The Baker Building, also known as Baker's Opera House, in

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

, Morris County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, United States, is a historic theater built of brick in the mid-1880s. Built in the Eclectic style, it has three stories plus a tower. On the north side facing Blackwell Street, there are recessed brick panels, granite lintels and window sills, and a granite panel reading "Baker Building." A Mail Pouch Tobacco sign covers the south side of the building. The "Opera House" was built by William Henry Baker as a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

theater. The grand opening was on April 5, 1886, with the Alfa Norman English Opera Company performing ''The Bobetuian Girl''. On April 6 the same company performed ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

''. Tickets cost $1.00 to $1.50. Later fare included other

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

comic operas, magic shows and

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of theater developed in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose of portraying racial stereotypes of Afr ...

s featuring Arthur Deming. In 1906 the theater was thoroughly reconstructed and started showing silent films along with vaudeville performances after it reopened on December 5, 1906. The renovation cost $75,000 and included many plaster ornaments and friezes. Movies started at 7 P.M. with five vaudeville acts started at 8 P.M. with both shows accompanied by a seven piece orchestra. After W. H. Baker died in 1910 his son Henry O. Baker took over the business closing it for another reconstruction and fireproofing in 1924. It reopened with 1,600 seats on December 22, 1924. Stanley Fabian later took over the theater, which showed its first

talking picture A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed befo ...

, '' On Trial'' on March 18, 1929. Stars who have visited the theater or appeared on the stage include Al St. John,

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...

Pearl White Pearl Fay White (March 4, 1889 – August 4, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career on the stage at age 6, and later moved on to silent films appearing in a number of popular serial film, serials. Dubbed the "Queen ...

DeWolf Hopper William DeWolf Hopper (March 30, 1858September 23, 1935) was an American actor, singer, comedian, and theatrical producer. A star of vaudeville and musical theater, he became best known for performing the popular baseball poem "Casey at the Bat" ...

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...

Lillian Russell Lillian Russell (born Helen Louise Leonard; December 4, 1860 or 1861 – June 6, 1922) was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, praised for her beaut ...

Ethel Barrymore Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...

and

Abbott and Costello Abbott and Costello were an American comedy duo composed of comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, whose work in radio, film, and television made them the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and 1950s, and the highest-paid entertainers in t ...

. The building was nearly demolished in 1977 before its purchase by the Morris County Trust for Historic Preservation. It was then listed on the New Jersey registry of historic sites and in 1981 on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

for its significance in architecture, commerce, and theater. With

References

External links

* {{NRHP in Morris County, New Jersey Dover, New Jersey Theatres completed in 1884 Buildings and structures in Morris County, New Jersey Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Morris County, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places