Our Past Is Present January 9, 2018

January 9, 2018

            This is “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.

            As a tribute to our Opera House’s 120^th Anniversary, we will be sharing stories about the Opera House almost every Tuesday morning during this time frame. This is today’s story.

            Perhaps many of us were unaware the Opera House we refer to today as the C.L. Hoover Opera House was once called the Blakely Opera House. The idea for an opera house  started in 1879, when a group of 75 people went to see a play in Abilene’s Opera House.  Having seen and experienced that Opera House, they returned boasting that one day Junction City would have a theater just as impressive.  Soon afterword a meeting was held in the Bartell House at the corner of Sixth and Washington Streets in Junction City. The meeting was a big success, because the city council acted quickly to submit a proposition issuing bonds in the amount of $20,000 for a combination city hall and opera house to be built.  However, later the amount was reduced to $12,000. 

            The site was to be lots 8, 9 and 10 at Seventh and Jefferson Streets in Junction City.  Voters were in favor and the issue passed.   A Mr. Wells (first name unknown), from Kansas City was asked to draw up the plans for the opera house-city hall but the city council insisted that construction be done by Junction City businesses. His proposal was agreed upon on August 14, 1880 and completion was set for April of 1881. For some reason, the work was suspended until Spring and then resumed in March of 1881. 

            Soon our Opera House was given a more formal name as The Blakely House.  It was named for a well-known and active man in the community, William Blakeley, who died in 1881.