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Archives On The Air 78: The Wyoming Opera—Root's Opera House Scrapbook

Did you know that Laramie, Wyoming had its own opera house?

Chauncey Root and his sister-in-law, Helen Elizabeth Haley Root, operated Root's Opera House from about 1894 to about 1929.

The Opera House was the first theatre in Laramie. By the late 1890s, the opera house had electricity, a large stage, fine dressing rooms, and seating for 650 people.

The Root’s Opera House attracted some of the most popular plays and finest actors during its time. It was considered one of the finest theatres between Kansas City and San Francisco.

In the 1920s motion pictures became popular and stage-acting became less popular. A film projector and picture screen were installed in the opera house. By 1930 the theatre had closed. The building was destroyed in 1936.

What remains of Root’s Opera House is a scrapbook of their playbills, which can be seen at UW’s American Heritage Center.