The Story
In 1914, Phoebe Apperson Hearst, widow of mining magnate George Hearst, established the Homestake Opera House and Recreation Building on Lead’s Main Street. An ardent philanthropist with a particular interest in the education and well-being of children, Mrs. Hearst wanted to build a facility that would improve the lives of Lead’s hard-rock gold miners and their families.
Thomas Johnston Grier, superintendent of Hearst’s Homestake Mine, conceived the idea of the Homestake Opera House and Recreation Center as a way for Homestake to reward the mining town that had produced so much of the company’s wealth. He enlisted Mrs. Hearst’s support, and in 1911 they began laying plans for the opera house and recreation center. They hired the Chicago architectural firm Shattuck and Hussey to design the complex.
The Homestake Opera House and Recreation Center opened its doors on August 31, 1914. The building offered Lead’s residents a grand auditorium, a bowling alley, an indoor swimming pool, a library, social rooms and a billiard hall. Except for theatre performances, everything was free to the public.
With its broad stairways, high ceilings and elaborate trim work, the Homestake Opera House was an enormous source of pride for the young city. The citizens dubbed the Homestake Opera House “The Jewel of the Black Hills.” The facility took its place as the social, recreational and cultural heart of the Lead-Deadwood area.
During the early years, the Opera House stage hosted touring opera singers, vaudeville acts, stage plays and athletic events. Some 20,000 people per month attended performances in the theater, the Lead Daily Call reported in 1921. About 2,000 people per month swam in the heated swimming pool, and 3,000 per month used the six-lane bowling alley.
“It has been reported by people who know, that this is the finest building of its kind erected by any industrial concern in the United States,” - Lead Daily Call, 1921.
The opera house became a showplace for the modern technology of the times. In 1929, a Wurlitzer pipe organ was installed to accompany moving pictures. In 1930, the Homestake Opera House showed its first talking pictures. In 1935, air conditioning was installed.
Over the years, the Opera House became a familiar friend to the residents of Lead and the northern Black Hills. Local residents remember their first dates, first stage plays, first movies and first swimming lessons at the venerable facility.
The city of Lead flourished in the following decades. The Homestake Mine served as Lead’s economic pillar, and the Homestake Opera House was the city’s cultural pillar.
In 1972, Homestake Mining Co. deeded the Homestake Opera House and Recreation Building over to the City of Lead. In 1976 the Opera House received a bronze plaque designating it a National Historic Landmark of American Music.
Felled by fire
On April 2, 1984, Lead’s worst fears were realized. A fire began in the Wurlitzer pipe organ room early in the afternoon. The flames spread quickly up the walls into the curtains and rigging above the stage. The fire then found its way into the building’s wood-frame attic.
About 70 firefighters from all over the Northern Hills battled the blaze. However, they were unable to stop the flames before serious damage occurred. The roof collapsed, sending timbers and chandeliers onto the floor, which collapsed into the swimming pool below the theater.
The next day, after the fire was out and the smoke had cleared, Lead officials surveyed what was left of their Jewel of the Black Hills. Little remained of the Homestake Opera House but the brick walls. In coming weeks, crews managed to salvage some of the items from the ruins. Two opera house candelabra, mahogany doors, a number of chandeliers and light fixtures, brass rail fittings, the original box seat chairs and remnants of the original 1914 backstage intercom system were placed in safekeeping.
Meanwhile, engineers determined that the fire had not compromised the structural integrity of the brick walls. In addition, much of the recreation building, which adjoins the theater itself, had been saved from the fire. There was hope for a new Homestake Opera House, but the road back from near-destruction would be a long one.
Starting over
On November 13, 1984, seven months after the fire, residents of Lead voiced their support for the complex, voting in near record numbers to authorize the city to clean up, stabilize the walls, replace the roof and once again put the building to use for the benefit of the community.
The goal then, as it is now, was to restore the Opera House to its 1914 grandeur and conduct the restoration in a way that adheres to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Historic Preservation.
Using some of the money from the insurance of the building, the City of Lead replaced the Opera House roof to prevent further damage from rain and snow. But the building remained unused and vacant for a decade. In 1995, it was purchased from the City of Lead and a comprehensive report outlined the existing conditions of the opera house and the costs of restoration.
Since then, restoration was planned, funds were raised and work was completed. The building has been passionately cared for by phases of people, and phases of funding. The restoration has continued in fits and starts. Initially the Society leased the theater from the owners of the adjoining Homestake Recreation Center, which was mostly spared from the fire.
To date, the Society has raised and invested nearly $3 million in the restoration of this magnificent project. Since restoration began, thousands of people have toured the theater and attended performances. Others have used the restored lobbies for class reunions, wedding receptions and graduation receptions.
In 2005, the nonprofit Historic Homestake Opera House Society purchased the Homestake Opera House and Recreation Center from Jerry Aberle. The society availed itself of a loan and a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development agency. First Western Bank of Deadwood and Lead Economic Area Development also facilitated the purchase.
The Homestake Recreation Center, which has been converted into retail space and offices, produces rental income for the Historic Homestake Opera House Society. Year-round performing arts events staged inside the theater also bring in revenue. This money helps pay for programming, operating costs and grant-matching.
In the spring of 2008, the Homestake Opera House was the setting for a community theater performance of “Fiddler On The Roof,” the first community theater production in the 25 years since the fire. The performance was a milestone in the long road back from 1984’s smoking hole in the ground to Phoebe Hearst’s 1914 “Jewel of the Black Hills.” The story continues, and with the sharing of your time and talent, it will be completely restored. Visit the rest of our pages to find out more, and thank you for visiting.
