Happy 50th, Grand Opera House!

To mark the 50th anniversary of the City of Kingston taking over the Grand Theatre here is an the footprint drawing of the Grand Opera House. In 1876, after a disastrous fire destroyed many Princess Street buildings in Kingston, Martin’s Opera House came into existence in the course of reconstruction. Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria attended the opening in 1879. Twenty years later, in 1899, Martin’s Opera House, itself, was gutted in a fire and in its place the Grand Opera House was built and incorporated. Its object was to add to the cultural development of the community by providing a venue for theatrical attractions touring Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto.