Donges Theatre
Market Square,
Meyersdale,
PA
15552
Market Square,
Meyersdale,
PA
15552
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Donges New Theatre
Nearby Theaters
This theatre was open by September 1910, when it is shown operating on the second floor of a large brick-veneered wood frame building. The building first appears on the 1904 map, under construction, with the note ‘To be store’.
The building is shown as 2-4 stories, due to the slope of the hill on which it was constructed. The ground floor was divided into three storefronts.
By 1914 it was known as Donges New Theatre. It was still in operation in 1915, when the February 6 issue of ‘Motography’ reported that manager Clay A. Donge was having great success with World Film features. The building has disappeared on the August 1919 map, likely destroyed by fire.
No exact address is available. The lot is currently the location of a Subway restaurant, which faces Grant Street.
The Donge family later owned a tire shop on the opposite side of the square, and then opened the drive-in/motel on the north side in 1967.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
The theatre was opened by George Donges in 1904. It was known as the Donges Opera House. According to Gus Hall’s National Theatrical Directory the seating capacity was 847. The building was destroyed by fire on March 24, 1915.
I have uploaded the image of a page from the Meyersdale Republic from April 4, 1912 on which an advertisement for the Donges Theatre appears.
Correct spelling of the name is indeed Donges. There was an Opera House to the south, on the same side of the square. It is still on the 1919 map, shown as closed, and must have been replaced shortly thereafter by the liquor store now on that corner. Clay Donges seems to have operated a meat market on Center St in later years.
The New Donges Theatre, named after owner George Donges, opened its doors on December 15, 1904 with a live presentation of “His Majesty The Maid”. As of that year, information about the theater goes as follows:
The Donges building housed 100x87ft with the theater itself housing 50x100ft and a stage measuring 67x40ft. The height of the rigging gallery above the floor of the stage measures 50ft which will allow of the handling of scenery measuring 25ft high. The proscenium, or drop curtain, measures 24x34ft featuring a painting of a Venetian scene with the banks of the Grand, costing an estimate $350. The ceiling of the auditorium is stamped metal work and the artistic work about the opening of the stage consisting of images and groups of cupids, statuary work, brought out true to nature. A large dome in the ceiling reflects 36 16-candle power lights.
There are six dressing rooms and is one of the largest in Somerset County as of 1904, as well as a large steam heating plant. There are also six private boxes, with four communicating boxes on the first floor and two single boxes on the second floor. The theater housed 1,000 seats including a balcony, with the seating made by the Hudson Opera Chair Company of Athens, Ohio.
The Donges Theatre closed for the final time after an early morning fire destroyed the theater on March 18, 1915, that also severely damaged neighboring businesses, including a meat market and a garage housing 30 cars (28 of them being burned in the inferno), costing an estimate $70,000 in damages ($65,000 for the theater).