Piper's Opera House (Virginia City, Nevada)
Encyclopedia
Piper's Opera House is a historic performing arts venue in Virginia City
, Storey County
, Nevada
in the United States
. Piper's served as a training facility in 1897 for heavyweight boxing champion Gentleman Jim Corbett
, in preparation for his title bout with Bob Fitzsimmons
. The current structure was built by entrepreneur John Piper in 1885 to replace his 1878 opera house that had burned down. The 1878 venue, in turn, had been to replace Piper's 1863 venue which was destroyed by the 1875 Great Fire in Virginia City. Mark Twain
spoke from the original Piper's stage in 1866, and again a century later in the third venue, as portrayed by Hal Holbrook
in his one-man play Mark Twain Tonight! A lynch mob hung a victim from the first venue's rafters in 1871. American theatrical producer David Belasco
was stage manager at the second opera house before moving to New York City
. Piper's opera houses played host to Shakespearean thespians such as Edwin Booth
. Musical performers Lilly Langtry, Al Jolson
and John Philip Sousa
once performed here. In 1940, Errol Flynn
auctioned off historic Piper memorabilia from the opera house stage, during a live NBC
broadcast that coincided with the premiere of Flynn's new movie Virginia City
.
rush.
Piper sat on the City Council in 1865, and was mayor of Virginia City in 1867.
In 1874, Piper represented Storey County in the Nevada Senate
. In an effort to raise money for Storey County to pay for railroad bonds, Piper managed to get the state senate to unanimously pass a bill that became law, removing the taxation limits on bullion in the county. Piper ran a chain of venues to accommodate touring companies. Among these were McKissick's Opera House in Reno
and the Carson Opera House in Carson City
.
Piper died in San Francisco at age 63, on January 3, 1897.
artist Grafton T. Brown depicts the John Piper Old Corner Bar at the southwest corner of B and Union Streets, which aimed to draw the theater crowd as customers. In 1863, Piper purchased an entire block of additional property at the northwest corner of B and Union Streets, which came to be known as Piper Business Block. There Piper built a two-story brick building and relocated the bar to the first story of the new building at the northwest corner of B and Union Streets. The second story of the building was rented out.
Tom Maguire and John Burns opened Maguire's Opera House in 1863. Maguire's was where actress Adah Isaacs Menken
appeared in Mazeppa. On October 9, 1867, Piper and his financial sponsor John William Mackay
bought Maguire's and renamed it Piper's Opera House. On October 30, 1866, Mark Twain
delivered a lecture from its stage. The opera house played host to Shakespearean thespians Edwin Booth
, Thomas R. Keene, Lawrence Barrett
and John Edward McCullough
. Actors Frank Mayo
(Davy Crockett) and Joe Jefferson (Rip Van Winkle) brought their one-man shows to the Piper.
In 1871, actor McKee Rankin became witness to an act of vigilante justice during an extended engagement at the Piper. Rankin and fellow thespian William H. Powers were at the bar next to the troupe's International Hotel headquarters, when a customer named Perkins shot another customer and was jailed by the local sheriff. Two days later, on a Sunday morning, Rankin witnessed the lynching of Perkins at the hands of a vigilante mob who hung Perkins from the rafters of the Piper stage. The mob also pulled out their guns and shot Perkins' dangling body.
The opera house, along with most of Virginia City, burned to the ground on the morning of October 26, 1875, an event known as the Great Fire. Piper promoted shows at other venues until he was financially able to erect a new building.
played the character of Adrienne Renaud in A Celebrated Case when the play's troupe performed in Virginia City. American theatrical producer David Belasco
was the Piper's stage manager before moving to New York City
in 1882. Minister and social reformer Henry Ward Beecher
delivered his lecture of Wastes and Burdens of Society from its stage. The new opera house burned down March 13, 1883.
Piper's new building was modernized with a dance floor, carpeting, and hanging balconies. Musical performers Lilly Langtry, John Phillip Sousa, Emma Nevada
and Al Jolson
were among the entertainers in the historic arena.
After John Piper died in 1897, his son Edward inherited the opera house and continued its operation until his death in 1907.
During Edward's ownership, the opera house transformed from gas to electric lighting in 1900. Nevada tenor Richard Jose
performed at Piper's in 1905. Heavyweight boxing champion Gentleman Jim Corbett
used the venue as a training facility to prepare for his 1897 title bout with Bob Fitzsimmons
.
