Prescott’s Elks Opera House recently underwent a $2 million restoration and reopened for live performances.

© Craig Smith

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By Robert Stieve & Kelly Vaughn Kramer

In February 1904, the Prescott Daily Journal Miner posted notice that members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge No. 330 sought to build an opera house — at an estimated cost of $15,000 — on East Gurley Street in Prescott. Weeks later, the building’s granite cornerstone was laid, and 10 months after that, the Victorian-style theater opened with a staging of Marta of the Lowlands, starring Florence Roberts. Over the decades, the Elks began offering more film viewings than stage performances, though live theater returned in the 1980s. In 2001, the city of Prescott acquired the opera house and established the Elks Opera House Foundation to help preserve and restore the structure.

Location: 117 E. Gurley Street, Prescott
Constructed: 1904
Architect: John R. Minor
Information: 928-777-1367 or www.elksoperahouse.com

1905 The Elks Opera House opens in downtown Prescott on February 20.
1916 Birth of a Nation is the first motion picture shown at the Elks, launching it into the film era.
1940s Opera boxes and ornamental finishes are removed to accommodate wider movie screens.
1982 The Arizona Community Foundation purchases the building.
2001 The city of Prescott acquires the building.
2011 The Elks Opera House Foundation completes a $2 million restoration.

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