The McPherson Opera House:
A Brief History
McPherson,
KS
© Lydia
Lowe 2013
The McPherson Opera House didn’t always look the way it
looks now. It wasn’t always listed as a
place of historical significance on the historical register. For years it sat in disrepair as an eyesore
on a prominent corner in McPherson. One
day some bricks fell from the front onto the sidewalk and the great opera house
debate began.
Should it be torn down or revitalized? The debate waged on and everyone chose
sides. Those bricks kept falling, the
ceiling began to cave in and the building wasn’t fit for human habitation. The one business still located there had to
move out. There was more talk and both
sides became very vocal about the fate of the building.
There’s a saying in show business “that the show isn’t over
until the fat lady sings”. This phrase
was repeated around town so much, that one day the McPherson Sentinel ran an
ad: The fat lady will sing in front of
the opera house on Friday at 7 pm. Of
course, the entire town turned out on every sidewalk, street corner, driveway,
parking lot, and lined up across the street from the building; which by now had become so unsafe it wasn't safe to walk down the sidewalk in front of the building and the sidewalk and off street parking was now cordoned off with
chain link fence.
No one showed up to sing.
And there was much speculation around town as to why no one showed up
and what did all this mean. Shortly
thereafter, work began on the opera house.
Many years and millions of dollars later, it became the beautiful
building it is today.
Entertainment is the main reason for this opera house to come into being in the first place and every year features an extensive list of events, some
pictured here.
Leading the opera house into a new era is its director, John
Holecek, looking quite dapper on show night. Tonight it was Joseph Hall's Elvis show.
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