Upon Edward's death, his brother-in-law Louis Zimmer used it as a silent movie house. The venue was also rented out for sports, community socials and civic events. The building was condemned in the 1920's. On March 16, 1940, Errol Flynn
arrived in town for the premiere of his new movie Virginia City
. The movie's cast and crew, along with attending media outlets, gathered at the opera house for a live NBC
broadcast of Flynn auctioning off historic Piper memorabilia. After the movie premiere, Zimmer operated the venue as a museum until 1960.
After Zimmer's 1960 death, Piper's great-great granddaughter Louise Zimmer Driggs opened the venue to summer concerts until 1972. Sixteen years later, Driggs' daughter Carol Piper Marshall resumed management and opened the venue to entertainment once again. Mark Twain, as portrayed by Hal Holbrook
in his one-man play Mark Twain Tonight! , trod the boards to a sold-out audience at Piper's. Tennessee Ernie Ford
was another act at Pipers during this period.
, and a National Park Service
Save America's Treasures
grant, have enabled structural reinforcements and renovations.
Virginia City, Nevada
Virginia City is a census-designated place that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 855 at the 2010 Census.- History :...
, Storey County
Storey County, Nevada
Storey County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2000 census, the population was 3,399, which was estimated to have risen to 4,110 in 2006...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Piper's served as a training facility in 1897 for heavyweight boxing champion Gentleman Jim Corbett
James J. Corbett
James John "Gentleman Jim" Corbett was an Irish-American heavyweight boxing champion, best known as the man who defeated the great John L. Sullivan. He also coached boxing at the Olympic Club in San Francisco...
, in preparation for his title bout with Bob Fitzsimmons
Bob Fitzsimmons
Robert James "Bob" Fitzsimmons , was a British boxer who made boxing history as the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett, the man who beat John L. Sullivan, and is in The Guinness Book of World Records as the Lightest heavyweight...
. The current structure was built by entrepreneur John Piper in 1885 to replace his 1878 opera house that had burned down. The 1878 venue, in turn, had been to replace Piper's 1863 venue which was destroyed by the 1875 Great Fire in Virginia City. Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
spoke from the original Piper's stage in 1866, and again a century later in the third venue, as portrayed by Hal Holbrook
Hal Holbrook
Harold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook, Jr. is an American actor. His television roles include Abraham Lincoln in the 1976 TV series Lincoln, Hays Stowe on The Bold Ones: The Senator and Capt. Lloyd Bucher on Pueblo. He is also known for his role in the 2007 film Into the Wild, for which he was nominated for...
in his one-man play Mark Twain Tonight! A lynch mob hung a victim from the first venue's rafters in 1871. American theatrical producer David Belasco
David Belasco
David Belasco was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director and playwright.-Biography:Born in San Francisco, California, where his Sephardic Jewish parents had moved from London, England, during the Gold Rush, he began working in a San Francisco theatre doing a variety of routine jobs,...
was stage manager at the second opera house before moving to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Piper's opera houses played host to Shakespearean thespians such as Edwin Booth
Edwin Booth
Edwin Thomas Booth was a famous 19th century American actor who toured throughout America and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869 he founded Booth's Theatre in New York, a spectacular theatre that was quite modern for its time...
. Musical performers Lilly Langtry, Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
and John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known particularly for American military and patriotic marches. Because of his mastery of march composition, he is known as "The March King" or the "American March King" due to his British counterpart Kenneth J....
once performed here. In 1940, Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
auctioned off historic Piper memorabilia from the opera house stage, during a live NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
broadcast that coincided with the premiere of Flynn's new movie Virginia City
Virginia City (film)
Virginia City is a 1940 black-and-white movie starring Errol Flynn, Miriam Hopkins, and Randolph Scott, and featuring a mustachioed Humphrey Bogart in the role of the real-life outlaw John Murrell. The film was directed by Michael Curtiz...
.
John Piper
German immigrant John Piper arrived in Virginia City as part of the 1860 Comstock LodeComstock Lode
The Comstock Lode was the first major U.S. discovery of silver ore, located under what is now Virginia City, Nevada, on the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range. After the discovery was made public in 1859, prospectors rushed to the area and scrambled to stake their claims...
rush.
Piper sat on the City Council in 1865, and was mayor of Virginia City in 1867.
In 1874, Piper represented Storey County in the Nevada Senate
Nevada Senate
The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada. The Senate consists of 21 members from 19 districts, two of which are multimember. Each senator represented approximately 94,700 people as of the 2000 census, although 2006 Census Bureau...
