November 2, 1877 – Located on the southeast corner of Clinton & College Streets, The Colden Opera House – Iowa City’s grandest theatre – is dedicated.

The Coldren Opera House was located on the second & third floor of Ezekiel Clark & Thomas Hill’s Iowa City Bank Company. Pictured above are ads from The Iowa Citizen (1897) and The Iowa State Press (1900) – both highlighting the excitement in Iowa City surrounding events held at the Opera House.

The Coldren interior – considered spectacular in its time – featured an array of chandelier and sconce lighting, and Its stage lighting was considered state-of-the-art during the late 19th century. Originally designed to accommodate nearly 1,000 guests, after the 1897 remodeling, The Coldren seated 845 patrons on three levels – all within the top two floors of the building – 54 steps up from the chamfered-corner entrance on Clinton & College Streets. In truth, during the last two decades of the 19th century, and until its demise in 1912, it was hard to find many civic events of Iowa City that weren’t hosted by the popular Coldren Opera House.

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