Finke Opera House, also known as the Ritz Theatre, is a historic

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...

located at

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Moniteau County, Missouri Moniteau County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 15,473. Its county seat is California. The county was organized February 14, 1845 and named for the Moniteau Creek. 'Moni ...

. It was built in 1885, and is a two-story, eclectic

Late Victorian Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...

style brick building. The building features decorative brickwork banding and segmental window arches with stone accents. It was built as a multi-use facility and now used as a community

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

/ meeting hall. (includes 12 photographs from 2003) It was added to 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 2004.

References

Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Victorian architecture in Missouri Theatres completed in 1885 Buildings and structures in Moniteau County, Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Moniteau County, Missouri 1885 establishments in Missouri {{MoniteauCountyMO-NRHP-stub