Thomas Johnston Grier, superintendent of Hearst’s Homestake Mine, conceived the idea of the Homestake Opera House and Recreation Center as a way for Homestake to reward the mining town that had produced so much of the company’s wealth. He enlisted Mrs. Hearst’s support, and in 1911 they began laying plans for the opera house and recreation center. They hired the Chicago architectural firm Shattuck and Hussey to design the complex.
The Homestake Opera House and Recreation Center opened its doors on August 31, 1914. The building offered Lead’s residents a grand auditorium, a bowling alley, an indoor swimming pool, a library, social rooms and a billiard hall. Except for theatre performances, everything was free to the public.
With its broad stairways, high ceilings and elaborate trim work, the Homestake Opera House was an enormous source of pride for the young city. The citizens dubbed the Homestake Opera House “The Jewel of the Black Hills.” The facility took its place as the social, recreational and cultural heart of the Lead-Deadwood area.
During the early years, the Opera House stage hosted touring opera singers, vaudeville acts, stage plays and athletic events. Some 20,000 people per month attended performances in the theater, the Lead Daily Call reported in 1921. About 2,000 people per month swam in the heated swimming pool, and 3,000 per month used the six-lane bowling alley.
“It has been reported by people who know, that this is the finest building of its kind erected by any industrial concern in the United States,” - Lead Daily Call, 1921.
The opera house became a showplace for the modern technology of the times. In 1929, a Wurlitzer pipe organ was installed to accompany moving pictures. In 1930, the Homestake Opera House showed its first talking pictures. In 1935, air conditioning was installed.
Over the years, the Opera House became a familiar friend to the residents of Lead and the northern Black Hills. Local residents remember their first dates, first stage plays, first movies and first swimming lessons at the venerable facility.
The city of Lead flourished in the following decades. The Homestake Mine served as Lead’s economic pillar, and the Homestake Opera House was the city’s cultural pillar.
In 1972, Homestake Mining Co. deeded the Homestake Opera House and Recreation Building over to the City of Lead. In 1976 the Opera House received a bronze plaque designating it a National Historic Landmark of American Music.
Felled by fire
On April 2, 1984, Lead’s worst fears were realized. A fire began in the Wurlitzer pipe organ room early in the afternoon. The flames spread quickly up the walls into the curtains and rigging above the stage. The fire then found its way into the building’s wood-frame attic.
About 70 firefighters from all over the Northern Hills battled the blaze. However, they were unable to stop the flames before serious damage occurred. The roof collapsed, sending timbers and chandeliers onto the floor, which collapsed into the swimming pool below the theater.
The next day, after the fire was out and the smoke had cleared, Lead officials surveyed what was left of their Jewel of the Black Hills. Little remained of the Homestake Opera House but the brick walls. In coming weeks, crews managed to salvage some of the items from the ruins. Two opera house candelabra, mahogany doors, a number of chandeliers and light fixtures, brass rail fittings, the original box seat chairs and remnants of the original 1914 backstage intercom system were placed in safekeeping.
Meanwhile, engineers determined that the fire had not compromised the structural integrity of the brick walls. In addition, much of the recreation building, which adjoins the theater itself, had been saved from the fire. There was hope for a new Homestake Opera House, but the road back from near-destruction would be a long one.
Starting over
On November 13, 1984, seven months after the fire, residents of Lead voiced their support for the complex, voting in near record numbers to authorize the city to clean up, stabilize the walls, replace the roof and once again put the building to use for the benefit of the community.
The goal then, as it is now, was to restore the Opera House to its 1914 grandeur and conduct the restoration in a way that adheres to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Historic Preservation.
Using some of the money from the insurance of the building, the City of Lead replaced the Opera House roof to prevent further damage from rain and snow. But the building remained unused and vacant for a decade. In 1995, it was purchased from the City of Lead and a comprehensive report outlined the existing conditions of the opera house and the costs of restoration.
Since then, restoration was planned, funds were raised and work was completed. The building has been passionately cared for by phases of people, and phases of funding. The restoration has continued in fits and starts. Initially the Society leased the theater from the owners of the adjoining Homestake Recreation Center, which was mostly spared from the fire.
To date, the Society has raised and invested nearly $3 million in the restoration of this magnificent project. Since restoration began, thousands of people have toured the theater and attended performances. Others have used the restored lobbies for class reunions, wedding receptions and graduation receptions.
In 2005, the nonprofit Historic Homestake Opera House Society purchased the Homestake Opera House and Recreation Center from Jerry Aberle. The society availed itself of a loan and a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development agency. First Western Bank of Deadwood and Lead Economic Area Development also facilitated the purchase.
The Homestake Recreation Center, which has been converted into retail space and offices, produces rental income for the Historic Homestake Opera House Society. Year-round performing arts events staged inside the theater also bring in revenue. This money helps pay for programming, operating costs and grant-matching.
In the spring of 2008, the Homestake Opera House was the setting for a community theater performance of “Fiddler On The Roof,” the first community theater production in the 25 years since the fire. The performance was a milestone in the long road back from 1984’s smoking hole in the ground to Phoebe Hearst’s 1914 “Jewel of the Black Hills.” The story continues, and with the sharing of your time and talent, it will be completely restored. Visit the rest of our pages to find out more, and thank you for visiting.
