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The Burlingame and Chaffee Opera House, or The Carthage Opera House as it was better known, was built during the winter of 1877-78 at a cost of $10,000 on the south side of the square. The bottom floor was constructed for retail purposes and eventually housed two separate stores. The Opera House on the second story measured 55 feet wide by100 feet long. The ceilings were 18 feet high with iron columns throughout. There was a stage on the north end of the building with two dressing rooms on the side, two private boxes overlooking the stage and six large gas chandeliers were used for lighting. The auditorium was built to seat 900 people.
In the midst of harsh winter conditions, the Opera House was opened on February 28, 1878 with a grand ball. The Carthage Light Guard Band provided the entertainment for the night and it was dubbed “the society event of the season”. Nearly 100 couples attended the event. Lighting was an issue that night. Even though the beautiful chandeliers graced the ceilings of the auditorium, they could not be used because gas lines were not in place around the square until July of that same year.
To enter the Opera House, play-goers would use a stairwell on the far right side of the building that opened from the sidewalk. Once they reached the top of the stairs they would go through frosted double doors to a ticket booth. They could either purchase a ticket there or provide one that they had previously purchased at Hurty’s Drugstore on the square.
Opera houses did not just entertain with operas. All types of acts were seen such as comedy routines, dramatic plays and musical concerts. Some of the hottest traveling shows in the United States passed through the Opera House and local talent was also seen quite often on the playbill. On Wednesday March 26, 1890 The Carthage Evening Press listed the following coming attractions for April: “April 8th - Zanzic, Magician and Conjuror, April 9th – Boston Stars, April 12th – McCabe & Young’s Minstrels, April 14th and week – Chambers & King Comedy Co., April 21st and 22nd – Aleazar Comic Opera Co., April 24th – “Among the Pines”, April 29th – Allen & Burk’s Minstrels.”
The Carthage Opera House was closed in 1893 after another opera house was opened at the corner of 4th and Lincoln Streets and was drawing too much business away. On December 31, 1893 the Opera House was leased to the county for one year for use as a circuit court and offices. Even though many of the characteristics of the opera house are still present today, the second floor of that building has now sat vacant for many years.
Wade Utter is a columnist for The Carthage Press
Zooming In! is a column dedicated to the history of Carthage. Every Wednesday since July of 2009, Wade Utter has photographed and exposed the history behind new and century-old structures in the Carthage area.
