The holy grail of downtown Howell — the historic Howell Opera House — is $2 million closer to opening its upper levels thanks to the recent appropriation it received from the State of Michigan’s general fund.
That $2 million boost is “huge,” according to Ron Long, chair of the Livingston Arts Council, which owns the Howell Opera House, and it comes with the possibility that the upper floors could be open for entertainment in 18 months.
“The builder threw out a bunch of contingencies,” Long said. He put the renovation costs to get the upper floors open anywhere from about $5 million if all goes well, to up to $8.5 million if there are unanticipated problems.
In addition to soliciting donations, the arts council is pursuing other funding avenues, including support from foundations, as well as through the Michigan Economic Development Corp. The LAC has also applied for Federal Historic Tax Rehabilitation Credits, in which tax credits totaling up to 20% of the project’s cost are sold to people needing write-offs; if the renovation costs end up at around $8 million, the Opera House could nab $1.6 million.
Long said the arts council has “a lot of irons in the fire” and “a lot of initiatives going on,” as far as fundraising.
“We are working to get large money support in first,” Long said. “Then we’ll go out for a more general campaign, but we need to get a couple more big chunks in place.”
As designed, there will be two elevators in the opera house: one in the front for patrons, and one near the back for performers and cargo.
“We want to surround it with all the modern amenities that you would want with entertainment or cultural events,” Long said.
A colorful backstory
The history of the Howell Opera House spans 142 years and three centuries. That the opera house stands at all is remarkable; that its upper levels were, in essence, frozen in time and place is historic providence, especially when you consider that the vast majority of opera houses no longer exist.
Howell’s opera house is one of only 7 of about 48 such facilities built throughout Michigan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that still stands, and it’s the only opera house in Michigan — and one of only two or three in the entire Midwest — with its original horseshoe balcony still intact.
For that, we can thank the Howell fire marshal, who closed the upper levels of the opera house in 1924. Most of its counterparts burned down because they used gas lighting.
The site is listed as historic by The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office, and it is listed on The National Historic Register as part of the Howell Downtown Historic District.
The site on which the opera house sits — 123 W. Grand River Ave. — is where the first building in Livingston Centre — the Eagle Tavern — was built in 1835. After the tavern burned down in 1857, the land remained vacant until after Livingston Centre became the City of Howell.
Groundbreaking on the Howell Opera House took place in the early spring of 1881, and the Howell Opera House’s first performance, Bentley Campbell’s “Galley Slave,” was presented on Dec. 30, 1881, as a benefit, followed a few night later by “My Geraldine.”
The new opera house boasted a curtain painted by the same artist who painted the one at the Detroit Opera House. There were two dressing rooms located beneath the stage, and a curtain that featured advertisements by local merchants was dropped between acts.
Patrons entered through a set of double doors on Grand River Avenue. The entrance has since been removed so that the storefront could extend the length of the building. A stairway took patrons to the second floor, where the lobby and ticket office were located. Main floor seating was on that level, and the stairway continued upward to the gallery section, which made a perfect horseshoe around three sides of the auditorium.
The flat first floor of the opera house made it useful in other areas, such as high school graduations. It was even the home of the Livingston County Circuit Court while the historic courthouse was being built in 1889-1890.
Brothers E. D. And Orin Stair came to Howell in 1884 and bought the Livingston Republican newspaper. By the fall of 1885, E.D. Stair was involved in the management of the Opera House, which had been sold to a Mrs. Campau of Detroit. After she purchased the theater, the Stair brothers took over complete management.
The opera house was sold to Arthur Garland in 1889, and he used a portion of the main floor for his tailoring business.
After the sale of the theater, the Stair brothers sold the Livingston Republican newspaper to George Barnes, the superintendent of Howell Schools. The Stair brothers moved to Detroit and purchased the Detroit Free Press and another theater.
Charles Sutton purchased the building from Garland in 1935, and it was sold to Clayton Shaw in 1976. Shaw sold the building in 1991 to Gill Roy’s Complete Hardware Store, which had occupied the lower level since 1988.
The Livingston Arts Council formed in 1989, and in 2000 bought the building from Gill Roys for $450,000. Historic theater expert Ed Francis, who was involved in the renovation of Orchestra Hall, the Fox Theatre, and Masonic Temple in Detroit, as well as the Livingston County Courthouse in Howell, consulted on the building. He claimed the opera house should be placed on an “endangered species” list because most other theaters of its era had burned down, frequently because of gas lighting. At that time, Francis estimated it would take $5 million to bring the opera house up to code and renovate it.
Since then, the Livingston Arts Council completed a renovation of the first floor.
On Sunday, May 27, 2007, I wrote this is my weekly column in The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus:
It was nothing but smiles all around at last week’s celebration of the opening of the first-floor renovation of the Opera House in downtown Howell.
I was among the lucky folks invited to the party at which the guest of honor was the historical building that is enjoying a second chance at life because of the faith, dedication and vision of the Livingston Arts Council.
The renovation, described by someone as “straightforward,” is magnificent in its simplicity. The first floor is beautiful; it’s wood floors shine and the foyer in the front of the building keeps weather and traffic sounds at bay.
The exposed brick walls, lovely columns, high ceiling and new lighting combine to give the building an elegantly stripped-down look. The space is wide open, so it can be used for just about anything, from art exhibits and parties to meetings and weddings.
Folks in Howell are, understandably, excited.
“This is really going to put Howell on the map,” said one person.
“Wait and see what businesses and restaurants come to Howell now that this (the Opera House) is here,” said another.
I don’t know if either person will turn out to be right, but I have a feeling the project will serve the community well, and the Opera House will become a well-loved and much-used facility.
I can’t wait to read what I write after the renovation of the upper floors is complete.
Howell Opera House factoids
• In December 1880, the Livingston Republican newspaper previewed the coming of the opera house:
“The entire building will be constructed of brick and cut stone. It will be located on Gd. River Street opposite S. Andrews’ agricultural store: dimensions, 46 feet front and 100 feet deep and walls 46 feet high, final height 56 feet; will have a seating capacity for 1,000 people, parquet being seated with chairs, and the gallery with regular seats; two full stores fronting on Fr. River Street and one on Walnut Street; the hall will be provided with large entrances, both in front and rear; the state is 26 feet by 22 feet to ceiling, elevated four feet above the main floor; scenery will correspond with other features of the building.
“The whole building will be heated with a furnace and lighted with gas. Estimated cost when finished is $11,000. The drawings and plans were executed by A.C. Varney, a Detroit architect, and are simply magnificent. Hunter and Holmes are the proprietors and builders.”
• The cost to build the Opera House in 1881 was $11,000.
• The Howell Opera House was featured in a travelogue in 2020. Click here for more.
• The Howell Opera House got its name not because opera was performed there, because it wasn’t, but because the name sounded sophisticated.
• Some of the notable people who appeared at the Howell Opera House in its heyday included presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan and industrialist Henry Ford.
• Actor Jeff Daniels visited the opera house in 2006 and played a couple songs on its historic stage with Cohoctah Township resident Neil Woodward, aka Michigan’s troubadour.
• Some early opera house productions included Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Mikado,” Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
• The opera house established Howell as a regional fun capitol.
Want to get involved?
To become a member of the Livingston Arts Council, click here.
