Fort Recovery Morvilius Opera House

No pictures…. Just a clarification! If you saw Tuesday’s Daily Standard, you may have read that the company that is reinforcing our upper stage area wanted to close the brick street (Wayne Street )
for 3 weeks!! That is NOT happening. After that came out there was a meeting and a compromise was made! Their equipment will take up a few parking spaces in front of the opera house, but they now will only close the strret when actually using the equipment to move the various steel pieces into the second story performance hall. It is estimated that the street will only be closed for about 10 minutes each time they are ready to move a new piece of steel into the building! That sounds SOOO much more reasonable. Thanks to all for your cooperation!!

I spy with my eyes….two new additions to our stage area!! Do you see them??
Yes, that is William Shakespeare directly above the stage! It was pretty exciting when we were removing wallpaper 5 or 6 years ago & found home hiding there!!! Replacing the ceiling made us lose him, but only temporarily! He’s back!!
And #2 is the first reproduction flat of the “Green Room” has been put on the frame! It looks great! There was much discussion on how to get the job done well between Judy, Lorri, & Sharon! I’d say they nailed it! The rest will be up soon!!

The moment has FINALLY come to officially open our doors to the community.

Please save the date. Our committee looks forward to celebrating this very special occasion with all of you very soon!💜

Another fun tour with a nice donation towards our project! Thank you Wellman family for coming to Fort Recovery today!

It’s Friday! Curtains were hung! Project not complete, but they look amazing.
Even from the outside along St Rt 119!

The curtain hanging event scheduled for today got pushed back to Friday due to a delay in arrival of needed drapery hardware.😟 But what’s 1 more minor delay after all this time & many worse delays?
Meanwhile, we had a great group of 9 ladies tour the opera house yesterday & they made a nice donation after the tour. Thanks! It has been turned over to our treasurer!
I think the taxi is going to become a favorite photo op! Do you agree?
After the tour, the riser under the balcony steps got its second & final coat of paint!

And with the help of a couple of experts, our horse is harnessed up & ready to pull that taxi! Thanks Bob & Mike Roessner!

When the Opera House has its grand opening on July 29, 2026, our donors’ names will be posted to recognize the founders & supporters of this project. We would love to have your name included! The base donation level starts at $5,000.00 & includes all donations made since the beginning of the project in 2020. The total gift can also include future pledges. So, if your cumulative gift is at $4,000, if you would like to pledge $500 a year for the next 2 years, your name would be included on the donor wall at the $5000 level. Of course, this opportunity exists for all higher levels of giving also. Call Amy Kaiser @419-852-2022 or Nancy Knapke @419-852-6110 to donate or make a pledge.
Don’t miss this opportunity to have you or your families’ name posted as one of those responsible for helping to preserve this treasure!! Thank you!

Today’s pictures are in honor of Memorial Day & the 997 soldiers & camp followers that lost their lives in 1791 on the banks of the Wabash River & in 1794 defending the newly built Fort Revovery. Every year these crosses are put up around the monument that holds the bones that were found on the battlefield after the wars. It is an impressive sight to see in person!!
Thank you to all our military for your service & God Bless America as we head to year 250!

I promised more pictures, so here are a few of the flats (scenery from the stage) that we have hung on our walls. These date back to 1883-84 & were purchased from a company in Chicago.. Sosman & Landis. When you think of them being over 140 yrs old & made out of canvas, glue & paint on a wooden frame, it’s amazing they still look as good as they do! Notice that one panel was hung with the back facing out, so you can see the signatures from various performers that were in our opera house. Every flat has signatures on the back!