Pella Opera House Theatre Center
611 Franklin,
Pella,
IA
50219
611 Franklin,
Pella,
IA
50219
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Related Websites
Pella Opera House Theater Center (Official)
Additional Info
Functions: Performing Arts
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
641.628.8625
Manager:
641.628.8625
Nearby Theaters
Opened its doors with the performance of a play, “What Happened to Jones”, on November 16, 1900.
The Pella Opera House Theatre Center was used for musical and theatrical performances until they were replaced by motion pictures due to popular demand. Eventually, the movies closed, and the once-grand Pella Opera House Theatre Center was altered to house businesses including a skating rink, bowling alley, and hardware store.
After a complete restoration in 1990, the Opera House is again host to a variety of performing arts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic sites.
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
Julius Cahn’s guides list this as a second floor house. While many such theaters did run movies for a while during the first two decades of the 20th century, most of them didn’t operate as movie houses for very long. Patrons preferred the newer theaters that had their auditoriums on the ground floor.
I’ve been unable to discover the original architect of the Pella Opera house, but the plans for the renovation begun in 1988 were by Wetherell Ericsson Architects, the successor firm to Wetherell & Harrison, designers of many of the classic movie theaters in Iowa.
National Register Information Status Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on March 20, 1992 Reference number 91001080 Architectural style Victorian: Romanesque Area of significance Architecture Level of significance Local Evaluation criteria C – Design/Construction Property type Building Historic functions Theater; Auditorium Current functions Auditorium; Theater Period of significance 1900-1924 Significant year 1900