Maguire's Opera House Was the Place to go.

Virginia City grew quickly in the early 1860s in both size and population and with it came a thirst for musical and theatrical entertainment.  A variety of theatres featuring minstrels, burlesque and plays appealing to a crowd from the base to the sophisticated.  Thomas Maguire, one of the best known and most influential theater entreprenuers on the west coast during the 1860s  decided to expand to Virginia City. 

  Maguire recognized the opportunity resulting from the new found wealth created by the silver rush of Virginia City.  He opened his opera house a couple of lots south of the south east corner of D street between Union and Taylor St. in Virginia City on July 3, 1863 with John Burns as the manager and part owner.  Maguire began with popular entertainment such as minstrelsy, his vision was, however, to offer a higher class of entertainment, including fully staged opera and operetta.  To serve this goal his opera house was more elegant than any other opera house in Virginia City.  He had carpets throughout, crystal chandeliers, velvet railings and gas lighting.  A billiard parlor was added on with smoking rooms and a full bar available.  Maguire's intended to show up his primary competition, the Niagara Hall in Virginia City.  He brought only the most well know entertainers and performers from the East coast to his opera house.  Adah Isaacs Menken, famous for her semi-nude performance in San Francisco appeared at Maguires.  This did not sit well with the locals of Virginia City and the Territorial Enterprise gave it bad reviews.

   Maguire staged some rather "high-brow" performances at his opera house as well as some opera by a troupe from San Francisco. Another famous performer was that of Louis Moreau Gottschalk who performed at Maguires on June 5 ,6,7 1865.  While he was well reviewed he was not impressed what he referred to "wretched" conditions in Virginia City.  The stage of Maguires was approximately 50 fet wide by 35 feet deep so was great for large presentations.

   Maguire suffered financial problems during 1866 and 1867.  As a result, John Piper, who operated a saloon next to Maguire's theatre, began to slowly purchase interests in the opera house in 1867.  By March of 67 Maguire yielded complete control and ownership to Piper for the sum of $2,500.00.  The name was then changed to Piper's Opera House.  Piper later built the larger opera house up on B and Union and closed the old Maguires.  Maguire had only been in business in Virginia City for four years.   The new Pipers Opera House later burned on two occasions but was rebuilt by Piper both times.  It burned once when John Piper left a lit cigar causing a fire and secondly in the Great Fire of 1875. 

   As the Piper's Opera House sits today it is in its third incarnation but is as great as ever providing entertainment to an old, yet revived,  mining town.

 

See ya on the hill !                                               

C.L. Yearzago.....but you can call me C.L. Yearzago for short