Our Past Is Present December 11, 2018

December 11, 2018

                        You are reading “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.

                Since January of this year we have shared stories about the Opera House with the timeline as we know it from our research at the Museum.  We will bring this series to a close next Tuesday.  If you have been listening on Tuesdays, you know that the concept of an opera house was created when 75 people from the area visited the opera house in Abilene in 1879.  Shortly after that the City of Junction City issued bonds for $20,000 then reduced the bonds to $12,000 to build an opera house in Junction City.

On August 14, 1880 a proposal for the construction of an opera house was completed with a deadline of April 1881.  It was named the Blakeley Opera House after William Blakely, a former Junction City Mayor, county legislator and Post Master.

The Opera House opened in January of 1882.  Some examples of entertainment consisted of minstrels, wrestling, boxing, a circus, Graduation Exercises and variety shows and concerts by local talent.

In January of 1898 at 5:30 PM the building caught fire, but was restored and re-opened in October of the same year.  By 1915 there were a mixture of road shows and motion pictures presented.  By 1918 silent films were shown and as early as one year later talking pictures were shown.   It was given different names in addition to being called the Opera House.  One of those names was the City Theater.

                Next week will complete the timeline in celebration of the 120^th Anniversary of the now C.L. Hoover Opera House.  Be listening then and every Monday through Friday at 9:15 AM on KJCK’s 1420 AM or 107.9 FM for “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.