Grand Opera House
213 W. Monroe Street,
Mexico,
MO
65265
213 W. Monroe Street,
Mexico,
MO
65265
No one has favorited this theater yet
The Grand Opera House opened on August 13, 1888 with Gilber & Sullivan’s “The Mikado”. It was built for G.D. Ferris with an estimate cost of $16,000, and was the second opera house to open in Mexico. The house did receive a remodel in 1912, but it didn’t last long at all.
The Grand Opera House closed for the final time on January 21, 1913 after the building was destroyed by an evening fire causing an estimate $25,000 in damages. The fire which started before 10:00 PM that evening was discovered by Claud Marshall and John Moore who were walking by the theater when they saw smoke at the same time. While fighting the blaze, the roof quickly burnt down and sends it crashing into the levels of the building. Hundreds of residents witnessed the fire department battle the blaze, even many people got too close that their clothes were soaked in icy cold water.
The rest of the building was demolished following a front wall collapse on the morning of April 29, 1918, possibly due to heavy rain.
Contributed by
50sSNIPES
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
This web page says that the Ferris Grand Opera House was at 213 W. Monroe Street, and was designed by local architect H. D. Hunter. The opening event was Gilbert & Sullivan’s 1885 operetta “The Mikado.” The 1907-1908 Cahn guide lists the Grand Opera House as a ground floor theater seating 1,000 and a stage 38 feet from footlights to back wall and 56 feet between the sidewalls.