The Wieting Theater is located in

Toledo, Iowa Toledo is a city in, and the county seat of, Tama County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,369 at the time of the 2020 census. History Toledo was founded in 1853 as the county seat of Tama County. It was named after Toledo, Ohio. Tole ...

, United States. Ella W. Wieting had three opera houses built as memorials to her husband, C.W. Wieting. The Wietings came to Toledo in 1867 from

Worcester, New York Worcester is a town in Otsego County, New York, United States. The population was 2,220 at the 2010 census. Worcester is on the southeastern border of the county and is northeast of Oneonta. The Worcester Central School District presently has 36 ...

. He was trained as a dentist, and was involved in other business ventures. They moved to

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

around 1900, and he died there in 1906. She had the opera houses built in the three communities where they lived. The theater in Toledo housed productions from travelling road shows, local school productions, political meetings, movies, and lyceum courses. The theater closed in 1958, and reopened two years later by the Wieting Theatre Guild. It was 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 1979. Completed in 1912, the two-story brick structure measures . The

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

style facade features a brick

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

, columned porch, and a

Palladian window Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

. The interior contains an auditorium, balcony, stage, dressing rooms, and an orchestra pit.

References

External links

Theatre website
Theatres completed in 1912 Colonial Revival architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Tama County, Iowa Toledo, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Tama County, Iowa Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa {{Iowa-struct-stub