A small museum on the second floor features period clothing, props, photos found during the renovation, and the original marquee. Even the four exclusive box seats were restored to their original form with plush armchairs draped in gold fabric and angel medallions hand-painted by local artist Rhonda Stevens. Every step of the way, we pieced it together as it would have been in 1901,” Gattle adds. “It was very important for us to bring it back, keeping the integrity of the building. The Grand Opera House reopened in 2008 after a $4.5 million renovation. Gielen, who bought the building in 1999 and founded a nonprofit organization to oversee its restoration. Gattle is the daughter of entrepreneur and philanthropist L.J. “It was like a mini-mall,” says Kim Gattle, Executive Director of The Grand Opera House of the South. Modern Times for the Grand Opera House of the South Until the opera house closed its doors in 1939 - the victim of changing times and the advent of modern movie theaters - it was a thriving part of Crowley’s downtown.

On the first floor was a saloon, café, mortuary and a pool hall. The Grand Opera House of the South was more than a performance venue, too.

It was a convenient stopover point along the rail line, where performers could spend a night or two. The Grand Opera House of the South featured everything from musical performances to theatrical presentations, with figures from Clark Gable, Huey Long and Babe Ruth to opera singer Enrico Caruso and Madame de Vilchez-Bisset of the Paris Opera gracing its stage.Īs for why The Grand Opera House lured so many A-list performers to its stage in its early years, consider Crowley’s location, positioned exactly halfway between New Orleans and Houston. A mere $18,000 investment created a beautiful two-story opera house known for entertaining in the small agricultural town of Crowley, known as the Rice Capital of Louisiana. Founded by a deputy sheriff and stable owner in 1901, the Grand Opera House of the South is a venue with a story to tell.

Grand opera house