Ralston Opera House

The Ralston Opera House occupies the second floor of the building located at 501-503 Main St. in the town of Ralston, Pawnee County, Oklahoma,^[2] an arrangement that was typical in smaller-town opera houses in Oklahoma.^[3] The building was constructed in 1902 out of native sandstone, and the first floor remained commercial space.^[4] The Opera House closed in 1927.^[5] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Pawnee County, Oklahoma on July 28, 1987.^[5]

Despite the facility's name, the first performance in the 1902 Opera House was by the Mahara Minstrel Company.^[a][7] The Opera House was constructed with a flat floor and with folding chairs that were easily stored out of the way,^[4] allowing the facility to be utilized as multi-purpose event space hosting over time such diverse functions as town meetings,^[8][9] dances,^[10][11] lectures,^[12][13] concerts,^[14][15] magic shows,^[16][17] political gatherings,^[18][19] juvenile operettas,^[20][21] business conferences,^[22] plays (oftentimes performed by traveling theater troupes),^[23][24] graduations,^[25][26] and even roller skating.^[27][28] “Moving pictures” were sometimes shown at least as early as 1906,^[29][30] and the space was regularly used for movies by the early 1920s.^[31] The Opera House closed in 1927.^[5]

Preservation attempts have been made since at least the mid-1980s when one Bill Hiser bought the building,^[4] but he died before his project could be seen through to completion.^[5] Around 2018, an Oklahoma preservation group declared the Opera House to be one of the state's most-endangered structures.^[5] Part of the problem in bringing the space back to usefulness is physical, including the single steep staircase that provides the only access to the second floor.^[5] But as always, lack of funding is a major issue.^[5]