OPERA HOUSES IN WINFIELD

E. C. Manning built a brick opera house at a cost of $10,000.

The following is from the Winfield Courier newspaper

"MANNING'S OPERA HOUSE"

"opening night"

"This magnificent building is nearly completed and the citizens of Winfield and vicinity propose to make up a social party and give the hall an opening benefit on

MONDAY EVENING. DEC 16, 1878

"The proceeds will go to seat and light the hall.

"This is a praiseworthy effort on the part of our citizens to place the hall in an excellent condition to hold lectures and other social and literary performances therein. Col. Manning has expended some twelve thousand dollars on the building. How much this enterprise has involved him in debt we do not know, but we may well believe that he has exhausted himself both financially and physically in the contruction of this building. No one believes that the hall is ever going to pay five per cent on its cost, but it is a grand thing for our city and the citizens can well afford to raise the means to provide seats and chandeliers which will cost about $500.

"This hall is probably the largest and finest in the State. The whole room is 50 by 100 feet, with ceiling 20 feet high. The stage is 20 by 50 feet and has two dressing rooms beneath. The auditoriam is 80 by 100 feet and will seat more than 800 auditors. It is finished in the best of style and is convenient of ingress and particularly of egress, for the wide doors open outward making it impossible to block up the outlet in case of a panic.

"Let every citizen turn out and make the social a success. No dancing will be permitted until after 10 o'clock."

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The grand Opera House, located at 819 Main Street in Winfield at the time of its completion in 1878 was the Largest edifice at that time. E.C. Manning spent two years in building this edifice from locally produced bricks.

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The following is taken from the book "Bluestem Country" by Pauline Kennedy Jones and was published in 1985.

"Grand Opera House Holds Big Opening.

"Opening of the Grand Opera house, the present Regent theater, was a gala event of early in 1888.

"The Courier said: 'The magnificent Grand Opera house was formally opened last night (Tuesday, January 31, 1888) by the Conreid English Opera company, which presented - Gypsy Baron -, a romantic opera in three acts, in a most charming and interesting manner. The audience was large, being composed of the elite of this and surrounding cities, Arkansas City especially doing her part nobly towards making the opening a grand success.'

"The Winfield Opera House company was chartered April 16, 1887, and was organized on April 21 of the same year with W. C. Robinson, G. S. Manser, J. H. Bullen, H. E. Asp, J. W. Curns, W. R. McDonald, and E. M. Reynolds as directors. The Cash capital stock of the corporation was $30,000. The plans called for an outlay of about $60,000 for the building."

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SEPTEMBER 9, 1880.

It has ever been the pride of the press and citizens of Winfield to point to our magnificent opera house, our fine church buildings, residences, and business houses; also, our new hotel and school houses, now in course of construction, with a great deal of satisfaction.

But now comes Col. Manning with his usual energy and enterprise, and proposes to expend over fifteen hundred dollars for the improvement and finish of his opera house.

Mr. Barclay is now engaged putting in gas, the pipes and jets being nearly all completed. Two large twelve-light chandeliers will light up the audience room, with the assistance of side burners and foot lights. The stage and dressing rooms are also furnished with sufficient light.

This morning Messrs. Tschudi & Blomberg, fresco painters and scenic artists, of Cincinnati, Ohio, commenced the frescoing and painting of the entire opera house, and the re-painting of all old scenery, with the addition of quite a number of new scenes.

It was these gentlemen who did the work on the opera house at Wichita and many of our citizens know the quality and style of their work; hence we can safely say our opera house will be well done. Long live the Colonel and may his public enterprise never grow dim.

Oct. 14, 1880 - Courier - Winfield now has the finest Opera House in Southern Kansas. The cost of fresco work, gas, and new scenery has been upwards of a thousand dollars and will swallow up most of the proceeds of the Hall for a year to come. The scenery is elaborate and of the finest workmanship.

The main hall is lighted by two large chandaliers, of 12 lights each. Over the stage are two rows of gas jets, with reflectors for throwing lights down upon the stage. The dressing rooms under the stage are also lighted by gas, which with the foot lights, makes forty jets in lighting the Hall. Mr. Manning is entitled to much credit for giving us this elegant Opera house, and we hope the investment may prove a good one for him, as it undoubtedly is for the city.

November 17, 1881 - Courant - The old log store has been reduced to ashes, and some of the boys who used to gather there evenings to play "California Jack" and speculate on the future price of corner lots in Winfield, now take their wives and children to the theater in the fine Opera House that has arisen on the site of the old store.

A stranger looking at a town for the first time said to a citizen: "What are your facilities for extinguishing a fire in this place?" The reply was, "Well, it rains occasionally." We were forcibly reminded of the above reply at the Opera House last night. Several hundred people were packed together in a room with comparatively low ceilings, a large number of gas jets were burning, and the sole means of ventilation was, that an inside hall door was opened occasionally. There was not a window up or down, the ventilator in the ceiling was closed, and the audience compelled to sit and breathe and re-breathe the foul air. The builder of the hall having provided no proper system of ventilation, should provide a manager or janitor to look after he comfort of the audiences, and by raising windows and using what other means were at hand endeavor to keep people from being asphyxiated by foul air.

Winfield Courier, February 21, 1884. A New Opera House.

Several of our enterprising citizens are getting matters in shape to build a magnificent opera house on the lots opposite the Brettun. The house is to cost from ten to twelve thousand dollars and will be built by placing twenty-five shares of $500.00 each. Most of these shares are already spoken for. A responsible party agrees to guarantee ten percent on the investment for the first year. This is an important enterprise and wilol be an excellent improvement for the city.

Winfield Courier, February 21, 1884. A New Opera House.

Several of our enterprising citizens are getting matters in shape to build a magnificent opera house on the lots opposite the Brettun. The house is to cost from ten to twelve thousand dollars and will be built by placing twenty-five shares of $500.00 each. Most of these shares are already spoken for. A responsible party agrees to guarantee ten percent on the investment for the first year. This is an important enterprise and wilol be an excellent improvement for the city.