The Inland Empire has a rich cultural past. If you lived in this area during the early 20th century, you didn’t need to travel far to see the great stars of the theatrical world. They came here, to the Opera House in San Bernardino.
Located at what is now Court and D streets, the opera house was built four years before Los Angeles had one of its own and was for many years perhaps the finest and most elaborate theater in Southern California. The opera house was built by mountain man-turned civic leader James W. Waters and his partner, Herman Brinkmeyer, as an investment in 1882. The beautiful red brick edifice with white facade topped by a golden eagle was known throughout the country for presenting top quality shows and concerts.
The grand opening at the Opera House featured Hamilton’s Royal Australian Minstrels, which played to a packed house.
After Waters’ death in 1889, his daughter, Martha L. Kiplinger, continued on as the manager. She immediately began booking traveling shows to appear, and by the turn of the century the big-time entertainers came.
National companies on tour introduced both grand and light opera performances.
Some of the great performances of the Opera House’s heyday included Lillian Russell in “Wildfire,” George M. Cohan and Sam H. Harris in “Brewster’s Millions,” Madame Nazimova in “A Doll’s House,” Ethel Barrymore in “The Five-Pound Look,” and the all African-American cast in “Shuffle off to Buffalo.”
Architect Walter J. Saunders extensively remodeled the theater inside and out in 1912.
Longtime San Bernardino resident Janet Miles, who died in 2008 at age 107, recalled in her memoirs (published by the San Bernardino Historical and Pioneer Society in 1994) there were box seats on the north and south walls with red velvet curtains at the rear. The orchestra pit was in front of the stage at floor level. Birdie Bohan and Edith Ulrich were the pianists, Ernest De Soto, the violinist, and Mr. Parsons played the drums.
According to Sun columnist Earl E. Buie, in one of his “They Tell Me” columns in 1958, the Opera House’s seating capacity was between 1,200 and 1,400. He noted on the really big nights the house sold out days in advance.
One of the best actresses of the early 1900s to perform at the San Bernardino Opera House was Maude Ewing Adams Kiskadden, known professionally as Maude Adams.
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Nov. 11, 1872, Adams began her four-decade career in 1872 at 9 months old, appearing on stage in her mother’s arms. She soon became one of the most successful stars of the “Old West,” second only to Lotta Crabtree.
In 1905, she starred in Scottish playwright Sir James M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan.” Barrie adapted the part especially for Adams, conveying in a letter to the actress that she had inspired the character of “the boy who wouldn’t grow up.”
Maude designed her own costumes for the play and invented what is now known as the “Peter Pan collar.” She garnered rave reviews for her turn as Peter, which she prepared for by spending an isolated month in the Catskills of upstate New York.
Over the next decade, Maude Adams performed the role more than 1,500 times. One of those performances was at the San Bernardino Opera House on April 19, 1913.
During the days leading up to the big event, The San Bernardino Daily Sun raved about Adams upcoming performance.
“Miss Adams has long been recognized as the most popular actress on the American stage. She has a bigger following than any man or woman that has ever graced the boards in this country. It does not seem strange or unwarranted, therefore, that her coming here has been awaited with some suspense, and to venture the assertion that she will be greeted by an audience limited only by the capacity of the theater.”
On April 19 — the day of her performance in San Bernardino — the newspaper boasted:
“The appearance of Maude Adams in (James M.) Barrie’s ‘Peter Pan’ at the Opera House tonight is certain to attract one of the largest audiences that has ever filled the theater. Miss Adam’s portrait of Peter, the boy who wouldn’t grow up, is full of elfish charm and beauty.”
The next day, the San Bernardino Daily Sun applauded how Maude’s star performance appeared to not disappoint anyone.
After her appearance in “Peter Pan” at the Opera House, a huge crowd of adoring fans waited for Maude at the Santa Fe Station and then presented a basket of poppies to her before boarding the train and leaving San Bernardino.
Within a year, the theater began catering to a new entertainment craze — motion pictures — by showing silent movies as well as vaudeville.
As this new form of entertainment was really coming into vogue during the 1920s, San Bernardino was keeping up with the times. The creative genius of William Fox, the guru of the lavish Fox West Coast Theaters, was making his way throughout Southern California. Within a few years, San Bernardino had three of them.
The writing was on the wall for the grand ole opera house and its last day of operation came May 15, 1927. The beautiful edifice was torn down later that year when Court Street was extended from D Street through to the new courthouse on Arrowhead Avenue.
Contact Nick Cataldo at Yankeenut15@gmail.com and read more of his local history articles at .
