The cultural life of the city of Winona was supported by the establishment of the Winona Opera House and Philharmonic Hall. These buildings were the sites of many locally produced plays and theatrical performances. They were also used for performances by famous visiting artists, lecturers, and musicians who were brought to Winona by O. F. Burlingame, the astute Impresario of the Winona Opera House.
Located in the Syndicate Block, East side of Nicollet Between 5th Street and 6th Street, (Razed). The Syndicate Block was one of the most ambitious development projects of its day. It contained some five acres of office and retail space. Among the many tenants the Syndicate housed through its hundred-year history, there were two notable photography studios: the studio of Frederick E. Haynes, and the Sweet Studio. Both of these studios were located in suite 605.
Scott, a citation in the Saint Paul History and Area Business Index describes Market Hall as being on 7th Street West, at the northeast corner of Saint Peter Street. The index also shows several articles about the Market Hall, at least one of which containing an illustration. However, the articles themselves are on microfilm, so any further investigation would require a $15 service fee as explained in the attached document regarding the library's policy on service and delivery fees.
Known as the Pomeroy Opera House.
The (Madison) Wisconsin State Journal 1885: January 27 noted that the venue was the M.E. Church and the other reviews referred to it as the Methodist Church. Checking the city directory for 1884 I found listed the First Methodist Episcopal Church at the northwest corner of Wisconsin Ave. and E Dayton. This seems to fit the bill for the Twain Cable shows on January 21 and 27 of 1885.
Known as the Myers Opera House. 118 E. Milwaukee Street, Janesville, WI 53545
The Myers Theater was built in 1870 as the Myers Opera House. It started showing movies around 1929. In 1977 the Myers Theater was demolished and replaced with a bank. The history page for this theater gives Milwaukee Avenue and South Parker Drive as its location. Google Maps returns East Milwaukee Street and South Parker Drive. http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/14142
January 20, 1885
I don't have documentation that this is where the Twain-Cable speaking engagement occurred but the Twain Speaking Engagements site mentions it occurred in the Methodist Church and Janet C. Olson Assistant University Archivist at Northwestern University Library provided me with the address:
The night the opera first came to town
The Grand Theatre was designed by Merle F. Baker and was constructed on the foundation of the Keokuk Opera House (Circa 1880) which burned in 1923. It was patterned after theaters in Chicago and was praised as one of the finest theaters in the country at the time.
http://www.keokukiowatourism.org/theatre.htm
It Happened In Keokuk Friday, December 7, 1923
KEOKUK'S 43 YEAR OLD OPERA HOUSE IS GUTTED IN EARLY MORNING BLAZE.
I have no direct information that the Opera House was the location of the Twain-Cable reading of January 13, 1885, but I found this listing in the Hannibal City Directory 1885-86. Hannibal Opera House Co., cor of 5th and Center, J.B. Price, manager, office at F. & M. bank.
Image: Hannibal, Missouri: Bluff City Memories By Steve Chou