Back to top

Opera House Block, Crookston

Creator: 
  • Cite
  • Share
  • Correct
  • Print
Black and white photograph of the façade of the Opera House Block on South Main Street as it looked in 1910.

The façade of the Opera House Block on South Main Street as it looked in 1910.

Although the Opera House Block was short-lived as a theater due to its hazardous second-floor auditorium, it was the center of entertainment in Crookston for more than fifteen years and hosted a historic 1895 lecture by American humorist Mark Twain. The Opera House Block burned down due to undetermined causes in 1987.

In 1884, Crookston was quickly expanding. It had been incorporated as a town just five years earlier, but residents had already built their first opera house. The Crookston Dramatic Company’s performance of The Streets of New York was the inaugural act when the opera house opened in June. The town buzzed with excitement about the new access to culture and entertainment. But questions about the quality of the space and its management soon filled the newspapers, and the opera house was sold shortly thereafter.

In 1890, the town decided that a new opera house was needed and Thomas H. Bjoin stepped up to make it happen. Bjoin was a former alderman who worked in the livery and machinery business. He decided to erect a building the size of a full block on South Main Street.

Designed by J. W. Ross of Grand Forks, North Dakota, the Opera House Block was made of solid brick with brown stone trimmings. Interior frescos and papier-mâché decorations surrounded the boxes, stage, and balcony. Hand-painted sets included a street, garden, horizon, chambers, and prison. The auditorium held 785 patrons between the floor, dress circle, balcony, and boxes. The unique design placed the 56-by-100-foot auditorium on the second floor of the building, allowing room for ground level retail space. Over the years, businesses included a restaurant, furniture store, grocery store, shooting gallery, and saloon.

On April 13, 1891, the “city’s magnificent thespian temple” opened with a performance of Faust by the Hess Grand Opera Company. Ticket prices ranged from one to five dollars. Crookston’s mayor dedicated the new space and praised Bjoin for bringing such a high level of art and culture to Crookston.

The opera house was a popular attraction, hosting touring concerts and plays from around the country. Its shining moment was in 1895, when a large audience turned up to hear the humorist Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. Twain was on a tour of the country by train and stopped in Crookston on July 29. He spoke to a large crowd for an hour and a half, sharing stories from his many published works.

Management changed hands multiple times, with promises of renovations and improved acts at each turnover. By 1903, only twelve years after the block’s opening, discussions about building a better facility were already in the news. In 1904, city officials inspected the opera house and noted concerns with the wiring and fire escapes, particularly due to the auditorium’s unusual spot on the second floor. The fire chief called it “one of the biggest fire traps in the city.”

In the fall of 1907, the curtains closed on the opera house for good. The city discovered that it did not comply with fire laws and the cost to appropriately renovate was beyond the owner’s ability.

The city didn’t go long without a proper opera house, however, as the community rallied together around the “imperative” project of a new venue. On November 8, 1910, that new opera house became a reality. It still stands in 2017 and operates as the Grand Theatre.

Over the years, the Opera House Block remained a large presence on Main Street and housed stores, offices, and apartments. But on the night of March 11, 1987, the ninety-seven-year-old building went down in “a spectacular blaze.” Firefighters from three cities fought the large fire, which could be seen from ten miles away. No one was injured, but the building was destroyed and many people lost their homes. One of Crookston’s iconic buildings, which received a designation on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, was suddenly just an ice-covered façade.

The final report stated that the fire started in the boiler room, and tests showed that there were no unusual substances present at the time. But the cause of the fire was still undetermined and classified as “suspicious,” leaving residents with plenty of questions about the fate of the historic Opera House Block.

  • Cite
  • Share
  • Correct
  • Print
© Minnesota Historical Society
  • Bibliography
  • Related Resources

“A Crowd Heard America’s Prince of Humorists and Entertains [sic] Last Night.” Crookston Weekly Times, August 3, 1895.

“Biggest Property Transfer of Year Today—Opera House Sold.” Crookston Weekly Times, June 8, 1907.

“Crookston Dramatic Company…” Polk County Weekly Journal, May 29, 1884.

“For the Journal.” Crookston Weekly Times, May 12, 1888.

