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A Grand History
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GRAND RE-OPENING: The Opera House proudly reopened its doors in July 1997 with a performance by the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. Today it serves the 2,500 residents of Vergennes and a population of over 20,000 people from the surrounding area. It is once again a vibrant, cultural and community performing arts facility presenting a diverse range of high quality, accessible performances and educational programs for children and adults year round. It is indeed unique and the concerted effort to restore it has served as a catalyst for the revitalization of the entire Vergennes community.
The Friends of the Vergennes Opera House are proud of our role in providing that initial “spark” and we delight in the opportunity to continue to play a starring role in a revitalized and reenergized community. |
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THE EARLY YEARS: The Vergennes Opera House is certainly part of a grand tradition of community-based “Opera Houses” that served, historically, as cultural centers and performing arts facilities throughout Vermont.
Built in 1897 by, and for the people of Vergennes, it cost $12,000 and took one year to complete. Adorned with the same beautifully painted main stage curtain you see today, it opened its doors and welcomed many famous people including President Taft and Tiny Tim. It hosted political rallies and debates, weddings, school graduations, town meetings, and scores of musical and theatrical performances. In 1901 the Edison Company brought an amazing invention to the Opera House, the Projecting Kinetoscope and showed three short films by the famous director Edwin S. Porter. That was the first time moving pictures were seen in the Addison County area.
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Since those early days, both the movies and the Vergennes Opera House have undergone a great many changes.
TIME OF NEGLECT: By the early 1970’s the Opera House had fallen into a bad state of disrepair and was closed. It stayed in darkness for 24 years until a group of volunteers decided to raise money to save it. The leader of the restoration effort was Garry Simpson, a tenacious, dedicated, and talented local resident with a strong history and connection to the performing arts. He was relentless in his effort to get the theater reopened and he spent many hours documenting the disrepair of the space while simultaneously recruiting people to join his cause. One such person was Gerianne Smart, who joined the VOH Board in 1994, and continues to be involved today as the organization's Board President. Garry Simpson passed away in 2011, but his tenacity and dedication to the arts and to the Vergennes community continues to live on in the board members who have managed the space with dedication and love. Today the city of Vergennes is a vibrant and bustling little city, largely due to the restoration and revitalization of the Vergennes Opera House. With grit, grace, and gumption, the little city of Vergennes has become a key destination for visitors and locals alike. We have Garry to thank for that.
(photo credit: Vyto Starinskas from an article written about Garry by the late Yvonne Daley for Stanford Magazine)
(photo credit: Vyto Starinskas from an article written about Garry by the late Yvonne Daley for Stanford Magazine)
RESTORATION AND REBIRTH: In 1993, the Friends of the Vergennes Opera House (FVOH) was formed and with a few hearty souls and a great deal of help from the community. They successfully reopened the Vergennes Opera House in 1997, in time for the historic theater's 100th birthday. It was a sold out performance of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra and an unforgettable event. Since then, the FVOH has raised and invested well over $1.7 million into the building. Today, the FVOH is hard at work on the All Access Project, another $1.6 million improvement that will provide respectful, safe, and easy access to city hall on the main level and to the second floor theater space. The project will begin in the spring of 2025 and will be completed by the time the 2025-2026 season opens in October.