Stoughton Opera House/City Hall - Stoughton, WI
N 42° 55.001 W 089° 13.020
16T E 319048 N 4753947
The Stoughton Opera House/City Hall is part of the Stoughton Main Street Historic Disctrict. The building was built in 1901.
Waymark Code: WM35TJ
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Date Posted: 02/15/2008
Views: 7
From the Stoughton Opera House
web site:
The Stoughton Opera House, originally called the City Auditorium,
first opened on February 22, 1901. It is one of the largest second
story theaters in the Midwest. For over 50 years, there was a wide
variety of cultural experiences to be enjoyed within its walls
including operas, musical productions, minstrel, theater and
vaudeville shows, temperance meetings, and Governor LaFollette even
spoke here on several occasions. The Stoughton High School held
graduation exercises here until 1938. There were Junior and Senior
class plays until 1953, by which time the Opera House was painted
over with a dull gray paint and extensively damaged by roof leaks
and was eventually shut down. The clock tower was removed in
1961.
In the early 1980's, a decision was made to save the building
and government offices. The "Friends of' the Opera House" was
established and citizens came forward to fund and work on the
restoration. A committee was also established to plan and complete
the restoration of the Opera House.
The first project was to restore the clock tower, which was
completed in 1988 and a likeness of it is now used as the logo for
the City of Stoughton: In 1990, a fire escape was added and in 1992
air conditioning was installed. A matching grant from the Jeffries
Family Foundation funded much of the restoration work. The City of
Stoughton contributed to the restoration of the building's main
entrance and the addition of an elevator and restrooms in the
basement.
Plaster, carpets, floor lights, dressing rooms, paint,
handicapped accessibility and the latest in state-of-the-art
equipment combine to make the Stoughton Opera House a wonderful
mixture of Victorian and modern elements. The "crown jewel" of
Stoughton has been restored and enhanced and is lovelier than
ever."