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First Theater | Cle Elum, WA
Cle Elum's first theater, The Opera House, opened in 1904 near the corner of First and Harris and was used as both a theater, dance hall, and upon occasion, for boxing until it was lost to the fire of 1918.
To quote the Echo newspaper for 1904:
The first play shown at The Opera House was The Heart of Chicago, and later on Uncle Tom's Cabin.
In 1910, a boxing match between Sailor Jack & Bruce Ashman was featured, and in 1911 the music of the Chudley-Kennedy five-piece union orchestra was a nightly feature.
Pictures changed three times a week, and amateur nights were held on Wednesday with lots of fun for young and old. Prices were ten and fifteen cents. The City Band, too, used the Opera House to present a home talent show called Down in Dixie -- a Civil War drama. Miss Barbara Steiner as Molly, the girl with the winning ways, lived up to her name and won the hearts of her audiences. Other players in the cast were Russell Nicholls, Miss Annie O'Ban and Thomas Forsythe.
(SWIFTWATER, History of Cle Elum 1848-1955, published by Northern Kittitas County Historical Society, 2014, Page 85)
To quote the Echo newspaper for 1904:
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"For the first time in the history of Cle Elum an entertainment was afforded the citizens of our town the like of which is seldom seen or heard outside of the larger cities. The Philharmonic Ladies Quartette of Chicago entertained the small but appreciative audience that gathered in the Opera House".
The first play shown at The Opera House was The Heart of Chicago, and later on Uncle Tom's Cabin.
In 1910, a boxing match between Sailor Jack & Bruce Ashman was featured, and in 1911 the music of the Chudley-Kennedy five-piece union orchestra was a nightly feature.
Pictures changed three times a week, and amateur nights were held on Wednesday with lots of fun for young and old. Prices were ten and fifteen cents. The City Band, too, used the Opera House to present a home talent show called Down in Dixie -- a Civil War drama. Miss Barbara Steiner as Molly, the girl with the winning ways, lived up to her name and won the hearts of her audiences. Other players in the cast were Russell Nicholls, Miss Annie O'Ban and Thomas Forsythe.
(SWIFTWATER, History of Cle Elum 1848-1955, published by Northern Kittitas County Historical Society, 2014, Page 85)
