Porter County Memorial Hall
About this property
The Porter County Memorial Hall, also known as Memorial Opera House, is an historic Grand Army of the Republic memorial hall located in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It was the meeting place of Chaplain Brown GAR Post No. 106, one of 592 GAR posts in Indiana. Designed in 1892 by a local architect, Charles F. Lembke, using Romanesque styling, it was built in 1892–3 to seat 100 people. It was also used as the local opera house. Local legend says that Wm Jennings Bryan spoke at the hall during the 1896 presidential campaign. Others who have been to the hall include Theodore Roosevelt, John Philip Sousa, and the Marx Brothers. Decline began with the advent of the movies, for which it was converted. By the time of World War II it was an abandoned building. Beginning in 1955, the Community Theatre Guild leased the property and began maintaining it once again for theater productions, continuing to do so under a lease agreement with Porter County until the county again took full possession in the late 1990s to facilitate structural renovation and restoration. The Board of Commissioners for Porter County, who manage and maintain the structure, restored the hall in 1998, and established a new community theatre troupe and public management for touring productions, allowing the building to continue to be used as a theatrical and assembly facility as originally intended. The Memorial Opera House is located at 104 Indiana Avenue just east of the historic Porter County Jail and Sheriff's House. At the time of construction, Indiana Avenue was called Mechanics Street. The Opera House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It was restored in 1998.Today, the Memorial Theatre Company produces six theatrical performances each year and host community concerts and other events. p
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Porter County Memorial Hall listed on the National Register?
Porter County Memorial Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 1984.
What type of historic resource is Porter County Memorial Hall?
Porter County Memorial Hall is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Porter County Memorial Hall?
The period of significance for Porter County Memorial Hall is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Porter County Memorial Hall?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Porter County Memorial Hall will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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Historic places, battles, and census history across Porter County.
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