Schick Opera House

Duane's take

The official marker's the word on this one, and here's how I tell it. Out on the Texas plains, where the wind can be the only entertainment for miles, one man decided that simply wasn't good enough. Businessman Levi Schick, born in 1855, looked at this building and saw something more than four walls.

On October 11, 1909, he launched the Schick Opera House, and he did not ease into it quietly. The very first night, a traveling opera company took the stage and opened the whole affair with a performance called Little Dollie Dimples. Now that's a curtain-raiser.

The plains had themselves a cultural landmark, and everybody knew it. Vaudeville acts came through. Musical programs filled those walls.

Plays brought the drama. And when the locals had something worth celebrating, say a graduation ceremony, the Schick Opera House is where they gathered. The auditorium seated about nine hundred persons, and it earned a reputation for something you can't just nail together with lumber and ambition.

Fine acoustics. The room sang. For roughly a decade, the Schick Opera House stood as this area's cultural center, the beating heart of community life on the High Plains.

Levi Schick lived until 1936, long enough to watch what came next. Because around 1920, something new rolled into town, something flickering and silent and impossibly captivating. Motion pictures.

The competition was more than the opera house could weather, and its long run as the region's gathering place came to a close. Nine hundred seats, legendary acoustics, Little Dollie Dimples on opening night. Some rooms are built for sound, and some stories deserve to be heard.

What the marker says

Businessman Levi Schick (1855-1936) launched the Schick Opera House in this building on Oct. 11, 1909. A traveling opera company opened the facility with a performance of "Little Dollie Dimples". Later attractions included vaudeville acts, musical programs, and plays. The opera house also served as a showcase for local talent and a site of public gatherings, such as graduation ceremonies. Known for its fine acoustics, the auditorium seated about 900 persons. Schick Opera House remained this area's cultural center until about 1920, when competition from motion pictures caused its decline. 1977