Claremont Opera House
Broad Street (Route 11) at Tremont Square,
Claremont,
NH
03743
Broad Street (Route 11) at Tremont Square,
Claremont,
NH
03743
1 person
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Related Websites
Histroric Claremont Opera House (Official), Claremont City Hall (Claremont Opera House)
Additional Info
Functions: Performing Arts
Styles: Italian Renaissance
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
603.542.0064
Manager:
603.542.0064
Nearby Theaters
The Opera House is located in the Claremont City Hall Building. Dedication of the building occurred on June 22, 1897. The cost was $62,000. The style of the building is Italian Renaissance Revival. The architect was Charles A. Rich. For the next 32 years, it was host to stage, vaudville and films. Eventually it closed in 1963.
The the Opera House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and funds were raised to hire an architect by 1975.
Grand re-opening held on May 26, 1979. Today it is host to a variety of performing arts.
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TC
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
I’ve seen the opera house’s exterior only. Memory tells me it was a Saturday night just this last fall. Downtown was deserted and so was the opera house. There was, however, a lovely art deco diner from the 1930’s which was open. The owner gave me some history about this beautiful diner but unfortunately didn’t know much history about either the opera house or Latchis theatre— the auditorium portion has been demolished. Anyway, for all the art deco diner enthusiasts, I’ll strongly suggest a visit to Claremont
The Opera House in Claremont NH is listed in the 1897-98 edition of Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide, a publication for roadshow producers. The seating capacity is given as 1,025 and the auditorium is on the second floor. The proscenium opening is 34 feet and the stage is 31 feet deep. The house has both gas and electric illumination. Oscar Rand is the Mgr and Arthur Perry was orchestra leader. Local hotels are the Claremont, Belmont and Sullivan House. Although the Opera House was brand new at the time this edition of the Guide was being printed, that fact is not mentioned in the listing.
I visited the venue back in the 90’s. It is a jewel box of a space with a very interesting balcony. The front edge sweeps in a bow shape rather than straight or arced. Quite beautiful. I seem to recall it being a hemp house, something fairly rare today. The house crew also told me that there is a fairly extreme db. limit in order to protect plaster and glasswork. Worth the visit.