Springer Opera House - Columbus, GA
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Lat34North
N 32° 27.892 W 084° 59.491
16S E 688765 N 3593741
The Springer Opera House is located at 103 10th St, Columbus, GA.
Waymark Code: WM3DKT
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 03/20/2008
Views: 80
From Wikipedia
The Springer Opera House is a historic live performance theater located in downtown Columbus, Georgia. First opened February 21, 1871, the theater was named the State Theatre of Georgia by Governor Jimmy Carter for its 100th anniversary season, a designation made permanent by the 1992 state legislature. The Springer has hosted legendary performers such as Edwin Booth, Ethel Barrymore, Agnes de Mille, and bandleader John Phillip Sousa. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and named a National Historic Landmark in 1978.
Historic Marker located at the Springer Opera House:
Theater in Columbus found its finest home on February 27, 1871, when Francis Joseph Springer, Originally from Alsace, opened his opera house. The Springer's forty foot deep stage held a continuous round of shows of every description.
Here Edwin Booth played Hamlet, February 15, 1876, on his first Southern tour after the War. “Blind Tom” Bethume, the Negro musical prodigy born near Columbus, performed here often. Oscar Wilde and Williams Jennings Bryan lectured here. John L. Sullivan, the world champion gave a boxing exhibition, and Mrs. John Drew grandmother of the Barrymores, starred in She Stoops to Conquer. Here in 1928, Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered a “Happy Warrior” speech in behalf of presidential nominee Al Smith.
In 1902 the Springer sons completely renovated their opera house. From that time until it became a movie house in 1941, the Springer continued to be the city's cultural center.
In 1959 the Springer closed and in the Spring of 1964, The Columbus Little Theater Opera House Trustees was formed to prevent its destruction. On October 6, 1965, The Little Theater's musical production of St. Elmo, based upon the Victorian novel by Columbus-born author, Augusta Evans Wilson, was presented amidst the Springer's restored Victorian splendor.
GHM 106-31 Georgia Historical Commission 1966
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