. In an effort to raise money for Storey County to pay for railroad bonds, Piper managed to get the state senate to unanimously pass a bill that became law, removing the taxation limits on bullion in the county. Piper ran a chain of venues to accommodate touring companies. Among these were McKissick's Opera House in Reno
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
and the Carson Opera House in Carson City
Carson City, Nevada
The Consolidated Municipality of Carson City is the capital of the state of Nevada. The words Consolidated Municipality refer to a series of changes in 1969 which abolished Ormsby County and merged all the settlements contained within its borders into Carson City. Since that time Carson City has...
.
Piper died in San Francisco at age 63, on January 3, 1897.
1863–1875
An 1861 illustration by African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
artist Grafton T. Brown depicts the John Piper Old Corner Bar at the southwest corner of B and Union Streets, which aimed to draw the theater crowd as customers. In 1863, Piper purchased an entire block of additional property at the northwest corner of B and Union Streets, which came to be known as Piper Business Block. There Piper built a two-story brick building and relocated the bar to the first story of the new building at the northwest corner of B and Union Streets. The second story of the building was rented out.
Tom Maguire and John Burns opened Maguire's Opera House in 1863. Maguire's was where actress Adah Isaacs Menken
Adah Isaacs Menken
Adah Isaacs Menken was an American actress, painter and poet.-Life and career:There are significant inconsistencies in the various accounts of Menken's early life. In her autobiographical "Some Notes of her life in her own Hand,", Menken claimed she was born Marie Rachel Adelaide de Vere Spenser...
appeared in Mazeppa. On October 9, 1867, Piper and his financial sponsor John William Mackay
John William Mackay
John William Mackay was an American capitalist, born in Dublin, Ireland.-Early years:His parents brought him in 1840 to New York City, where he worked in a shipyard.-Gold and silver mining:...
bought Maguire's and renamed it Piper's Opera House. On October 30, 1866, Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
delivered a lecture from its stage. The opera house played host to Shakespearean thespians Edwin Booth
Edwin Booth
Edwin Thomas Booth was a famous 19th century American actor who toured throughout America and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869 he founded Booth's Theatre in New York, a spectacular theatre that was quite modern for its time...
, Thomas R. Keene, Lawrence Barrett
Lawrence Barrett
Lawrence Barrett was an American stage actor.-Biography:He was born Lawrence Brannigan to Irish emigrant parents in Paterson, New Jersey. He made his first stage appearance at Detroit as Murad in The French Spy in 1853...
and John Edward McCullough
John Edward McCullough
John Edward McCullough was an American actor.He was born in Coleraine, Ireland. He went to America at the age of sixteen, and made his first appearance on the stage at the Arch Street Theatre, Philadelphia, in 1857...
. Actors Frank Mayo
Frank Mayo
Frank Mayo was an American actor and comedian, born in Boston, Massachusetts.He moved to San Francisco where at seventeen years of age he began his career and within a few years was appearing with the young Edwin Booth...
(Davy Crockett) and Joe Jefferson (Rip Van Winkle) brought their one-man shows to the Piper.
In 1871, actor McKee Rankin became witness to an act of vigilante justice during an extended engagement at the Piper. Rankin and fellow thespian William H. Powers were at the bar next to the troupe's International Hotel headquarters, when a customer named Perkins shot another customer and was jailed by the local sheriff. Two days later, on a Sunday morning, Rankin witnessed the lynching of Perkins at the hands of a vigilante mob who hung Perkins from the rafters of the Piper stage. The mob also pulled out their guns and shot Perkins' dangling body.
The opera house, along with most of Virginia City, burned to the ground on the morning of October 26, 1875, an event known as the Great Fire. Piper promoted shows at other venues until he was financially able to erect a new building.
1878–1883
Piper built his new opera house for $40,000 in 1878 at the rear of his bar at B and Union streets. He maintained an apartment in the new building. The opening was January 28, 1878. In May of that same year, an eight-year-old Maude AdamsMaude Adams
Maude Ewing Kiskadden , known professionally as Maude Adams, was an American stage actress who achieved her greatest success as Peter Pan. Adams's personality appealed to a large audience and helped her become the most successful and highest-paid performer of her day, with a yearly income of more...
played the character of Adrienne Renaud in A Celebrated Case when the play's troupe performed in Virginia City. American theatrical producer David Belasco
David Belasco
David Belasco was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director and playwright.-Biography:Born in San Francisco, California, where his Sephardic Jewish parents had moved from London, England, during the Gold Rush, he began working in a San Francisco theatre doing a variety of routine jobs,...
was the Piper's stage manager before moving to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1882. Minister and social reformer Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher was a prominent Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist, and speaker in the mid to late 19th century...
delivered his lecture of Wastes and Burdens of Society from its stage. The new opera house burned down March 13, 1883.
