Opera House
2130 N. Main Street,
Hazel Green,
WI
52811
2130 N. Main Street,
Hazel Green,
WI
52811
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Built in 1891, Hazel Green’s simple wooden town hall included an auditorium which was used as an opera house.
The building was constructed in the ‘Boomtown’ style, a simple wooden box structure with a gable roof faced by a taller, more ornate false front façade. In addition to serving as a space for public meetings and performances, the auditorium could also be used as the jail, by the erection of a collapsible cage in the middle of the floor.
Movies were shown in the auditorium by at least 1926, when the Opera House appears in listings. It was still operating in 1929, but appears to have fallen out of use by 1932. At some point in the 1960’s, it suffered a very bad remodel with a drop ceiling. The auditorium was restored to its original appearance in the 1980’s.
No longer used as the town hall, the building is privately owned, and since 2004 has been the home of the Fever River Puppeteers, who offer free performances.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
Forgot to add the architect (and/or?) builder, William A. Hocking. Construction cost just over $1,500, which is just under $47K today, so still quite cheap.