Nelson Opera House - Nelson, BC
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 49° 29.501 W 117° 17.617
11U E 478736 N 5482157
The majority of the pretty utility boxes in Nelson deal with the city's history, and in particular its historic buildings. This box tells us about Nelson's first opera house.
Waymark Code: WMM324
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 07/12/2014
Views: 1
A wood frame building, the opera house was built in 1898 managed to survive for 37 years before succumbing to the same fate as so many of its contemporaries,
fire.
Interesting side note - Boris Karloff began his performing career at the Nelson Opera House. Born William Henry Pratt in London, England, he emigrated to Canada and apparently worked in the Nelson area as a laborer and part time actor before heading to Hollywood.
The two photos below, courtesy of
Touchstones Nelson, show the opera house in about 1930, then its demise on April 18, 1935.
Nelson Opera House - 502 Victoria Street
J.A. Annable, onetime Mayor of Nelson, businessman and land developer, constructed the Nelson Opera House at the southeast corner of Victoria and Ward Streets in 1898. The building served both travelling and local live productions, with many artists and shows lured to Nelson by the proximity of a rail link to Spokane. Store premises at street level were rented out to local businessmen. The building was destroyed by fire in April 1935.
From the Utility Box
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