“Home of the Muses.” Crookston Weekly Times, April 18, 1891.

“Is Crookston Opera House Dangerous.” Crookston Weekly Times, January 9, 1904.

McCulla, Dorothy, and Cathy Wright, eds. Footprints of Yesterday. Crookston, MN: The author, 1979.
http://umclibrary.crk.umn.edu/digitalprojects/footprints/footprints_of_yesterday.pdf

“New Opera House Needed.” Crookston Weekly Times, January 17, 1903.

“The Opening of the Grand Opera House...” Polk County Weekly Journal, June 5, 1884.

“Opera Block Burns.” Crookston Daily Times, March 12, 1987.

“Opera Block Investigation Closes.” Crookston Daily Times, April 22, 1987.

“Opera House Closes.” Crookston Weekly Times, November 23, 1907.

“Opera House Sold.” Crookston Weekly Times, October 6, 1888.

Pond, Major J. B. Eccentricities of Genius. New York: G. W. Dillingham, 1900.
https://archive.org/stream/eccentricitiesof00pondiala

“They Inspected the Opera House.” Crookston Weekly Times, January 16, 1904.

“What Crookston Men Say of Opera House.” Crookston Weekly Times, January 9, 1904.

“Wires Were Good When Installed.” Crookston Weekly Times, January 9, 1904.

Related Images

Black and white photograph of the façade of the Opera House Block on South Main Street as it looked in 1910.
Black and white photograph of the façade of the Opera House Block on South Main Street as it looked in 1910.
An advertisement in the Crookston Weekly Times for a performance by Norwegian violinist Haldor Hanson on May 13, 1891.
An advertisement in the Crookston Weekly Times for a performance by Norwegian violinist Haldor Hanson on May 13, 1891.
Black and white photograph of Mark Twain on railroad in Crookston, 1895.
Black and white photograph of Mark Twain on railroad in Crookston, 1895.
An advertisement in the Crookston Weekly Times for the opening night performance at the Opera House Block on April 13–15, 1891, featuring the Hess Opera Company.
An advertisement in the Crookston Weekly Times for the opening night performance at the Opera House Block on April 13–15, 1891, featuring the Hess Opera Company.
Black and white photograph of Director Arthur Wasshausen leading the Citizens Band in Crookston's opera house in 1907.
Black and white photograph of Director Arthur Wasshausen leading the Citizens Band in Crookston's opera house in 1907.
Black and white photograph of a fire truck outside the Opera House Block on South Main Street after the 1987 fire.
Black and white photograph of a fire truck outside the Opera House Block on South Main Street after the 1987 fire.
Black and white photograph of firefighters battling the flames in the Opera House Block in 1987.
Black and white photograph of firefighters battling the flames in the Opera House Block in 1987.
Flames from the 1987 Opera House Block fire light up the night and smoke is seen up to ten miles away.
Flames from the 1987 Opera House Block fire light up the night and smoke is seen up to ten miles away.

Turning Point

In 1895, patrons from around the region fill the opera house for a performance by American humorist Mark Twain. Twain spends the night of July 29, 1895, in Crookston as part of his tour of the country by train.

Chronology

1884

The first Crookston opera house opens, just five years after the town is incorporated.

1888

The opera house struggles with complaints about the quality of the space and the management, and the building is sold.

1890

Thomas H. Bjoin begins work on the second opera house in Crookston, a full block that includes office space and a second-floor auditorium.

1891

The Opera House Block opens to a large crowd with a performance of Faust by the Hess Grand Opera Company.

1895

Mark Twain gives a lecture at the opera house and stays overnight in Crookston during a stop on his cross-country tour.

1904

Questions start to arise about the safety of the opera house and its potential fire risks, but performances continue.

1907

The city determines that the opera house does not meet fire safety laws and renovations are too costly for the owners. The auditorium portion of the opera house closes after only sixteen years in operation while businesses and offices remain in the block.

1910

A new opera house opens to fill the void left by the closed Opera House Block.

1987

A large fire starts in the boiler room of the Opera House Block and destroys the building, which is occupied by apartments and businesses. The remaining structure is demolished and the cause of the fire is undetermined.

2017

The 1910 opera house structure remains open to the public as a movie theater.