The century old Elk House in Prescott Arizona, has been used as an
opera house, live theatre, movie theatre, and concert hall. The acoustics are
considered superb.
History
It all started with a proposal in the Prescott newspaper from the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge #330 to build an opera house.
Residents raised the funds and the granite cornerstone was laid April 3, 1904,
for the three-story building. The lodge was on the top floor, offices on the
second, retail space at ground level.
The classic design characterizes the turn of the 20th-century
transition from commercial Victorian to a modernized Sullivanesque style. It
was described in the February 10, 1905, edition of the Prescott
Weekly Courier. “The peer of that theatre is not found east of San
Francisco until the great cities of the Mississippi Valley are reached, and
even there our theatre is outclassed only as to size, for our theatre is about
as perfect as the handiwork of man generally gets to be."
Opening Night
Feb. 20, 1905, the theater’s opening night, kicked off with the
play. Marta of the Lowlands was billed as a romance of old Spain. It starred
stage and screen actress, Florence Roberts, who came to be known for her
later roles in the classic films Babes in Toyland, Off to the Races, and Make
Me a Star. The talented musicians, who played in the live orchestra, came from
Prescott, Jerome, and Phoenix.
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| Original Interior |
Opera boxes went for $20.00. General admission cost $2.50. The box
office proceeds were over 1200 dollars netting the Elks Lodge a nice profit of
six to seven hundred dollars.
Prescott residents loved their opera house and built their
businesses and social lives around it. The convenient location on a streetcar
route near the Yavapai County Courthouse Plaza was ideal for the locals as well
as the many theatre troupes and shows who stopped over in Prescott on their way
to perform in larger cities to the east and west.
Movie Theatre
The film masterpiece, Birth of a Nation, was shown at the
Elks in 1916. During the silent film era, a small orchestra played accompanying
music live. By 1929, all moves were talkies, and all the way through the
1970’s, large audiences continued to watch the latest films at the Elks Opera
House. Then, in the 1980s live performances returned to the theatre.
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| Elk Theater Interior |
In the 1940’s the opera boxes and ornamental finishes were removed to
accommodate wide-screen movies. The theatre used to have a copper elk statue
on top of the roof, a box office inside, and a second set of balcony stairs,
which were all eliminated with remodeling through the years.
Who Performed
The venue originally had 900 seats and eight dressing rooms.
Balls, civic presentations, and high school graduations were held there. The
Elk Theatre also hosted minstrel shows, plays, and theater performances. Sir
Harry Lauder and John Phillip Sousa were
among the notable performers who appeared there. Also, Tom Mix and
Tony the Wonder Horse were repeat performers at the theater.
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| Current Box Office |
Some of the Famous People who performed
were:
·
Sir Harry Lauder was awarded
Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 1919 King's Honors
List for his services to entertainment. He was a Scottish entertainer, star of
concert parties and the music halls from 1894. Lauder formed his own touring
company with the violinist Mackenzie-Murdoch. He also appeared in short films
from 1907 and performed pantomime and musical comedy in New York and London. He
had his own recruiting band during World War I.
John Philip Sousa, the composer
and conductor of the late Romantic era, was chiefly known for his American
military marches and was referred to as the March King. In 1896 he wrote the
national march of the United States—The Stars and Stripes Forever. Sousa
composed many songs including the entire operetta, El Capitan.
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| View from Balcony to Stage |
·
Tom Mix was a movie star
in early westerns between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine
of them were silent movies. Mix was Hollywood's first western star and helped
define the genre in those early days of the cinema.
·
Tony was the first horse to ever
bear the name “The Wonder Horse.” Tony was the companion of actor Tom Mix.
But he was also a celebrity in his own right, starring in over two dozen silent
and sound films during his career. When Mix placed his handprints in the cement
at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in 192., Tony set his hoofprints in the
cement right beside them. He was the first horse to have equal billing with his
human costar, and was featured in the title of three movies: Just Tony (1922), Oh!
You Tony (1924), and Tony Runs Wild (1926).
Elks Opera House Guild
A costumed group, The Elks Opera House Guild preserves, promotes,
and supports the grand historic Opera House Theatre. The guild hosts Tea
Luncheons for the public, which include vintage fashion shows featuring
Victorian and Edwardian attire. They also serve as docents, giving tours
of the theatre and presenting "Living Histories". Additionally, they
assist at performances by selling tickets and ushering guests to their
seats.
The historically renovated Elk Theatre is one of the oldest hemp
theatres (pertaining to the traditional hemp rope that raises and lowers the
stage curtain) still in existence. Elks Theatre is an exquisite blend of art
and history that has provided top entertainment to Prescott for over 100 years.
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ReplyDeleteWhat a rich history this amazing theater has been to Prescott!
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