Opera Houses and Halls of the Genesee Country
April 6, 2016, 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
In this the second presentation in the Geneva Historical Society's Spring Lecture Series Jane Oakes will focus on the function and form of the 19th-century opera house. "Opera Houses and Halls of the Genesee Country" will be held on Wednesday, April 6, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. at the Geneva History Museum.
From the mid-19th century to the Depression, nearly every city, village or hamlet in New York State had its opera house or hall. Many of these structures have fallen to fire or “progress,” but some remain hidden in our communities. Learn about the role of the opera house in our ancestors' social lives, and see examples of the most frequently built styles from a ten county region, including Geneva's own Smith Opera house and it's antecedents. Currently, Ms. Oakes maintains the largest known database of opera houses and halls across New York State and will share information about those in Geneva and throughout the region.
Jane Oakes has been involved with historic education for over forty years. She has taught classes in open hearth cooking, nineteenth century schooling, and historic architecture for Genesee Country Village & Museum, was a museum studies and local history teacher for BOCES, and was the School Tours and Education Coordinator for the William Mills Mansion Museum in Mt. Morris. Ms. Oakes holds a BA in Theater and an MA in History.
This program is supported in part by the Samuel B. Williams fund for programs in the Humanities. For more information about the lecture, call the Geneva Historical Society office at 315-789-5151.
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