The Grand Opera House, also known as the Janey Slaughter Briscoe Grand Opera House is a historic

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 ...

Uvalde, Texas Uvalde is a city and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,217 at the 2020 census. Uvalde is located in the Texas Hill Country, west of downtown San Antonio and east of the Mexico–United States bord ...

. Built in 1891, it became a premier arts venue in Southwest

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

for plays, musicals, and cultural performances. The Opera house is the oldest functioning theater in the state of Texas and presents plays and concerts by local and touring companies. 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 ...

on May 22, 1978. The Opera House was built by a partnership formed between local businessmen, merchants and ranchers called the Uvalde Real Estate and Building Company. The 2-story brick structure has

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...

elements in its architecture. In typical Texas opera house style of the period, the building has the auditorium above commercial spaces on the first floor. There were also fashionable offices on the second floor. The Opera House was an immediate success and became the social center of Uvalde and quite well known throughout the region. The building was sold to Fred Locke in 1900 and the

John Nance Garner John Nance Garner III (November 22, 1868 – November 7, 1967), known among his contemporaries as "Cactus Jack", was an American History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and lawyer from History of Texas, Texas who ...

family in 1916. By the early 1940s, most of the office tenants had moved out, and the building went through a period of decline. In July, 1978, the dilapidated property, now owned by the descendants of Garner, was donated to the City of Uvalde. The city restored the Opera House to its 1890 condition.

References

Texas Historic Sites AtlasUvalde Convention & Visitors Bureau

External links

Buildings and structures in Uvalde County, Texas Romanesque Revival architecture in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Uvalde County, Texas Opera houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Opera houses in Texas Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks Uvalde, Texas {{texas-NRHP-stub

See also

References

External links