NEWS

Opera house became boost for Fremont

Roy Wilhelm

The demolition of the Fremont Opera House, which this column discussed last week, could be said to be something more than the bringing down of a historic building.

The Victorian-era building that many remember elegantly standing on the northwestern corner of State and Arch streets played an important role in the history of the city’s cultural life.

Built in 1890, the opera house opened on Jan. 15, 1891, with Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera “The Gondoliers.”

At the time, the structure was said to be the finest building of its kind between Toledo and Cleveland.

The Fremont Daily News on the day after the opening exclaimed: “Of course there were many exclamations of delight and astonishment, people being surprised that we had such a magnificent opera house.”

For decades, the theater presented operas, minstrel shows, dramas, comedies and variety shows, attracting famous performers to the local stage. Among those were the John Philip Sousa Band and Houdini the magician.

Those famous performers helped to attract audiences from out of the city, coming to Fremont, sometimes by the hundreds, by railroad.

The opera house eventually offered silent and then talking movies and the building actually became the Fremont Theater in the 1920s, under the management of Carl F. Miller. In the late 1930s, the Paramount Theater Corp. bought the building, but it remained pretty much idle for years, eventually being sold to attorney Thomas Stahl and then being demolished.

While the opera house was a visible reminder of theater history in Fremont, it came only after years of local theater efforts.

The theatrical history of the community dates back at least to 1819, when Thomas Hawkins apparently earned the title of “father of local theater” by putting together a production of “She Stoops to Conquer.”

He was the producer and actor, among other roles, as local young men performed in the Lower Sandusky Theater. Meek’s “History of Sandusky County” says “Thos. L. Hawkins converted the upper story” of the corner tavern known as the Ohio Mansion House, which later became Kessler’s and then the Wheeling station, “into a theater.” That would be the northeastern corner of State and Front Streets.

Hawkins continued to produce and promote plays for years, attracting professional performers stopping off in the community between performances in places such as New York and Chicago.

Hawkins’ tradition was continued by Frank Heim whose opera house was on the third floor of a building at 311 W. State St. Heim then was involved in the opening of the new opera house.

Next week: Hawkins, the father of local theater and more.

Roy Wilhelm started a 40-year career at The News-Messenger in 1965 as a reporter. Now retired, he writes a weekly column for The News-Messenger.