First Opera House in Dallas Multi-Cache

The opera house opened to enormous fanfare. Its inauguration was marked by the Chicago Opera Company performing Gilbert and Sullivan's "Iolanthe." Dallas had seen touring operas in the past, but this was the first dedicated theater of its own. Unfortunately, its reign was short lived, as it burned down 18 years later in 1901 (as did many of the early candle-lit opera houses). Apparently it was a popular place, as they started work almost immediately on a new, larger opera house at the NW corner of Main St and St. Paul (which unfortunately burned down 20 years later as well). Built at a cost of $43,000 (equivalent to more than $1 million today) the opera house seated 1,200 and included a parterre, galleries, and a 45-by-60-foot stage. It reigned supreme as Dallas's premier theatre before burning in the early morning of April 25, 1901 (from Historic Dallas Theatres by D Troy Sherrod).