| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office.
WIS REGISTERED LANDMARK.
The Grand Opera House has been drastically remodeled, however, Romanesque details are apparent in elaborate cornice work and arched windows. The original entrance was in the central pavilion which is capped by a parapet.
Opened in 1883, Oshkosh’s Grand Opera House hosted a veritable Who’s Who of famous figures in theater, music, dance, and even literature, including Enrico Caruso, Anna Pavlova, Sarah Bernhardt, George M. Cohan, John Philip Sousa, Jenny Lind, and Mark Twain. The opera house’s location between Chicago and Minneapolis helps explain why many theater and vaudeville companies stopped here, often to try out their shows before setting out to tour the East Coast, where critics were presumably more demanding. “But they loved me in Oshkosh!" became a standard vaudevillian protest when a joke fell flat.
Local architect William Waters designed the Grand in a vernacular expression of Romanesque Revival architecture, using cream brick walls accented with bands of black brick. Above the broad entry arch is a trio of round-arched windows, topped by a checkerboard-patterned pediment. Dramatic corbel tables cap the flanking bays.
Waters designed the building during the heyday of live theater, when auditoriums tried to evoke both a sense of spectacle and a feeling of palatial grandeur. The interior of the Grand Opera House is nearly acoustically perfect and visually spectacular. Luxurious detailing includes elaborate stencilwork, ornate plaster details, and a grand balcony with a spindle balustrade. The city of Oshkosh recently restored it to its original splendor. A more complete statement of its historic merit is found on the NRHP form.
"This Victorian building served as the City's Opera House until 1936 and as a movie house from 1942 to 1983. The City restored it in 1986...This building features gabled shouldered parapet inset with brick and stone in a lattice pattern, decorative corbelling at the roofline, and a patterned brick chimney." "North Main Street Historic District Walking Tour"
A Historic Structure Report of this building can be found in Room 312 at the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Covenant/Easement: From 11/28/1983 to 11/28/1998. A 'covenant file' exists for this property. It may contain additional information such as photos, drawings and correspondence. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. |
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