OPERA HOUSES IN OKLAHOMA

A historical survey presented by Susan Booker, University of Oklahoma

                                                Image ©Tecumseh Historical Society

Early Opera Houses in Oklahoma

            During the pre-statehood days in Oklahoma, Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory hosted settlers who lived difficult lives, who worked hard and who enjoyed a surprising variety of entertainments. As the towns and cities rose from the prairie, railroads came through, stables and hotels were built along main streets and physicians and dentists set up businesses. Schools and churches were built. Amidst these accomplishments also rose buildings that would proudly serve their communities as gathering places, and provide space and performance opportunities for theatrical players, vaudeville troops, operatic singers, and animal acts. These buildings were the Opera Houses, which served their communities rather like civic centers do today.

            Most Opera Houses were 2 to 3 story buildings, and in smaller towns they housed businesses on the lower floors, with a stage and seating on an upper level. The Opera House buildings in these cases, housed the stage on one floor, and multiple businesses on the other floors. Larger cities, like Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Muskogee, had Opera Houses that were dedicated to entertainment alone, with balcony boxes, red velvet drapery and dressing rooms. Regardless of the size of the town, the Opera House was considered a source of civic pride and a signal to all that the town could offer cultured and refined entertainments to its citizens.

            Sanborn maps, historic records of city development used for insurance purposes, are perfect for also indicating where the Opera Houses were located, and sometimes the maps provide a brief description, such as “electric footlights” on the stage, or gaslights, and the structure’s basic construction materials. A review of these maps by city, over a period of time, indicates that Opera House stages sometimes moved to different buildings. During boom times, such as in Lehigh, in Southern Oklahoma, there were 3 Opera Houses in operation at one time, serving the entertainment needs of a thriving mining community.

            Touring theatrical companies, operatic singers and vaudeville acts booked shows along the railroad lines, sometimes following the Fox booking circuit, or the Ritz circuit, and appearing in theaters across the country sporting that name. Later, silent movies also were shown in the Opera Houses. Many Opera Houses were converted to movie houses, some surviving the trend to build new and marvelous structures as Movie Palaces in the 1920’s. Many cities in Oklahoma today still have an Opera House on the old main street, some have the worlds spelled out in fancy brickwork, and many others are hidden behind the fabricated metal facades of the sixties and seventies. Many burned down or were torn down in the name of progress. The buildings remaining stand as proud reminders of the rich cultural heritage of early settlers in the state. 

Selected images are presented here.  Other Opera House images will be posted in the future.