Orillia Opera House is a historic building in the city of Orillia, Ontario, Canada. It has been listed as a historic property under the Ontario Heritage Act. [1]
The Richardsonian Romanesque building was built in 1895, replacing the first permanent town hall built in 1874, to house Orillia City Council and the local jail. The original structure was designed by Toronto architecture firm Gordon & Helliwell and completed in 1895. [2]
A fire in 1915 destroyed much of the building and was rebuilt (with plans from Burke, Horwood and White) less the south tower when it re-opened in 1917. [2] The rebuilt structure retains Richardsonian Romanesque style. A new front entrance was completed in 1958. The building's interior consisted of Council chambers, a 905-seat auditorium, city hall offices, library, market stalls and jail. [2] Orillia City Council vacated in 1997 and Orillia Opera became the sole tenant in the building.
The 700 seat auditorium served as a movie house from the 1920s to the late 1950s. In October, 1997, it was renamed in honour of local legend Gordon Lightfoot who had performed there since he was a child. [3]
The Orillia Opera House has featured such artists as the Marx Brothers, Glenn Gould, Oscar Peterson, K.D. Lang, Mickey Rooney, Dan Hill, Liona Boyd, Blue Rodeo, Jerry Dee, Ron James, Lighthouse, The Stampeders, David Clayton Thomas, Bruce Cockburn and Gordon Lightfoot. [4]
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. was a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s. He has been referred to as Canada's greatest songwriter and his songs have been recorded by some of the world's most renowned musical artists. Lightfoot's biographer Nicholas Jennings said, "His name is synonymous with timeless songs about trains and shipwrecks, rivers and highways, lovers and loneliness."
Orillia is a city in Ontario, Canada, about 30 km north-east of Barrie in Simcoe County. It is located at the confluence of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Although it is geographically located within Simcoe County, the city is a single-tier municipality. It is part of the Huronia region of Central Ontario. The population in 2021 was 33,411.
Woodstock is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The city has a population of 40,902 according to the 2016 Canadian census. Woodstock is the seat of Oxford County, at the head of the non-navigable Thames River, approximately 128 km from Toronto, and 43 km from London, Ontario. The city is known as the Dairy Capital of Canada and promotes itself as "The Friendly City".
Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Courthouse, designed by Long and Kees in 1888, is the main building used by the city government of Minneapolis, as well as by Hennepin County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The structure has served as mainly local government offices since it was built, and today the building is 60 percent occupied by the city and 40 percent occupied by the County. The building is jointly owned by the city and county and managed by the Municipal Building Commission. The Commission consists of the chair of the County Board, the mayor of the City of Minneapolis, a member of the County Board and a member of the Minneapolis City Council. The County Board chair serves as the president of the Commission and the mayor serves as the vice president. The building bears a striking resemblance to the city hall buildings in Cincinnati and Toronto. The City Hall and Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Mariposa Folk Festival is a Canadian music festival founded in 1961 in Orillia, Ontario. It was held in Orillia for three years before being banned because of disturbances by festival-goers. After being held in various places in Ontario for a few decades, it returned to Orillia in 2000. Ruth Jones, her husband Dr. Crawford Jones, brother David Major and Pete McGarvey organized the first Mariposa Folk Festival in August 1961. The inaugural event, covered by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, featured all Canadian performers. The festival grew in popularity, size and rowdiness until the popularity of the 1963 festival, and the lack of sufficient security, led to a backlash from town locals. The city of Orillia secured a court injunction to prevent the festival from continuing in the town limits. The first festival held in the Toronto area, in 1964, was at Maple Leaf Stadium. The subsequent three festivals were held at Innis Lake in Caledon, northwest of the city. In the 1970s it was held on the Toronto Islands before shifting to Harbourfront (Toronto) and Bathurst Street and later Molson Park in Barrie. In 2000, the Mariposa Folk Festival was invited back to Orillia by city councilors Tim Lauer and Don Evans. The festival continues to be held in Orillia. As well as folk music, the festival highlights other aspects of folk culture including dance, crafts, storytelling.
Heins & LaFarge was a New York-based architectural firm composed of the Philadelphia-born architect George Lewis Heins (1860–1907) and Christopher Grant LaFarge (1862–1938), the eldest son of the artist John La Farge. They were responsible for the original Romanesque-Byzantine east end and crossing of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, and for the original Astor Court buildings of the Bronx Zoo, which formed a complete ensemble reflecting the aesthetic of the City Beautiful movement. Heins & LaFarge provided the architecture and details for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, the first precursor to the New York City Subway.
