Memorial Opera House

[[Image:Memorial opera house front.jpg|thumb|The Memorial Opera House]]Built in 1893 by the local chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic, this 364-seat auditorium was built as a living memorial to the [[American Civil War]] veterans of [[Porter County]], [[Indiana]]. The building, designed by architect Charles Lembke, is located on the courthouse square in downtown [[Valparaiso, Indiana]], and is owned and operated by Porter County. Throughout the years, The Opera House has been a venue for theatrical events, including both musical and drama. It has also been used for concerts, public meetings, weddings, funerals, presentations, school plays and graduations. In addition, many nationally recognized personalities have been part of events at The Memorial Opera House. [[John Philip Sousa]] led four concerts at the Opera House, the first being in February, 1898. During vaudeville, the [[Marx Brothers]] performed there for two days in January 1919. Valparaiso native [[Beulah Bondi]] got her start in theatre on the stage of the Memorial Opera House in a production of [[Little Lord Fauntleroy]]. [[File:ValparaisoIndiana-MemorialOperaHouse-1918-SS.jpg|thumb|left|Opera House in 1918]]The most recent renovation of the building began in 1993 and was completed in the spring of 1998. ==External links== *http://www.memorialoperahouse.com/ The Memorial Opera House website *http://www.porterco.org/ Porter County, Indiana {{Opera-struct-stub}} {{coord missing|Indiana}}