Gray's Opera House
Gray's Opera House opened on March 8, 1870. Construction was begun in 1869 for the staggering sum of 22,000 dollars, (2 million in today's dollars.) The structure was built of sun dried bricks cast and wood harvested in the area. Gray's Opera House was financed by Hugh, Noah and James Gray, (whose descendents still gather in the building during the Christmas holiday.) The building was designed by local architect, Oscar S Buel and was deemed by the, Romeo Observer as the most elegant building in Macomb County, with gas lighting fixtures and plate glass imported from France., (still visible today, though converted from gas to electric.)
Designed in the popular Italianate style of the period seen in many houses in Romeo with heavy ornate brackets under the eaves and round hoods over the arched windows. The building is three stories in height. The first floor is divided into three store fronts for commercial use and is separated by massive 4 foot brick firewalls. The first floor is less ornate than the upper levels with rusticated brick piers suggesting the mundane. On the upper two levels with the arched windows and highly articulated cornice and pediment with it’s deep overhand and many brackets (missing) allude to the sublime. The central stairway leading to the second floor and main auditorium originally ascended from the front sidewalk through an open air archway. In size and purpose the opera house is comparable with Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. which was built at the same time. The Gray’s Opera House is the only remaining Opera House in Michigan of the period.
The Opera House played host to several prominent speakers and entertainers including Zachariah Chandler, Senator and leading radical. Reconstructionist; Elizabeth Cady Stanton tireless promoter of woman’s rights; Schuyler Colfax, Grant’s Vice-President; the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a popular negro university choir from Tennessee; and the play Uncle Tom’s Cabin, including a “full pack of Cuban and Spanish hounds.”
The Romeo Masonic Lodge was formed in 1849 by 7 local businessmen; Asahel Bailey, Brewer Dodge, Trowbridge Benedict, John Becraft, George Chandler, James Sutton, and Matthew Carr. Some of names are still remembered as street names in the Village of Romeo. The Masonic order first rented the 3rd Floor Ballroom space in Gray’s Opera house in 1876 until 1905 when they moved to the Parker Building on South Main, which still stands today. In 1919 the building was purchased by the Masons for 8,000 dollars after the building had fallen on disrepair. The auditorium had been in use as a basketball court at the time. Another $23,000 was spent refurbishing the building and on January 23, 1923 it was dedicated as a Masonic Lodge and has been continually used since then.
There have been five fires at the building between 1876 and 1940. The North end section was destroyed in 1876, but the designed firewalls over 4 feet thick prevented total destruction. One year later the building was almost totally destroyed in another fire. The belief is that a chimney in the wall caused the fire, as that was the method of heating with fireplaces and cast iron stoves, there were a total of at least a dozen or more. The last fire in 1940 was centered in the rear area and took most of the Lodge room, the building was closed from October, 1940 to April of 1941 while repairs were made, the charred beams are still visible in the rafter area over the stage which supports the roof, they were so massive and of hard wood that they survived and are still sound. The 2nd floor auditorium is two story space, is the main Lodge room serving Four bodies of Masonic Orders; The Blue Lodge, The Royal Arch, The Eastern Star and the Commandry. There are only four Masonic Temples in Michigan that serve four Masonic bodies in one building.
The Auditorium ceiling was originally domed, creating perfect acoustics for musical as well as vocal performances. The dome still exists but was covered by the current beamed ceiling after the fire in 1940. Around the perimeter of the auditorium there is a second floor balcony unchanged except for the seating acquired in the 20's. There is also a 3rd floor ballroom which was in use until the 1960's (the rented area of the Masonic order in 1876-1905) and is presently in a stage of repair as money allows.
The building has gas fired steam boiler that replaced the original coal fired boiler. The triple pane double hung windows installed and our heating bill can run over 2090 per month even with a 60 degree thermostat setting. The dining room is available for rentals and breakfasts are served on the 2nd and 4th Sunday's of each month. The auditorium is also available for rental for weddings, plays, concerts, business meetings, presentations and the like. Many of the events held at the Gray’s Opera House today are fundraisers for the upkeep and restoration of the building. It is a well loved piece of history in Romeo, and the Romeo Masonic bodies strive every day to keep and restore the Gray’s Opera House.
Donations are always welcome. We are constantly working to restore our beautiful Gray’s Opera House. For more information, please contact us at 586.752.2822 - 231 N. Main St. - P.O. Box 174 - Romeo, MI 48065.
Also, if you would like to rent the venue please contact us through our website's contact form located here.