Fort Payne Opera House, Fort Payne Alabama

Date added: February 13, 2025

Categories:
Alabama
Theater

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The Fort Payne Opera House is a boom-town theatre. In 1889, the Fort Payne Coal and Iron Company was organized on the assumption that coal and iron deposits in the area could turn this village into a thriving manufacturing city. Immediately the town began booming, with investments coming from as far away as New England. Promoters called Fort Payne the "little Chicago of the South". The DeKalb Hotel, with 180 rooms, was constructed, the opera house was built, and a railroad was laid up the mountain.

When the mineral-manufacturing complex failed to materialize, the boom suddenly ended and the newcomers left. The population figures for this period show the rapidity of changes. In 1888, one year before the boom began, there were 500 inhabitants of Fort Payne. By 1890, this figure had jumped to 2,698. Ten years later, it had shrunk to less than half this size, with only 1,078.

The opera house was first envisioned in 1888, along with other boom-time buildings, in the Fort Payne Coal and Iron Company's prospects, entitled Fort Payne, Alabama, Illustrated. The opera house was purchased in 1889 from the company by W. W. Rice, a New Englander. The building reportedly engaged many top-ranking performers, eminent lecturers, musicians, and readers, which appealed to the cultured tastes of its New England clientele.

The problem of heating the auditorium was a big drawback to using the building. It was always cold and damp; hence, it was seldom used when the weather was unfavorable.

After it was closed in 1893, the records show it changed hands nearly fifty times, often back and forth among the same people. Milford W. Howard, the only Populist ever elected to the House of Representatives from Alabama, was owner of the opera house soon after the turn of the century. This colorful lawyer wrote, directed, and acted in several plays there and later went to California where he made movies for several years. Active also as an author, he wrote If Christ Came to Congress, which he recalled after a change of heart, and Bishop of the Ozarks, which was made into a movie.

Another owner was S. T. Kimbell who bought it soon after Howard sold it. Kimbell did extensive remodeling, expecting to use the theatre as rehearsal headquarters for traveling stock companies, but only one company actually used the facilities.

In 1916, Mrs. Leona Thomason Davis purchased the building from J. P. Winn. She renovated it and started a silent motion picture theatre. Mrs. Davis operated the theatre until 1934, making a change-over in equipment when talking pictures came in during the 1920s. After she closed the theatre, the building was used as a warehouse until 1969.

On June 12^th, 1969, the opera house opened its doors once again to the public as headquarters for DeKalb County's Alabama Sesquicentennial events.

In October 1969, Landmarks of DeKalb County, Inc. bought the building for $10,000.

Building Description

The opera house itself is at the center of a row of connected buildings. The lower levels on either side are now being used as stores, while the upper levels are apartments.

The exterior walls of the opera house are brick. The distance from the main floor to the ceiling is 48 feet. The ceiling is of heavy oak construction. It is supported by large metal rods that extend up into the roof construction, also of heavy oak. A sturdy gable roof covers the building. The lobby has a concrete floor, and the main floor is wood laid on 8" x 14" joists. There are two balconies, one above the other, constructed of heavy wood. The large stage is almost five feet above the main floor and measures 32' x 48'. The facade of the building features three vertical pairs of windows in the upper level. The lower level is divided into six equal spaces. The two middle spaces contain double doors and the two spaces on either side are treated with a rough cobblestone effect with a small window in each space. The spaces are separated by vertical supports of ornamental iron. The balance of the front is covered with stucco and broken glass.

The only remnants left intact inside are the two balconies, the box office, and two stairways leading to the second floor in the north and south wings of the building.

All of the opera house facilities were originally on the second floor. It was reached by means of a stairway on either end of the building. The lower portion was used as a hardware store. During the early renovations, the dividing floor was taken out, creating one large room.

The 1889 opera house seated about 300 people on its main floor, 200 in the first balcony, and 100 in the second balcony, which was reserved for its African American patronage. The stage was located at the west end of the auditorium, having a roll-drop curtain about 45 feet wide and 25 feet high with a scene of the Bay of Tosca painted on it. There were three different painted backdrops that were shifted by hand: an inside room, a New York street scene, and a green woodland scene.

There was almost a two-foot slope from the rear of the first floor to the stage, making visibility of the stage very good from any point in the auditorium.

The walls of the boxes on either side of the stage were light blue with gold stars the size of silver dollars scattered over them. The carpets of the box floors were a dark red velvet. There were six chairs in each box of the same type as those in the pit or main auditorium. The chairs were not upholstered, but each had an armrest, and the flexible seats had a hat rest underneath.

The floors were not carpeted; nor were there any carpet runners down the aisles. After the electricity was cut off in the town, in 1894, the building was lighted by oil lamps that hung from the ceiling; small oil lamps with metal plate-shaped shades were substituted for the footlights. The acoustics of the building were said to be unusually good. At the top of the south Stairway was a small ticket office; back of this was the largest dressing room, heated by one small coal grate. Other dressing rooms were down from and back of the stage. Two were for the stars' use and had a star cut through the wooden door.