Newberry Opera House

This is the Newberry Opera House (facing Memorial Park) in Newberry, SC. (The photo was taken from the top floor of the Hampton Inn, across from the Opera House on Nance Street.) It was built in 1881 and extensively renovated in the 1990s (beginning in 1992 and finishing in 1998). The design is (according to its website) “an excellent example of Victorian civic eclectic architecture.” The site also claims that it is “French Gothic inspired” and “Victorian Gothic.” In any case, it is a very nice building: it catches light beautifully, and my eyes were continuously drawn to it. And it is now a state of the art performance facility. Although it does not appear to host actual operas, it does have a long list of performers coming through, ranging from blues and jazz to Kris Kristofferson. The aims of renovating the Opera House (aside from the desire to restore it to it former glory) was to give the area a stronger cultural identity and help lead a business revival. As far as we could tell, it seems to be succeeding in this aim, anchoring the town visually, culturally, and economically.

The new house we just bought (although we haven’t closed yet) is a few blocks north of the Opera House and just off Nance Street. It sits on a little hillock above the police station, and from the driveway you look straight out at the Opera House. It’s quite a nice view. You can’t actually see our place from the Nance-Street corner of the Opera House; however, you can see the white 1808 Gauntt House (home of the Newberry County Historical Museum). Our house is tucked away behind the trees to the right of the Gauntt House. You can see the Gauntt House in the photo below: it’s the white house up on the hill.