Bardavon 1869 Opera House
35 Market Street,
Poughkeepsie,
NY
12601
35 Market Street,
Poughkeepsie,
NY
12601
10 people
favorited this theater
Built in 1869, the Bardavon Opera House, as its name implies, was originally an opera house.
The massive 19th century house was overhauled for film when it was taken over by Paramount in 1923 — a remodeling still evident by its interior appearance.
In 1943, the Bardavon, and the office building in front of it, was purchased by the famed movie studio’s exhibition unit.
In 1947, the theater and its marquee were modernized, and later, the theater was managed by ABC. The Bardavon closed as a movie house in 1975.
About to be demolished to make way for a parking lot, the Dutchess County Arts Council and local residents formed the Concerned Citizens to Save the Bardavon and leased the old theater.
Soon, the Bardavon 1869 Opera House group was formed and a campaign to save the theater began.
The Bardavon was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 20, 1977 and returned to showing live productions.
Since 1980, more than $5 million dollars has been spent to restore the theater, and the theater has completed the Marquee and Facade projects entering into a new campaign which will bring about the restoration of the theater auditorium as well as other projects.
Contributed by
Elizabeth Oakley, Chris Silva
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 34 comments)
Not really, but I am a Shakespeare fan. I was reading Julius Caesar the other day when I saw the posting for the Bardavon, so that made me wonder about the origin of the name. I would be curious to know if it is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable or the second A.
One pronunciation is given at this link. Hope that helps.
It does. Thanks for the information.
Here is another photo.
A 1996 view of the Bardavon Theatre in Poughkeepsie.
This is another photo of the Opera House.
Here are some February 2002 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/64up4z
1975 Photo
1981 Photo
Here is a May 2009 photo.
Very nice photos.