Porter County Memorial Opera Hall
Encyclopedia
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
memorial hall located in Valparaiso, Indiana
Valparaiso, Indiana
Valparaiso is a city in and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 31,730 at the 2010 census, making it the 2nd largest city in Porter County.-History:...
. It was the meeting place of Chaplain Brown GAR Post No. 106, one of 592 GAR posts in Indiana. Designed in 1892 by a local architect, Charles F. Lembke., using Romanesque styling, it was built in 1892-3 to seat 100 people. It was also used as the local opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
.
Local legend says that Wm Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
spoke at the hall during the 1896 presidential campaign. Others who have been to the hall include Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, John Phillips Sousa, Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
. Decline began with the advent of the movies, for which it was converted. By the time of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it was an abandoned building. Beginning in 1955, the Community Theatre Guild leased the property and began maintaining it once again for theater productions. The City restored the hall in the 1990s and leased it to the Memorial Opera House Company, where theater productions continue.
The Memorial Opera House is located at 104 Indiana Avenue just east of the historic Porter County Jail and Sheriff's House
Porter County Jail and Sheriff's House
Porter County Jail and Sheriff’s House are located southeast of the County Courthouse in Valparaiso, Indiana. Overtime, the needs of the county grew and these original structures were replaced by a new jail in 1974, just south of the original jail on Franklin Street. By 2000, the county again...
. At the time of construction, Indiana Avenue was called Mechanics Street. The Opera House was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1984. It was restored in 1998.Today, the Memorial Theatre Company produces six theatrical performances each year and host community concerts and other events.
Sources
- Mullins, Lanette; Images of America; Valparaiso – Looking Back, Moving Forward; Arcadia Publishing; Chicago, Illinois; 2002
- Neeley, George E.; City of Valparaiso, A Pictorial History; G. Bradley Publishing, Inc.; St. Louis, Missouri; 1989; pg.
- Porter County Interim Report, Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory; Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana; July 1991