Cedarville Opera House
Posted by: 
boydfamily
N 39° 44.494 W 083° 48.429
17S E 259463 N 4402843
Downtown Cedarville is this historic opera house also known as the Cedarville town hall.
Waymark Code: WM22HP
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 08/24/2007
Views: 29
The first opera house in this location was built in 1886 but was detroyed by fire within a year and the current structure was rebuilt in 1888. The design of the Opera House is a 1/3 scale model of the Royal Albert Hall in London. John W. McLean of Cedarville built the structure. For the next 60 years the building was the center of attention in this small country town.
The opera house was host a the followng venues: minstrel and medicine shows, touring drama groups, orators, political rallies, magic lantern shows, and high school and college graduations and programs.
In 1956, the opera house closed its doors and became a over-sized bird house for bats and pigeons for nearly 30 years.
In the early 1980's - a group of citizens formed a group to save the opera house and renovations began. The first step was removal of tons of bird droppings from the attic and rafters of the building.
With the efforts of many deicated citizens, the opera house now is open on a regular basis for shows such as musicals, band performances and movie showings. Currently, the buidling houses the township offices and the Cedarville police department.
Street address:
78 N Main Street
Cedarville, OH United States
45314
County / Borough / Parish: Greene
Year listed: 1984
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1875-1899
Historic function: Education/Government/Culture
Current function: Government/Police/Culture
Hours of operation: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Privately owned?: Not Listed
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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