Illinois
Grand Opera House
Thursday, March 2, 1882
The Decorative Arts
Newspaper report
Daily Gazette (Rockford), March 3,1882, 4
A less than enthusiastic reception.
Newspaper report
The Chicago Tribune, March 6,1882, 5
The Chicago Tribune, March 5, 1999
Oscar Wilde Well-received In Rockford…Again
by H. Lee Murphy
"Wilde first became known to Americans during a long lecture tour. Indeed, he stopped to speak one March evening in 1882 at the Rockford Opera House, staying at the old Holland House and dining at the home of a Dr. Thomas Butler, according to the Rockford Daily Gazette account at the time.
The Gazette said that Wilde attracted a small but attentive audience at his Rockford appearance."
Grand Opera House
113-117 North Wyman Street, Rockford, IL
Incorporated: November 6, 1880
Opened: November 12, 1881
Seating: 1500
Closed (as an Opera House): 1917
Demolished: April, 1927
Source:
Holland House
SE corner of Elm and Main Streets, Dubuque, IA
Built: 1854-56
Named for: John A. Holland, attorney
Opened: April 1856
Destroyed (fire): December 24, 1896
Holland House (left foreground).
Oscar Wilde In America | © John Cooper, 2023
