The Grand Opera House is an

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

located at the corner of 8th and Iowa Streets in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

that was built in 1890. It was listed 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 ...

in 2002. with It was deemed important as a "national treasure". The theatre has the largest of all stages ever in Dubuque, and is Dubuque's only surviving opera house. It is architecturally important as an early

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

building in Dubuque and as a salient work of Chicago architect Willoughby James Edbrooke. It is Edbrooke's only surviving opera house, and he used its design in his design portfolio that won him the position of Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department in 1891. Its design is said to be "representative of Edbrooke's smooth exterior wall interpretation of the Richardsonian Romanesque style." It is also historically important from its association with high-quality theatre in Dubuque during 1890-1928. The theater has been preserved with great historic integrity and, in 2002, was being restored for continuing use in live stage entertainment. Its history is extremely well documented. In 2015 performance events at the theater marked its 125th anniversary.

History

Early years

The Grand Opera House was built in 1889 and 1890. The Grand Opera House, Inc. was established by William Lester Bradley, Sr. and five other people in 1890 to operate this and other theaters in Dubuque. The opera house would cost $65,000 to build. At the time of its construction, the Grand Opera House was the largest theater to be built in Dubuque. It had a seating capacity of 1,100 and a huge stage that measured from front to back. Initially the opera house was connected by a tunnel to a house next door in which people changed costumes. Originally the opening night performance was scheduled to occur on August 15, 1890 until it was realized that August 15 was also the Holy Day of the

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of whether Mary died or whether she was ra ...

. At that point opening night was rescheduled to August 14. Approximately 800 people paid five dollars to view the Hess Opera Company production of

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

- a French opera by

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', w ...

. For the next 40 years there were over 2,600 live productions shown at the Grand.

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor whose career spanned five decades on Broadway theatre, Broadway and in Hollywood. On screen and stage, he often portrayed characters who embodied an everyman image. Bo ...

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 ...

, George Cohan,

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...

, 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 ...

were among the more famous people to have performed at the Grand. A number of years later Fonda would fondly remember his time playing at the Grand, and expressed gratitude that the Grand was still present. One of the most elaborate productions was that of ''

Ben-Hur Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to: Fiction *'' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace ** ''Ben-Hur'' (play), a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899 ** ''Ben Hur'' (1907 film), a one-reel silent ...

'', which was complete with horses and chariots on stage. The theater showed a profit for 22 out of its first 28 years; the six unprofitable years being the result of capital improvements.

Movies

In 1915

movies A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

were shown at the Grand for the first time. The $15,488 profit that first year was three times that of the Grand's traditional theater productions. In 1928 the Grand had its last live performance for many years when a production of the

Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

was performed at the Grand. The Grand was then renovated in 1930 into a movie theater. The second balcony and box seats were removed and the orchestra pit was covered over. The semi-circular stage was straightened. A big screen and new projector was added to the theater. When the Grand was converted into a movie theater, most of the movie theaters were located in downtown Dubuque. By 1972 it was the only surviving downtown movie theater when it was sold to Richard Davis of Des Moines. In 1976 Davis sold the theater to the Dubinsky Brothers. The Grand continued to show movies for several more years.

Return of Live Theater

By the closing years of the 20th century, the Barn Community Theater had purchased the vacant and much-deteriorated Grand Opera House. This marked the end of the Grand's days as a movie theater. In 1986 a production of "Tintypes" was shown at the theater. This marked the first time in over 57 years that a live production was shown at the Grand. In recent years the Grand Opera House has undergone a number of renovations. This included the restoration of the original facade was accomplished by removing the marquee and metal siding that was placed over it in the 1960s. The interior of the theater was renovated as well.

References

External links

Grand Opera House Website
{{NRHP in Dubuque, Iowa Music venues completed in 1890 Buildings and structures in Dubuque, Iowa Economy of Dubuque, Iowa Romanesque Revival architecture in Iowa Romanesque Revival cinemas and movie theaters Theatres in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Dubuque, Iowa Tourist attractions in Dubuque, Iowa Theatres completed in 1890 Opera houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Cinemas and movie theaters in Iowa Former cinemas in the United States