History

A History of the Baum Opera House:

 In 1869 at 17 years old, Charles Baum, builder of the Baum Opera House, immigrated to the United States and settles in New York. Shortly after in 1870 Baum moves to the city of Miamisburg. In 1883 Baum married Elizabeth Snyder and later they have 11 children together. In 1874 Baum begins managing the Miami House hotel for Mrs. Dr. Treon, a year later in 1875 he purchased the ground for his hotel at a Sheriff’s sale for $1,620. Two years later the construction of the Baum House Hotel was started on the corner of First Street and Central Avenue. The Baum House Hotel opens shortly after in February of 1878. 

Following the opening of the Hotel, in 1884 Baum begins construction on the Star City Opera House on what is now First Street on property adjacent to the Hotel. The first floors of the Opera House and the Hotel are joined at one point. The Star City Opera House, with a seating capacity of 800, was said to be the finest in the state and one of the very first built for a town the size of Miamisburg.

 The Opera House opens for business on April 1st, 1885. The opening night was well attended by leading citizens and influential public figures of Miamisburg, Germantown, Franklin, and even as far away as Dayton. The first play performed at the Opera House was “A Bunch of Keys” and the manuscript still exists today. The building was extravagantly decorated according to newspaper reports: “The new Star City Opera House has just been frescoed in the highest style of the art of Professor Hahn.” The large ceiling is divided into many panels and geometric figures, all converging to the dome in the center, producing a striking and harmonious effect. Large vases of flowers and various musical instruments all elegantly painted adorn each panel. At the top of the arch of the proscenium a portrait of Mr. Baum will be painted. 

Charles Baum passed away on January 22, 1895 at the age of 43. The funeral was held in the parlor of the Baum Hotel and he was buried soon after in Hill Grove cemetery. His widow, Elizabeth, continued to run the hotel and the Opera House. In 1897, Elizabeth Baum married Peter Baum, Charles’ brother. Elizabeth would pass away in 1909 at the age of 56 after suffering a stroke. 

After Charles’ death, the Opera House becomes a multi-purpose building, hosting dances, lectures, minstrel shows, etc. In 1886, the building was leased to the Miamisburg Gym Club and became known as “Gymnasium Hall”. There was a skating rink and a gymnasium where basketball games were played. In 1889, the building once again became known as the Star City Opera House. In 1900 further alterations to the building were made, the north side of the first floor was made into a bowling alley, the south side of the building was converted into a saloon and the upper floor was used primarily for the minstrel shows. 

In 1913, the building is used by the Miamisburg Fire Department while a new structure on Central Avenue is being built. Three years later in 1916, the first Miamisburg High School basketball game was played at the Opera House. During its heyday the Opera House was a popular place for dances with round and square dances held often at the same time on different floors. The senior class of Miamisburg High School held a dance at the Opera House on May 13, 1920. The building also held a presidential rally for candidate William Jennings Bryan. There were alumni meetings, commencement exercises; a “masked ball” and plays such as “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” The building became the Columbia Opera House and the Miamisburg Rotary held its charter night dinner there in May of 1922. 

In 1923, the Junior Order of United American Mechanics purchased and occupied the building for the next 37 years until 1960, when the Opera House was acquired by Earl and Esther Philhower. It is here that “New Decades(known as “The Rockets)” get their start in 1956, thus beginning an era of the dance club at the Opera House. Throughout the 1940’s, 1950’s and even into the 1960’s, the Opera Hall was the place for Saturday night dances. Throughout this time period the building had been known interchangeably as either “Junior Hall” or “Friendship Hall”. 

In 1973 the Opera House is remodeled for the “Towpath Dinner Theatre”. As renovation continued, an elevator and air conditioning are installed, the stage and the staircase are removed, the wiring is upgraded and a kitchen is built into the west end of the ground floor. Until the renovations in 1975, it was possible to stand at the bottom of the staircase and view the ceiling of the ballroom. The Towpath Dinner Theatre goes bankrupt later that year. Until 1992, the Opera House is occupied by a series of bars and clubs. The last teenage club named “The Zoo” closes in 1992; the building becomes vacant and is faced with plans for demolition. 

Just two years later, the building is sold in 1994 at a sheriff’s sale for $33,000 to the Baum Opera House Association and the Baum Opera House Association acquires state corporation status. The historic building is poised to enter a new lifetime of community service - from theater, art and music to the commerce and services of the decades ahead. Of the Second Empire style, the building features a mansard roof and other architectural details characteristic of its era. Because of the buildings role in history and the social culture of Miamisburg, it has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Bibliography: Towpath Dinner Theatre Program Dayton Daily News, Sunday, April 26, 1925 Brochure and information prepared by the Baum Opera House Association Time Line prepared by Mady Ransdell of the Baum Opera House Association Brown & Bills Architects, Inc.