The Woodland Opera House, 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 ...

and a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

, is one of four fully functioning 19th century

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 fo ...

s in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It is a contributing property to the Downtown Historic District of

Woodland, California Woodland is a city in and the county seat of Yolo County, California, located approximately northwest of Sacramento, and is a part of the Sacramento metropolitan area. The population was 61,032 at the 2020 census. Woodland's origins date to 1 ...

History

Designed in 1885 by Thomas J. Welsh, a prominent San Francisco architect, for the amount of $28,000. It was the first opera house to serve the Sacramento Valley. The builder for the community theater was Woodland contractor William Henry Curson. Several years later in July 1892 a fire that started in Dead Cat Alley behind the Opera House destroyed much of what is now the

Downtown Woodland Historic District The Downtown Woodland Historic District is a historic district in Woodland, California. The district encompasses roughly and 59 contributing buildings. It is a California Historical Landmark and is listed as a historic district on the Nationa ...

, including the Opera House. There was uncertainty whether the House would be rebuilt when a locally renowned businessman, David N. Hershey, purchased the site. Other local businessmen supported the project in addition to Hershey. The Opera House was rebuilt between 1895 and 1896 by local contractor William H. Winne at the cost of $8,990. Many of the materials from the original building were used including some of the partially standing walls. By 1913 over 300 touring companies had appeared on its stage, and the Woodland Opera House was becoming an entertainment center for the region. Nevertheless, the venue closed in that year, after ticket sales declined and the theater lost a lawsuit by an attendee who had mistaken a loading door for an exit and fell three feet, breaking an arm.

A new beginning

The Opera house remained closed and unused for almost sixty years until 1971 when it was purchased by the Yolo County Historical Society, for a sum of $12,000. After many local fund drives, donations, and monies from several different government agencies including the City of Woodland, restoration of the building began. Declared a state historic park in 1976, the building was later deeded to the State of California in 1980. The Opera House reopened in 1989 after a $2,000,000 restoration project. Extensive work was still done over the next nine years. Gary Worth, an architect from Woodland, oversaw the work and Brocchini & Associates of Oakland provided most of the materials for the restoration of the theater including antique wallpaper, lighting, and paint colors. In the restoration the building was made structurally safe and "earthquake proofed". Central heat and air-conditioning, a sprinkler and alarm system, and handicap access were added. An annex was constructed for storage of mechanical equipment, as well as for administrative office space, a gift counter, the Mid Level Lounge, and a rooftop exterior deck. The interior restoration effort received an Award of Merit from the California Preservation Foundation and a Citation Award from the League of Historic American Theaters. In 1990 with the help of Woodland Rotary Club, the south side grassy "Rotary Court" was added to the existing outdoor plaza, named Intermission Garden. The Intermission Garden's brick marquee and entrance sign was designed by Brocchini & Associates and was added the same year.

Architectural design

The present Opera House is a simple, two-story,

red brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

structure. The structure is approximately 104 feet long by 60 feet wide; and its walls are 20 inches thick. A stage house on top of the north end of the Opera House (destroyed by fire in the 1930s) rose to a height of 60 feet above the street level. The building partially shares a common wall with the building on its western side Its interior is an example of 19th-century American playhouses. The layout of the stage is a typical

proscenium arch A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...

. It combines the horseshoe balcony with an uninterrupted semi-circular seating arrangement and large orchestra seating area like the common theme in

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

-Revival theaters.

Productions

The Opera House holds mainstage subscriber productions from September to June. The theatre also has a summer youth theatre camp in August of each year and a Young People's Theatre Program that runs throughout the year. Along with many concerts throughout the year. Each production runs from 2 to 5 weekends. The theatre also works with the Yolo County Office of Education to provide very low ticket prices for students for school day performances of plays that are currently running. Some notable performers on the WOH stage in the late 19th and early 20th century include

Nance O'Neil Gertrude Lamson (October 8, 1874 – February 7, 1965), known professionally as Nance O'Neil or Nancy O'Neil, was an American stage and film actress who performed in plays in various theaters around the world but worked predominantly in the Unite ...

James A. Herne James A. Herne (born James Ahearn; February 1, 1839 – June 2, 1901) was an American playwright and actor. He is considered by some critics to be the "American Ibsen", and his controversial play ''Margaret Fleming'' is often credited with havin ...

Harry Davenport Harry Davenport may refer to: * Harry Davenport (actor) (1866–1949), American film and stage actor * Harry Davenport (footballer) (1900–1984), Australian footballer * Harry J. Davenport (1902–1977), Democratic Party member of the U.S. House ...

, Madame Helena Modjeska,

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dis ...

and his band, comics Weber and

Fields Fields may refer to: Music * Fields (band), an indie rock band formed in 2006 * Fields (progressive rock band), a progressive rock band formed in 1971 * ''Fields'' (album), an LP by Swedish-based indie rock band Junip (2010) * "Fields", a song b ...

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 troupe, "Gentleman Jim" Corbett, John L. Sullivan as well as rising motion picture stars

Sydney Greenstreet Sydney Hughes Greenstreet (December 27, 1879 – January 18, 1954) was a British-American actor. While he did not begin his career in films until the age of 61, he had a run of significant motion pictures in a Hollywood career lasting throu ...

Walter Huston Walter Thomas Huston ( ;According to the Province of Ontario. ''Ontario, C ...

and

Verna Felton Verna Arline Felton (July 20, 1890December 14, 1966) was an American actress, best known for providing many voices in numerous Disney animated films. She also provided the voice for Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law, Pearl Slaghoople in Hanna-Bar ...

. In addition to play and drama productions, the Opera House is also used for a variety of music performances, comedians, and in rare cases even weddings.

References

External links