![]() In the late 1970s, the property was donated to the city, which restored it and made it a popular regional theater once more. For decades, the house attracted traveling performers before falling into disrepair. First built in 1891, the stately Richardsonian Romanesque venue was the ambitious vision of a consortium of local businessmen, merchants, and ranchers who hoped an opera house would transform Uvalde into a regional cultural powerhouse. Uvalde is home to the oldest functioning theater in the state of Texas. Beginning in the 1980s, the town started renovating the old opera house, which today hosts musicals, plays, and children’s theater. This historic Texas opera house was first built in 1885, and it was a popular regional cultural attraction until being repurposed for office space. In the 1970s, a local businessman purchased the building and began its revival. Some historians cite the rising temperance movement in the early 20th century as playing a role in the opera house’s eventual demise. In addition to plays, music, and Italian operas, the Granbury theater also hosted boxing matches and other attractions. Many small towns built opera houses to provide a home for these performances, and in 1886, Granbury built one of the grandest. Restorations between 19 have returned the theater to its Gilded Age glory, and today it hosts a wide range of touring groups and performances.Īs railroads spread through Texas, former frontier towns suddenly had access to new forms of entertainment as traveling troupes of actors, vaudeville performers, and opera stars made their way to Texas. Constructed at the time when Galveston was Texas’ largest city, the theater miraculously survived the devastating 19 hurricanes that reversed the coastal city’s fate. It’s one of a few theatres in Texas listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The grandfather of Texas’ opera houses is Galveston’s The Grand, which opened in 1895. ![]() Renovations began in the 1970s, and today it is home to a regular program of theater performances and musicals. Bastrop is one of the small Texas towns whose historic opera house was preserved and restored. Originally built by two local businessmen, the Bastrop Opera House evolved with the changing tastes of the past century, moving from performances to silent film and eventually becoming a teen sock hop in the 1950s. You can find Uvalde Grand Opera House on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok Historic Texas Opera Houses Fortunately, the show will go on in a 309-seat, elegantly appointed renovation of a classic Texas opera house theater.Photo courtesy of Uvalde Grand Opera House. In fact, the entire building has been rededicated to the theater after a rescue from deterioration by the Granbury Opera Association in 1975. Today’s productions, however, don’t require a stiff drink at intermission to get through the second act. Constructed of native limestone with decorative tin details, the two-story structure served vaudeville acts and musical productions on the second floor and a saloon below. The Granbury occupies the Texas Historic Landmark Kerr’s Opera House (renamed the Granbury Opera House after restoration) built in 1886 and located on the historic Granbury town square. Be warned, curmudgeons and cranky critics! You WILL crack a smile. The Granbury is home to the Granbury Theater Company, a local community theater with a mission to “enrich the community with high quality entertainment that warms the heart, uplifts the spirit, and tells worthy stories”. The elegantly restored Granbury Opera House is on a mission to make you cry…with joy or laughter, depending on whether you’re sitting through one of their musical productions or entertaining comedy performances.
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