City Opera House [Traverse City]
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Bindle Babe
N 44° 45.853 W 085° 37.402
16T E 608944 N 4957679
Historic building, still in use today. See below for link. Double-sided marker!
Waymark Code: WM57HH
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 11/23/2008
Published By:Groundspeak Charter Member Scook
Views: 30
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Description:
Side 1 text reads: In 1891 three brothers-in-law Anthony Bartak, Charles Wilhelm and Frank Votruba built this 1,200-seat Victorian opera house. Designed by E. R. Prall of Pontiac, the opera house was the first facility in Traverse City to use electric lights. It has a 43-foot ceiling, hardwood maple floors and excellent acoustics. Built as a meeting hall and auditorium, the opera house hosted concerts, traveling plays, vaudeville shows, high school graduations, dinners and balls. Side 2 text reads: In 1920 a motion picture firm leased the opera house and closed it to avoid competition with its own film theaters. The building was used briefly during the Depression for a WPA project creating miniature city buildings. In 1971 it was listed on the national and state historic registers. In 1978 the City Opera House Heritage Committee began raising money to restore the structure. In 1980 the opera house was given to Traverse City by the descendants of one of the original owners, Frank Votruba.

Parking nearby?: yes

D/T ratings:

website: [Web Link]

Registered Site #: L0162

Historical Date: Not listed

Historical Name: Not listed
Visit Instructions:
Take a photo of your GPS at the marker. We'd prefer a photo of you with your GPS, but we realize that sometimes that's just not possible or preferable. Also include a bit about your visit to the marker.

NEW: Instructions for logging Missing Marker Visits.

If the Marker is missing, but still listed here, you must provide a photo of you at the actual item historically honored. (This should be the waymark's "default" image). Indicate in your log that you took your photo at the Historical Location instead of the marker, because the marker was missing. Please also still include a bit about your visit to the site.

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Recent Visits/Logs:
Date Logged Log User Rating  
ardila.nl visited City Opera House [Traverse City] 09/03/2022 ardila.nl visited it
Lotty visited City Opera House [Traverse City] 09/03/2022 Lotty visited it
wildernessmama visited City Opera House [Traverse City] 11/23/2016 wildernessmama visited it
Historic Markers visited City Opera House [Traverse City] 01/08/2014 Historic Markers visited it
scrapcat visited City Opera House [Traverse City] 09/17/2011 scrapcat visited it
The Ant Farm visited City Opera House [Traverse City] 08/19/2011 The Ant Farm visited it
vante visited City Opera House [Traverse City] 12/24/2009 vante visited it
pgeleven visited City Opera House [Traverse City] 05/04/2009 pgeleven visited it
Bindle Babe visited City Opera House [Traverse City] 11/24/2008 Bindle Babe visited it

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