Oxnard Opera House
551 S. C Street,
Oxnard,
CA
93030
551 S. C Street,
Oxnard,
CA
93030
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According to the Oxnard Courier, the Dreamland Skating Rink was remodeled into the Oxnard Opera House and opened on April 15, 1909. The skating rink was also home of La Petite Theatre beginning in 1906.
In February of 1911 the opera house began showing movies. An Edison machine had been purchased for $300, which was said to be the same type used by the Tally Theatre in Los Angeles. The pictures would be shown on the nights when there was no special performance.
According to a 1964 Courier report, in 1919, a Courier columnist began a series of attacks on the Opera House calling it unsanitary, a firetrap, and a miserable excuse for an opera house.
From press accounts, it appears that there were several attempts to burn down the building by unknown parties, apparently acting alone. The last fire occurred on December 13, 1922, but the shell of the building was saved by the fire department. In January of 1923, the city finally tore it down and recycled the timbers.
Contributed by
rpierce
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
A photo of the boxoffice and vestibule of the Oxnard Opera House, dated 1920. It does indeed look very much like an unsanitary firetrap.
I have ads for the Opera House and skating rink. It must have been a grand place to have the kind of entertainment that performed there.