| The Dramatic, Sometimes Miraculous, Hundred Year
Journey of the Rochester Opera House
by Susan Page |
PHOTO © ALLEGRA ENGLISH 2008 |
“In turn-of-the-century America the ubiquitous opera house or town hall existed under the same roof with the offices of local government…a frequent situation in New England…such buildings acquired considerable importance in both civic and social events. But if such edifices could host a play performance one evening with a raked auditorium floor and the following night provide a level surface for a formal ball, then these structures became a special object of civic pride, the very pulsating center of the community. Such were the City Hall and Opera House combinations designed by George Gilman Adams featuring a moveable auditorium floor.”
- (New England Yankee Ingenuity by Professor Landis K. Magnuson Theatre Design and Technology 1992)
The Journey Begins
Rochester, at the turn of the last century, was a blossoming city, ripe with growing businesses, industry, hotels, shops and restaurants. Four railroads converged at Union Station with dozens of tourists and business people arriving daily from Nashua, Worcester, Portland, Boston, New York and Montreal. City officials agreed that such a prosperous and forward-thinking city deserved to be graced with a grand theatre cradled within an equally as grand Renaissance Revival city hall building. The new Rochester City Hall and Opera House combination, built for the sum of $85,745.62, was revealed to the public for the first time on Memorial Day 1908. Well known architect and Rochester native George Gilman Adams had designed a magnificent theatre with stunning architectural details…horseshoe balcony, grand proscenium, intricate stenciling and near-perfect acoustics. But the most spectacular feature, invented by Mr. Adams, remained hidden from view…an intricate system that raised and leveled the auditorium floor.
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 “The new city opera house was formally opened to dramatic performances last week, when the play of Miss Petticoats was given there. (September 4, 1908) The theatre was filled with a large crowd that went home well pleased with the opera house, the play and the company. The play is a dramatized version of the book, which a few years ago was one of the “best sellers”. It is a story of much human interest and lends itself well to the stage. The gross receipts on this opening night were something like $800.”
- (Rochester Courier 9/11/1908) For nearly three decades, the Rochester Opera House was the hub for entertainment…plays, minstrels, vaudeville, concerts, ‘moving pictures’ and elegant balls and for civic events…inaugurals, political rallies and lectures. Lacking an auditorium and a gymnasium, Rochester High School relied on the Opera House to stage their athletic events, assemblies, dances and commencements. |
The Journey Continues Due to Lack of Funds By 1940 the Rochester Opera House was no longer the “pulsating center of the community”. Interest in live theatre began to wane with the advent of the movies. The new Spaulding High School, completed in 1939, boasted its own first class gymnasium and auditorium.
The once bustling theatre that entertained throngs of excited theatre goers became quiet. Desiring additional office space, the Rochester Building Committee proposed to eliminate the floor raising and leveling system and to remove the balcony and stairways. Plans for destruction were averted due to lack of sufficient funds. |
 The doors to the Rochester Opera House, supported by rental programs, remained open for the next three decades. The Elks’ Charity Ball and the popular Frisbie Follies were a hit with the community for several seasons. The Enlisted Men of Harbor Defense of Portsmouth presented the “All Soldier One Girl Musical Comedy” Keep Mum, Chum! on January 11, 1943. Certainly the ticket price of $.65 was reasonable for the times.
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George McManus’ Bringing Up Baby undoubtedly drew a large crowd, since this cartoon musical was an “entirely new comedy treat with good music and pretty girls.” The Rochester Loyal Order of Moose held their First Annual Ball on May 16, 1945. Playbill ads included Esquire Club on Locust Street in Dover, Bunny’s Diner in Somersworth and Hotel Rochester on 25 Portland Street. Beginning in 1962 Bob LeBlanc produced and directed eleven packed-house seasons of Summer Music Theater, billed as New Hampshire’s Newest and Foremost Musical Summer Theatre with a Professional New York Company. Local families housed the talented young actors during their stay. The company performed as many as ten of Broadway’s most popular musicals each summer. Patrons traveled from great distances to attend such exciting live theatre. The Opera House was abuzz with activity as were the streets and businesses in downtown Rochester.
The Journey Stops
After the last performance of the Frisbie Follies in October of 1974, the doors to the Rochester Opera House closed. The “special object of civic pride” was abandoned. The deterioration process was in charge. |
 In June of 1984 members of the Rochester Heritage Trust and Arts Rochester launched the first Opera House Restoration Project. They opened the doors to find the interior damage was extensive…the floor was broken and worse still…Mr. Adams auditorium floor raising and leveling system was so unique that its intricate operation and even its location was now a mystery. Kenn Ortmann, Rochester Planning Director, called Professor Charles Goodspeed of the UNH engineering department to ask for help to solve the mystery.
