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115-117 Walnut Street,
Eddyville,
IA
52553
115-117 Walnut Street,
Eddyville,
IA
52553
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The 1884 ‘opera house’ is likely the ‘Public Hall’ shown on the 1885 map. It was in the second story of the building labeled ‘Billiards’ in the photo.
This was Leggett’s Opera House when it appeared in listings as early as 1884, managed by an E. Leggett. It had 250 seats then but later was either expanded or moved to larger quarters and was managed by a John Leggett. The 1912-1913 Cahn guide lists it as a 450-seat, ground floor house managed by L .I. Rowe. In the early 1920s, an Ida B. Rowe of the Opera House, Eddyville, was submitting capsule movie reviews to theater trade journals. A bit of digging reveals that Ida B. Leggett married Lorin I. Rowe in 1893. It looks like Mr. Rowe either became manager of the house and married the boss’s daughter or married the daughter and became manager. The Rowes and the Leggetts were both prominent families in Eddyville.