By Lisa Hawk
Nimrod Elliott and his son E.L. Elliott, being the business men that they were, felt that Middletown needed a place for entertainment. So, in the fall of 1895, Mr. L.O. Miller, a popular contractor at the time, began to build the “Elliott Opera House”. It was located on the northwest corner of Sixth Street and Locust Street, where the current “Score Card Lounge” is located. In those days it was referred to as Lot 1 on the corner of Church and Locust Street, in the original Middletown Plat Map.
This building had two business rooms in the front of the building on the ground floor and one room over these two rooms on the second floor.
The Middletown News occupied the west room and the 2nd floor room for some time. The east room was occupied by the Chicago Restaurant.
Behind the business rooms, toward the north, were the stage, auditorium and the gallery.
This stage was one of the largest in east central Indiana at the time. It was finished with the latest and best scenery available. In addition, equipment was installed for handling and changing sets.
The auditorium seated 389 in comfortable opera chairs with the gallery having benches creating 261 more seats, for a total of 650 people the auditorium could hold.
The walls were tinted pink to give a soft touch under the gas lights.
The entire building was heated with steam that was supplied by a boiler under the floor in part of the building.
The Opera House opened November 9, 1895 with its first show “LaMascot”. This show was followed by a second show titled “A Pair of Kids”.
Until the Opera House was constructed, large events like high School Graduation, was held at the “Sons of Veterans” hall, which was located on east High Street. With the large auditorium, the Middletown High School Graduation ceremonies were held there for several years. Then, the building was demolished in 1913. It was only in use for 18 years.
We only have two photos of the “Elliott Opera House“. Neither photo is fantastic, but it will give you an idea of what it looked like and its location.
References
Memories, Dreams and reflections of Middletown, 1975.
Beacon.com, Henry County Property Locations.
Photos from Middletown Fall Creek Township Historical Society collection.
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