Colorado Opera House

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's what happened in Colorado City, Mitchell County. Back in 1899, a group calling themselves the Colorado Opera House Company set to work on something the town hadn't quite seen before. Well, it had seen something like it, but this was the second opera house in the city, and when it opened in 1900, West Texas took notice.

This wasn't just a building. This was the cultural center of West Texas. Let that land for a second.

Not just the county. Not just Mitchell County. West Texas.

Light opera rolled through those doors. Vaudeville acts came and went, probably leaving the crowd either cheering or scratching their heads, depending on the act. Then came 1911, and with it the silent movies, flickering up on that stage where singers had once held the room.

School programs found a home there too, which means generations of children probably stood on that same stage, terrified and proud in equal measure. Now, every good story has a turn, and here it comes. In 1925, the opera house was converted to a boarding house.

The curtain, so to speak, came down. Decades passed. The building that had been the cultural heart of West Texas became a place where travelers laid their heads.

And then, 1971. It returned to its original use. After all those years as a boarding house, the Colorado Opera House came back.

The Colorado Opera House Company built it to last, and apparently, it did.

What the marker says

Built by Colorado Opera House Company, 1899-1900; second opera house in city, then cultural center of West Texas. Staged light opera, vaudeville, silent movies (after 1911); also hosted school programs. Converted to boarding house in 1925, it returned to original use in 1971. (1972)