Gaiety Theatre

(This posting is the best I could do. Either the Gaiety Theatre was the old Ppera House, or it was a different structure. The Opera House may also have been the Lyric Theatre [this seems very likely], so we might get a listing out of this either way. It will certainly need rewriting.)

There is a Gaiety Theatre listed, with the only location given being ‘West Side Square’. The most sensible choice for this would be the old Opera House. The Opera House was constructed after 1894, but certainly existed in 1898, since the state militia used it as their HQ while quelling violence between striking miners and the owners' private forces.

The Opera House [which is almost certainly the ‘Lyric’ listed alongside the Rex Theatre in 1912], was a three-story brick building with stores on the first floor. By 1906, the stage had been moved from the rear of the building to the front.

The Gaiety Theatre information I found says that the theatre opened in 1929 with Ruth Chatterton in “Madam X”, and closed in the 1961. It was described as having a ‘modern’ interior with a sloped floor. Either this was a substantial remodel, or a different building. There are several empty lots on the south half of the block, along with one large newer structure at 119, which may have been the location of the Gaiety Theatre.

The building has been very poorly treated. It is now two stories, and the front has been covered with hideous metal siding, unifying it with another building next door. It is currently a furniture store.

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