1885 current opera house
Within days of the 1883 fire, Piper had rented Cooper's Hall and began presenting entertainment acts, raising capital to build a new opera house. Piper celebrated the opening of the currently existing opera house on March 6, 1885 with a grand ball.Piper's new building was modernized with a dance floor, carpeting, and hanging balconies. Musical performers Lilly Langtry, John Phillip Sousa, Emma Nevada
Emma Nevada
Emma Nevada was an American operatic soprano particularly known for her performances in operas by Bellini and Donizetti and the French composers Ambroise Thomas, Charles Gounod, and Léo Delibes...
and Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
were among the entertainers in the historic arena.
After John Piper died in 1897, his son Edward inherited the opera house and continued its operation until his death in 1907.
During Edward's ownership, the opera house transformed from gas to electric lighting in 1900. Nevada tenor Richard Jose
Richard Jose
Richard J. Jose was an American countertenor.-Life:He immigrated to Nevada after his uncle.He sang in saloons for charity, and in 1881 with Thatcher's Minstrels....
performed at Piper's in 1905. Heavyweight boxing champion Gentleman Jim Corbett
James J. Corbett
James John "Gentleman Jim" Corbett was an Irish-American heavyweight boxing champion, best known as the man who defeated the great John L. Sullivan. He also coached boxing at the Olympic Club in San Francisco...
used the venue as a training facility to prepare for his 1897 title bout with Bob Fitzsimmons
Bob Fitzsimmons
Robert James "Bob" Fitzsimmons , was a British boxer who made boxing history as the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett, the man who beat John L. Sullivan, and is in The Guinness Book of World Records as the Lightest heavyweight...
.
Upon Edward's death, his brother-in-law Louis Zimmer used it as a silent movie house. The venue was also rented out for sports, community socials and civic events. The building was condemned in the 1920's. On March 16, 1940, Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
arrived in town for the premiere of his new movie Virginia City
Virginia City (film)
Virginia City is a 1940 black-and-white movie starring Errol Flynn, Miriam Hopkins, and Randolph Scott, and featuring a mustachioed Humphrey Bogart in the role of the real-life outlaw John Murrell. The film was directed by Michael Curtiz...
. The movie's cast and crew, along with attending media outlets, gathered at the opera house for a live NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
broadcast of Flynn auctioning off historic Piper memorabilia. After the movie premiere, Zimmer operated the venue as a museum until 1960.
After Zimmer's 1960 death, Piper's great-great granddaughter Louise Zimmer Driggs opened the venue to summer concerts until 1972. Sixteen years later, Driggs' daughter Carol Piper Marshall resumed management and opened the venue to entertainment once again. Mark Twain, as portrayed by Hal Holbrook
Hal Holbrook
Harold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook, Jr. is an American actor. His television roles include Abraham Lincoln in the 1976 TV series Lincoln, Hays Stowe on The Bold Ones: The Senator and Capt. Lloyd Bucher on Pueblo. He is also known for his role in the 2007 film Into the Wild, for which he was nominated for...
in his one-man play Mark Twain Tonight! , trod the boards to a sold-out audience at Piper's. Tennessee Ernie Ford
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Ernest Jennings Ford , better known as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country and Western, pop, and gospel musical genres...
was another act at Pipers during this period.
Restoration
Louise Zimmer Driggs began restoration work on the opera house in the 1960's. She sold Piper's in 1997 to the non-profit Piper’s Opera House Historic Programs. Grants from the Nevada Department of Cultural AffairsNevada Department of Cultural Affairs
The Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of Nevada.The Department of Cultural Affairs headquarters is located in Carson City, Nevada.- Division of Museums and History :...
, and a National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
Save America's Treasures
Save America's Treasures
Save America's Treasures is a United States Federal initiative to preserve and protect American historic buildings, arts, and published works. It is a public-private partnership between the U.S. National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation...
grant, have enabled structural reinforcements and renovations.