Fulton Opera House
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Fulton Theatre
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The Fulton Opera House
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| Location | 12-14 North Prince St. Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA |
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| Coordinates | 40°2′16.8″N 76°18′29.5″W / 40.038000°N 76.308194°WCoordinates: 40°2′16.8″N 76°18′29.5″W / 40.038000°N 76.308194°W |
| Area | < 1-acre (4,000 m2) |
| Built | 1852 |
| Architect | Samuel Sloan, Edwin Forrest Durang |
| Architectural style | Victorian |
| NRHP Reference # | 69000156 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | August 11, 1969 |
| Designated NHL | January 29, 1964 |
| Designated PHMC | October 11, 1952 |
The Fulton Opera House, also known as the Fulton Theatre or simply The Fulton, is a League of Regional Theatres class C regional theater located in historic downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is reportedly the oldest working theatre in the United States. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
Fulton Hall is named after Robert Fulton (1765-1815), Lancaster County's steam engine pioneer, and it is his likeness that is portrayed in the statue on the front facade. This statue is a replica of the original wooden statue, which has since been restored and now resides on display inside the interior lobby. The building itself was built on the foundation of Lancaster's pre-Revolutionary jail. In 1763, a vigilante gang known as the Paxton Boys massacred the Conestoga Indians being held there for their protection. This was a monumental event throughout the colonies and became the subject matter for the first plays ever written on American soil - "A Dialogue Between Andrew Trueman and Thomas Zealot About the Killing the Indians at Cannestogoe and Lancaster" and "The Paxton Boys, a Farce". The exterior wall of the jail courtyard is now the back wall of the theatre. Christopher Hager, a Lancaster merchant and civic leader, commissioned the renowned Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan (who later designed the Lancaster County Courthouse) to create a building that would serve as a community center for meetings, lectures, concerts, and theatrical performances. The building was erected in 1852.
The Fulton Theatre was later modified by noted theatrical architect Edwin Forrest Durang, is one of only three theatres recognized as National Historic Landmarks (the others are the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia and the Goldenrod Showboat in St. Louis, Missouri). The 1959 production of Our Town, starring Jeanne Clemson, marked that first time that a live theater production had been performed at the Fulton Opera House in thirty years.
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