Albemarle Opera House turns 100, businesses schedule sales, events

By B.J. Drye, Managing Editor: The Stanly News and Press

Tuesday, November 4, 2007—

Not many businesses and buildings have the distinction of being 100 years old or older. With the ongoing desire for advancement and the neglect of preserving historical structures in some towns throughout the country, owners of at least one building in Albemarle can tout what it feels like to have a century-old structure. The Albemarle Opera House was not used for opera as it is known today, but more general entertainment such as traveling minstrel shows, plays and lectures.
And there’s always the folklore of the Albemarle Opera House being haunted.

A history lesson: Albemarle Opera House
Gene Starnes and Catherine Pickler co-own a building in the 100-block of Downtown Albemarle, today occupied by Starnes Jewelry and Satin and Lace. Starnes and Pickler have a great interest in this building. It was their ancestors — F. E. Starnes, D. F. Parker and J.C. Parker — who built this building 100 years ago. Starnes Jewelry actually traces its history back to 1898, when F.E. Starnes rode into town on a bicycle and opened his jewelry store on Second Street.
When a building at 127 West Main Street was built in 1907, Starnes Jewelers moved to this location.

Housed above the jewelry store and the bridal shop is the Albemarle Opera House. While today the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center seems like the center for the performing arts in the county, 100 years ago the center of entertainment in the county was the Opera House. “I guess my grandfather and great-grandfather thought that the Opera House would be great entertainment for Albemarle,” said Gene Starnes, owner of Starnes Jewelers.

Operation of The Opera House
Historical accounts and newspaper clippings paint the Opera House as a grand attraction — to attend a performance there was said to be the “in” thing to do. Satin curtains covered the gas lamp lit stage. Large scrolls of hand-painted scenery were used as backdrops for the live entertainment. Velvet upholstered seats awaited patrons, and with the inclusion of the balcony, the auditorium could seat around 800 people. Gentlemen wore suits and ladies wore evening dresses with elbow-length gloves, historians say. A large cast iron stove was on each side of the auditorium to warm the audience, and with very little ventilation in the room, the performance season usually ran from October until the end of May. Prices for shows were as low as 50 cents in the balcony and as high as $2 for reserved and box seats near the front. Entertainment was often in the form of traveling minstrel shows, vaudeville acts, plays and lectures. Shows and discussions ranged from thought-provoking serious topics such as The Old South and slavery to simply entertaining performances of acrobatics, music, comedy and theatrical exhibits. One of the most popular productions ever presented at the Opera House was “The Clansman,” based on a novel by Thomas Dixon Jr. Dixon was present for the performance on Oct. 6, 1908, as were the 40 actors and a carload of props. The Sept. 24, 1908 edition of The Stanly Enterprise advertised the show as being seen by 4 million theatre goers, running for 40 weeks in New York City and 26 weeks in Chicago. North Carolina Gov. Glenn said “every man, woman and child should see ‘The Clansman.’” The show originally contained a troop of cavalry horses; however, with the position of the Opera House on the second story, the horses were not included in the Albemarle performance.Tickets for this show were 75 cents, $1.50 and $2.

With the invention of moving pictures by Thomas Edison, popularity of live entertainment such as the touring productions that visited the Opera House began to fade. Edison’s pictures were shown at the Opera House at least two days — May 20-21, 1914 — and lore passed down through generations has told of Edison and Henry Ford passing through Stanly County in the 1910s, perhaps with a stop at this entertainment hub. “I guess moving pictures took over for live entertainment,” the 66-year-old Gene Starnes said. After ceasing to be open for performances, the Opera House was used in 1919 as an undertaker’s annex, due to the increased demand caused by deaths from a flu epidemic.

Restoration and Usage
The facade restoration of the Opera House building was finishing in the spring of 1991. Completed by Mitchell Smith of S&D Construction Co. of Albemarle with the assistance of Doug Burns, an architect with AEC of Charlotte, the restoration project gained an award for Starnes and Pickler, owners of the Opera House. The restoration competed with 33 other projects throughout the state for the Gertrude S. Carraway Award of Merit, an annual award presented by the Historic Preservation Foundation of North Carolina. Today, the Opera House is continued to be used for storage space. A full restoration of the inside of the Opera House would be “an expensive proposition,” without the assistance of grant funding, Starnes said, although he would love to see the Opera House functioning one day.

Ghostly Visitors
Numerous businesses have occupied offices adjoining the Opera House through the years, including doctors, lawyers, a beauty shop, a dry goods store, an insurance agency and others. But it’s the Opera House that many people believe is the source of ghostly sounds and occurrences.
“Sometimes we can hear music playing,” said Starnes, whose jewelry store is directly below the Opera House.“They’re good ghosts though. They’ll move things around when no one’s been in the building.” Starnes said sounds, believed to be ghosts in the Opera House, were first reported as early as the 1950s. “I can still hear it at times. Many times in the fall when the weather starts getting cooler. Lots of the (performing) groups came in the fall.” North Carolina Paranormal Investigations recently surveyed the Opera House for activity.

Special Events
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Opera House, Starnes Jewelry and Satin and Lace will celebrate with sales and other events Thursday through Saturday. Starnes Jewelry is celebrating 109 years in Albemarle. “The continued support of our customers has made it possible,” Starnes said. From 12-4 p.m. Saturday, the Albemarle Opera House will be open for a public viewing. At 2 p.m., John Parker and Christopher James Epps, great-great-grandsons of F. E. Starnes, and John Mark Obeck Jr. and Reid Joseph Obeck, great-great-grandsons of J.C. Parker, will unveil a plaque commemorating the addition of Albemarle Opera House to the National Register of Historical Places. The Opera House was added to the list in 1995, but Starnes said a real celebration wasn’t held in honor of the occasion. “We thought the 100th anniversary would be the perfect opportunity,” he said. Tours of the Opera House will be conducted by members of North Carolina Paranormal Investigations, who will be dressed in period dress. Brooke Garcia and New Visions Ensemble will perform. This will be the first performance from the auditorium since 1918.