296 - Opera House

The pride of Petersburg, North Dakota was the Opera House, this one with a compelling beginning. The building, originally a schoolhouse, was built in 1896. By 1904, the number of students had filled the building, making it too small to continue to operate as it was. A brick schoolhouse was erected to accommodate the growing enrollment. While the old building was used as a town hall for a few years, it wasn’t very satisfactory for plays. In 1907, remodeling of the old schoolhouse began in order to transform it into a marvelous opera house.

The grand opening of the Petersburg Opera House was a gala affair with entertainment provided by the Burt Imson Company of Twelve Actors. They performed every day for a week, each performance followed by a lively dance. The Petersburg Opera House had a generator to provide power for silent movies and would hold band concerts, plays, and school programs. In 1919, the Opera House proudly held a splendid victory banquet so the community could honor the boys basketball team who brought home the State Championship title. Annual mid-winter fairs occurred in the Opera House with homemaker exhibits and lectures offered to the community.

The Opera House, sadly, would not last as it was replaced by the community hall in 1934. However, wood was salvaged from the Opera House and used in the construction of the new community hall which was celebrated with a grand opening in February of 1935 that attracted more than 1100 people for dinner and dancing. The auditorium hosted all the school basketball games, plays, and programs until the gym was built. For many years, movies were shown on Saturday night when farmers came to town. Laughter echoed in the building when the stage was used for comical community plays and was also the site of many local auctions and talent shows. Whatever the reason, the Petersburg Opera House and Community Hall has a long-standing tradition of serving as a gathering place for the community.