Type: Exhibition case

Name: Old Masonic Opera House

Detail: By the mid-1870s, New Brunswick boasted popular concerts by local artists―both professional and amateur―as well as the best shows on the road, all thanks to its new luxurious opera house. First known as Masonic Hall, and later as Allen’s Theatre, the Opera House was originally built by the Masonic lodges of the city. The “most imposing building” in the downtown, the Opera House was centrally located in such a way that it “gave the City the appearance of being a much larger place than it really was” at the time. A four-story building with offices and businesses housed on the ground floor, the Opera House had two entrances to its theater, one in the center of the building facing George Street, and one on the midway side of the building on Albany Street. Its auditorium was lit by a prismatic chandelier of 134 gas jets; its orchestra, balcony, gallery, and four boxes seated around 1,200 spectators. Until the Opera House burned down on the night of December 21, 1896, New Brunswick claimed the honor of having the best theater in the state.

Type: Exhibition caption

Detail: The Opera House enormously increased the availability of professional music in the small city on the Raritan. Only a year after the Opera House opened its doors, residents could quench their appetite for classical works by attending a concert by the renowned Theodore Thomas Orchestra, whose leader became the music director of the Chicago Symphony.