Historic Opera House

The Junction City Opera House and City Offices/Fire Station opened in January, 1882, in a stately red brick structure featuring a tall pointed tower with a four-faced clock. In January 1898, almost 16 years after the day it opened its doors, the Opera House was ravaged by a disastrous fire. The south portion (opera house) was rebuilt the same year using native limestone from quarries near Fort Riley. The front (city building) portion was restructured with a similar facade but a slightly different tower.

The opera house included a balcony, dress circle and parquet with frescoed and painted walls and six private boxes decorated with draperies, carpets and cane chairs. In 1915, silent movies joined theater presentations in the opera house, and in 1919, the opera house was converted solely to movie presentations under private management as the City Theater.

In 1937, the city offices moved to the new municipal building and this building was gutted and remodeled into a “modern movie theater,” later painted white and called the Colonial Theater. This theater closed in 1982.

The Junction City Opera House Foundation is currently restoring the building to serve as a community and performing arts center.