Pike's Opera House was a theater in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

owned by distiller and entrepreneur Samuel Napthali Pike (1822–1872).Pike was a German Jew, born in 1822 in

Schwetzingen Schwetzingen (; ) is a German town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim. Schwetzingen is one of the five biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and a medium-sized centre between ...

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

, Germany. His birth name was "Samuel N. Hecht"; his family changed the name in 1827 in the USA to "Pike". See: Rehs, Michael. ''Wurzeln in fremder Erde: Zur Geschichte der südwestdeutschen Auswanderung nach Amerika'' (Stuttgart: DRW-Verlag, 1984) . Located on Fourth Street between Vine and Walnut streets, it was the first home of the

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cinc ...

First theater

Pike's Opera House was designed by New York–based architects

Horatio Nelson White Horatio Nelson White (February 8, 1814 – July 29, 1892) was an American architect based out of Syracuse, New York, and became one of New York State's most prominent architects from about 1865 to 1880. White designed many homes, armories, chur ...

and John M. Trimble and constructed from 1857 to 1859 at a cost of $500,000. It opened on February 22, 1859. Junius Brutus Booth Jr. was performing at Pike's for Edward, Prince of Wales, when he was arrested after being informed that his brother,

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...

, had assassinated Abraham Lincoln. On March 22, 1866, a gas leak caused the theater to explode, taking with it the original offices of ''

The Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, altho ...

'', along with archives of the ''Enquirer''s first 25 years. No one was killed.

Second theater

Isaiah Rogers rebuilt the theater after the fire. It reopened on February 12, 1868, the same year that Pike opened another opera house in Manhattan, now known as the Grand Opera House. In 1895, the

gave its first concerts at the original Pike's Opera House before moving to

Music Hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

the following year. Pike's burned down again on February 26, 1903. The ruins remained for two years before the lot was cleared to make way for the Sinton Hotel.

Notes and references

{{coord, 39, 06, 00, N, 84, 30, 42, W, region:US-OH_type:landmark, display=title Former music venues in the United States Former theatres in the United States 1859 establishments in Ohio Theatres completed in 1859 Music venues completed in 1859 Theatres completed in 1868 Music venues completed in 1868 Buildings and structures demolished in 1866 Buildings and structures demolished in 1903 1860s fires in the United States 1866 disasters in the United States 1866 fires 1903 fires in the United States Demolished theatres in the United States Demolished buildings and structures in Cincinnati Music venues in Cincinnati Theatres in Cincinnati Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra