In 1871, the amount needed to build the Grand Opera House was grand indeed—$100,000. The interior and exterior of the four-story building were nothing like the residents of Wilmington, Delaware, had ever experienced. Baltimore architect Thomas Dixon designed the building to sport a French Second Empire style, while Royer Brothers of Philadelphia (a 19th-century architectural ironworks foundry) erected the ornate, Italianate cast-iron façade.
The Grand Opera House auditorium—seating more than 1,400—was considered the third-largest stage in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Recently reconfigured to accommodate 1,208 people, the auditorium is accessible after one enters the building’s main doors and traverses a narrow hall. Meeting and conference rooms are part of the building’s interior, but the auditorium is by far the largest space, with its colorful painted ceiling as the focal point.
Thousands of performers—from Buffalo Bill Cody to John Philip Sousa—have graced the wide stage, and countless patrons over the years have viewed practically every type of entertainment, including operas, symphonies, minstrel shows, and exhibitions. The Grand, as it’s also known, became a movie house in 1909 and remained so until the late 1960s, when it was opened again for various performances. It was renovated in the early 1970s, and each year, it schedules as many as 80 shows, which range from music to dance to theater to comedy. Visitors can step back in time and enjoy the grandiosity of the space.
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Deena Bouknight
Author
A 30-plus-year writer-journalist, Deena C. Bouknight works from her Western North Carolina mountain cottage and has contributed articles on food culture, travel, people, and more to local, regional, national, and international publications. She has written three novels, including the only historical fiction about the East Coast’s worst earthquake. Her website is DeenaBouknightWriting.com