Victoria Theatre (Dayton, Ohio)
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Front view of the Victoria Theatre
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| Address | 138 North Main Street Dayton, Ohio United States |
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| Coordinates | 39°45′44″N 84°11′32″W / 39.762181°N 84.192180°W |
| Type | Performing arts center |
| Capacity | 1,154 |
| Opened |
January 1, 1866 |
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Victory Theater Building
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| Architectural style | Italianate |
| NRHP Reference # | 72001037 |
| Added to NRHP | June 22, 1972 |
| Website | |
| www |
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January 1, 1866
The Victoria Theatre is a historic 1,154-seat performing arts venue located in downtown Dayton, Ohio, United States.
The Victoria, one of the oldest continually operated theaters on the continent, was opened to the public as the Turner Opera House on New Year's Day, 1866, at a cost of $225,000. Its initial offering was the James Sheridan Knowles drama "Virginius, starring Edwin Forrest – a play strongly associated with the famous actor. According to press clippings of that era, the theater was referred to as "the best [sic] theater west of Philadelphia". General admission was $1. The best seats in the house were between $10 and $12. The theater's presence in Dayton even inspired the publishing of a musical march by Edward Spoth entitled "Turner's Opera House March".
Arson was suspected of having caused an all-consuming fire May 16, 1869, which destroyed the theater at a loss of $500,000, of which insurance covered only $128,000.
In 1871, the edifice was re-opened – its rebuilding based, in part, on a portion of the surviving facade, although built to three stories instead of six. The opera house resumed operations as "The Music Hall". It in 1885 it became "The Grand Opera House". On September 18, 1899, it became the "Victoria Opera House", and in 1903, it became the Victoria Theatre, two years after the death of Queen Victoria of England.
Damage again befell The Victoria during the catastrophic Great Dayton Flood of 1913 which severely damaged the Dayton region along with the ground floor of the theater. The theater's interior was rebuilt and remodeled. But on January 16, 1918, fire struck again and gutted portions of the building. Reconstruction was delayed due to material shortages during World War I. Thus, after Armistice, The Victoria saw extensive interior remodeling and in 1919 re-opened as "The Victory Theatre" – a name commemorating the American war effort and its result. For decades, the theater thrived as a major national embarkation point for traveling theater and stock companies. This included performances by Al Jolson, The Marx Brothers, Helen Hayes, Fannie Brice, George M. Cohan, Lynn Fontayne, Gertrude Lawrence, Alfred Lunt, Harry Houdini, and many other names.
In 1930, the Victory Theatre was outfitted for talking pictures, in its effort to continue as a full-service cinema house.
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