Richard Alfred Waite was a British-born American architect in the late 19th century.
The Grand Opera House, also known as the Janey Slaughter Briscoe Grand Opera House is a historic theater in Uvalde, Texas. Built in 1891, it became a premier arts venue in Southwest Texas for plays, musicals, and cultural performances. The Opera house is the oldest functioning theater in the state of Texas and presents plays and concerts by local and touring companies. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 1978.
The Hancock Town Hall and Fire Hall is a public building located at 399 Quincy Street in the Quincy Street Historic District in Hancock, Michigan. It is also known as the Hancock City Hall. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1977 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.
Valparaiso has retained an active downtown. It remains a mix of government, retail and business center, with a mixed residential and service area. Numerous economic changes have not changed the basic character, historic courthouse area. The historic district retains the distinctive turn-of-the-19th-century architecture, supporting numerous small specialty shops, shaded sidewalks, and a people friendly environment. The Downtown District, is anchored on the Porter County Courthouse. It includes 14-blocks surrounding the square, bounded on the north by Jefferson Street, on the east by Morgan Street, on the south by Monroe Street, and on the west by Napoleon Street.
The Hartford City Courthouse Square Historic District is located in Hartford City, Indiana. Hartford City has a population of about 7,000 and is the county seat of Blackford County and the site of the county courthouse. The National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior added the Hartford City Courthouse Square Historic District to the National Register of Historic Places on June 21, 2006 — meaning the buildings and objects that contribute to the continuity of the district are worthy of preservation because of their historical and architectural significance. The District has over 60 resources, including over 40 contributing buildings, over 10 non-contributing buildings, 1 contributing object, 8 non-contributing objects, and two other buildings that are listed separately in the National Register.
The Court Street Commercial Historic District is a largely intact part of the old downtown of Richland Center, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 - a 11.2 acres (4.5 ha) historic district which included 51 contributing buildings and 20 non-contributing ones. The buildings are commercial, mostly in Late Victorian styles constructed from 1870 to 1938. Most are brick two-story buildings; a few one-story and three-story brick buildings are interspersed.
The Auditorium and Music Hall is a historic building in Portland, Oregon, in the United States, designed by English architect Frederick Manson White. It was built by Emil C. Jorgensen and was completed in 1895. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
Calgary City Hall, is the seat of government for Calgary City Council, located in the city's downtown core of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The historic building completed in 1911 serves as the offices for Calgary City Council, consisting of the office of the Mayor, fourteen Councillors and municipal Clerk. Calgary City Hall originally housed the municipal council and portions of administration from its completion in 1911 until the construction of the Calgary Municipal Building adjacent to Old City Hall in 1985, which currently houses the offices of 2,000 civic administrators.
Sumter Town Hall-Opera House, also known as the Sumter Academy of Music, is a historic town hall building located at Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina. It was built in 1893, and is a four-story, ashlar brick Richardsonian Romanesque style building. It features a four-faced clock tower that serves as a focal point for the entire area. The building was remodeled internally in 1936, converting the first floor into a movie theater and the second floor opera house into offices.
Orillia City Council is the governing body of the city of Orillia, Ontario.
Charles City College Hall, also known as Old Main, North Hall and Conservatory Hall, is a historic building located on the campus of Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, United States. Business leaders in the community established the University of the Northwest in 1889 to provide educational, cultural and economic growth in the city. Completed in 1890, this is the first building constructed for the college and it housed all of the school's functions. The exterior of the Richardsonian Romanesque structure is composed of quartzite. Local architect Charles P. Brown designed the building and John M. Poorbaugh was the contractor. By 1894 the university became a victim of the Panic of 1893, and the property was taken over by the Methodist Episcopal Church who incorporated Morningside College the same year.
Gibbon Village Hall is a former municipal hall in Gibbon, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 1895 with medieval-themed Romanesque Revival architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for its local significance in the theme of architecture. Gibbon Village Hall was nominated for being a well-preserved example of an unusual variation on Romanesque Revival style.
Appleton City Hall is a historic municipal building in Appleton, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 1895 as one of the few monumental 19th-century buildings in rural western Minnesota. It initially housed Appleton's government offices, fire department, and jail on the ground floor and an auditorium on the upper floor. The city hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 for having local significance in the themes of architecture and politics/government. It was nominated for supposedly being an example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture and for its long service as a local government and community center. However other sources describe the building's style less specifically as Romanesque Revival, and its municipal services relocated to other facilities in 1976.