovated in 2004. The opera house is now the home of the Keystone Barbershop Chorus and the Opera House Players. It also still houses Elkader's City Hall.

Architecture

The three-story brick building features a symmetrical facade. The center bay has three round arch windows that are flanked above and below with ornamental brickwork. There is also brickwork near the

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

level of the side bays. The three bays are separated by brick

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s. An entrance on the side of the building was created for city hall.

References

{{NRHP in Clayton County, Iowa Theatres completed in 1903 Elkader, Iowa Buildings and structures in Clayton County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Clayton County, Iowa Opera houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Iowa 1903 establishments in Iowa