mission

Baltimore

 

Current Name of Theater: The Victoria Opera House
Current Use:
Historic Names of Theater:
Seats: 1000? (source Rand-McNally Official Railway Guide and Handbook)
Website: https://savethevictoria.org/community-theater/
Address: 101 South Main Street, Baltimore, Ohio 43105
West Market and South Main Streets
Baltimore, OH 43105
Fairfield County
Contact: Baltimore Downtown Restoration Committee
107 S. Main Street, Baltimore, Ohio 43105
Year Built: 1905
Original Architect: records have been lost for the architect but the frescoes on the second and third floor were painted by George Siegfried
Original Cost: Bonds totalling $6,000 were raised initially. Subsequent bonds were also raised.
Listed on National Register: no
 
History of Theater
The Town Hall in Baltimore is over 100 years old, and houses a second-floor theater, third-floor community and meeting rooms, and first-floor village offices. Although the theater and community hall spaces have been vacant for a number of years, a community effort is underway to restore the facilities and offer comprehensive arts programs for the area, and ample space for community events and meetings.
Before the closing of the second and third floors of the building for restoration, the building was home to a variety of business ventures, ranging from a chicken feather cleaning operation to an opera company, to a movie theater. The second floor, a theater with a balcony, offered opears, theatrical presentations and movies. The third floor as owned by the Baltimore Lodge and used as a meeting hall until the Village of Baltimore purchased it in 1992, so preservation could begin. In later years, the Millersport Community Theater previewed its plays here, open houses were held during the Baltimore Festival and ‘Trick or Treat Theater’ brought close to 1,000 into the facility.
Cost of Rehabilitation:
 
Year of Restoration: 1992
 
Cost of restoration and breakdown:
Source of Funds: Government Grant, Local Community, others?
The restoration project received a $50,000 capital appropriation in Am. Sub. H.B. 562 of the 127th General Assembly.
 
Architect: –
 
Contractors: –
 
Renovation Story
The Victoria Opera House, as it was known in 1905, is the last opera house in Fairfield County. The Baltimore Downtown Restoration Committee is an independent non-profit 501c3 organization committed to restoring the Victoria Opera House to her former glory for all of Fairfield County and her visitors from far & wide to enjoy.
Lancaster City Hall will be donating the original organ from the Palace Theater in Lancaster to the Victoria Opera House. It is a fitting home for a beautiful piece of Fairfield County History.

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