Opera Block
30 East Bayfield Street,
Washburn,
WI
54891
30 East Bayfield Street,
Washburn,
WI
54891
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Additional Info
Architects: W.H. Webster
Firms: Webster & Dodge
Styles: Romanesque Revival
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Andrew Aune and John Overby built the “Opera Block” in 1884. The building was fifty by eighty feet, and was built at an initial cost of $8,000.
The auditorium was located on the second floor, while the ground level housed a saloon and pool hall, operated by Mr. Overby.
The upstairs auditorium served many functions, in addition to hosting early Vaudeville acts. Community events and dances were also held there, and it became a cultural hub of the community.
The original building was destroyed by a fire on September 14, 1888, but was immediately rebuilt to the plans of architect W.H. Webster of architectural firm Webster & Dodge.
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Bill
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
Aune and Overby were not architects. They owned and operated the theater, along with a saloon. According to a survey of Washburn’s historic resources, the architect of the 1888 rebuild of the Opera House Block was W. H. Webster, of the Ashland, Wisconsin firm of Webster & Dodge. The rebuilding was done in the popular Romanesque Revival style.
The theater was listed in the 1912-1913 Cahn guide as the Washburn Opera House. The ground floor of the building is still standing, though altered, but the second floor, which contained the Opera House, has been entirely obliterated. The truncated building is at the southeast corner of E. Bayfield St. and 1st Ave. E..