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The Chicago Opera House, (constructed in 1884–5) was a theater complex in Chicago, Illinois, USA, designed by the architectural firm of Cobb and Frost.〔Carl W. Condit, ''The Chicago School of Architecture'', University of Chicago Press, 1973, p. 59-60.〕 The Chicago Opera House building took the cue provided by the Metropolitan Opera of New York〔The Metropolitan Opera (J. Cleaveland Cady, architect, completed in 1883) did not house its mixed uses in a single structure, but in flanking buildings.〕 as a mixed-used building: it housed both a theater and unrelated offices, used to subsidize the cost of the theater building. The theater itself was located in the middle of the complex and office structures flanked each side.〔 The entire complex was known as the "Chicago Opera House Block," and was located at the Southwest corner of W. Washington Ave. and N. Clark St. The Chicago Opera House was opened to the public on August 18, 1885. The first performance in the new theater was of ''Hamlet'' starring Thomas W. Keene.〔"The New Chicago Opera House." ''The New York Times.'' August 19, 1885. Full Text at ()〕 From 1887 to 1890, the Chicago Opera House served as the official observation location for recording the climate of the city of Chicago by the National Weather Service.〔"History of the Chicago and Rockford weather observation sites" From (NOAA.gov )〕 The theater suffered a fire in December 1888, which mainly damaged portions of the roof. However, the roof was repaired, and most of the exterior of the building remained undamaged. During its existence, the Chicago Opera House was the site of the premiere of several successful musicals such as ''Sinbad'' and ''The Arabian Nights''.〔"A BIG THEATRE BURNING.; THE CHICAGO OPERA HOUSE THREATENED WITH DESTRUCTION." ''The New York Times.'' December 13, 1888. Full Text at ()〕 The last performance at the building was the stage play "''The Escape''" by Paul Armstrong (later made into a film, now lost, by D.W. Griffith in 1914). Demolition on The Chicago Opera House began May 5, 1913. 〔 The Chicaco Opera House Closed, ''The Chicago Trubune'', May 4,1913, Part 1, Page 4. 〕 The site is currently occupied by the Burnham Center (formerly known as the Conway Building), completed in 1915.〔(Emporis )〕 ==Construction== The idea for the Chicago Opera House came from Scottish-born newspaperman and financier David Henderson.〔("Theater" At ''The Encyclopedia of Chicago.'' Retrieved from )〕 Henderson "planned the scheme and the stock— 550,000— was subscribed in six weeks. Thus Chicago had the first fireproof, steel constructed, electric lighted theatre in the country." 〔''Who's who on the Stage'' edited by Walter Browne, Frederick Arnold Austin, 1908 pg. 232.〕 The construction of the Chicago Opera House was one of the earliest examples of general contracting, run by George A. Fuller.〔Frank Alfred Randall and John D. Randall, ''History of the Development of Building Construction in Chicago'',University of Illinois Press, 1999, p. 110〕 Upon completion, the masonry-clad building was 10 stories and 140 feet tall.〔p. 110. "The practice of general contracting s said to have been first employed here by George A. Fuller."〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chicago Opera House」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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