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Nancy Alberto and Heidi Barrett, structural engineering students, answered the challenge. The two spent several days crawling under the raised floor, which goes from 36 inches in the rear to 0 near the stage. They took measurements and photos of each step and each angle. Next, they discovered the motor room, hidden in a mass of insulation, under the balcony floor. The cost of the floor and mechanism system in 1908 was $1,100. The estimate to repair the system in 1987 was $1,220,000. Restoration efforts halted. The doors closed. The deterioration process was again in charge. “It is highly unlikely that the floor system will ever be returned to its original state. But one must argue for its preservation as a vital artifact to our nation’s architectural and popular entertainment history as well as a testament to the ingenuity of George G. Adams and the practical sensibilities of the New England Yankee.”
- (New England Yankee Ingenuity) |
 The Journey Continues, Miraculously
In 1996 Rochester Mayor Harvey E. Bernier challenged his community to launch one last effort to restore Rochester Opera House with his passionate plea, “This project touches the very soul of Rochester…who we were yesterday…who we are today…and who we will be tomorrow. It is a defining moment for us, my friends, and believe me…we will not fail!" |
Under the gifted direction of George Allen, founder of OASIS Optical Alignment Services in Gonic and Opera House Committee Chairman, the daunting restoration task began. The deterioration process had claimed every inch of the Rochester Opera House. The severely damaged floor was frozen in the raised position. The beautiful Victorian stenciling was masked by several layers of paint. The walls and ceiling were ravaged by water from the leaking roof. There was no trace of this, once, magnificent theatre. Successful restoration would need a miracle. Through the will of hearts and with the love for a city’s priceless treasure, the against-all-odds restoration of the Rochester Opera House succeeded. Thousands of donations provided the tools and thousands of volunteer hours provided the power. In 1997 the City of Rochester received the Governor’s Award in the Arts for Community Spirit. After twenty three years of silent darkness, the doors of the Rochester Opera House flung open to usher in a new era of live theatre and diverse cultural arts performances. Grandchildren of long ago patrons were treated to the magic of this grand theatre once again.
The Journey Falters
In late 2007 the Rochester Opera House, now operating as a not-for-profit organization, encountered a major, almost insurmountable, crossroad. The floor mechanism sustained damage and debt was mounting. On the eve of a new year, the centennial year, the doors, again, threatened to close. A team of volunteers, experienced Rochester Opera House veterans, entered the doors determined to save the near century old historic theatre, a mere blink away from its centennial birthday on May 30, 2008. The team reorganized with a new board of directors, reduced the annual salaries by ninety percent, paid down the debt with donations, in-kind labor and services and negotiated with creditors. George Allen, son Don, and their miracle have stepped up, again, to repair the damaged floor mechanism. The doors will not close.
The Dramatic, Sometimes Miraculous, Hundred Year Journey Ends…Another Begins
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 “Planning is underway to commemorate the centennial of the City Hall and Opera House in 2008. None of which seemed possible during my first tentative and dusty explorations in 1989 of a space largely given over to pigeons and falling plaster. Fortunately, the Rochester Opera House of Rochester, New Hampshire has been reborn and its legacy continues as the last historic moving floor in action.”
- (The Last Moving Floor in Action by Landis K. Magnuson Theatre Design and Technology 2006) |
The curtain rose for the Centennial Birthday Celebration of the Rochester Opera House on Friday, May 30, 2008. Now…a new journey beginins…it will define us!
The Next Hundred Years of Entertainment
The future of the Rochester Opera House is bright…beyond wildest dreams. The kindness and generosity of businesses, individuals and the City of Rochester combined with the tenacious determination of a small, dedicated staff and volunteers produced a second miracle. The Centennial Season at the Rochester Opera House was one of the best…ever! A brilliant team, led by Oasis Alignment Services Regional Manager Bruce Littlefield, completed an historically accurate repair of the century old auditorium floor raising/leveling mechanism on January 6, 2010. Thanks to the expertise and devotion of the OASIS team, the old mechanism sings like new! This journey can only continue with help from friends, who value the cultural, historical, educational and economic importance of this irreplaceable historic theatre with "The Last Moving Floor in Action". |
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