Victoria Opera House

On May 13th 1904, the Village of Baltimore voted to have the council issue bonds to build acouncil house, fire department and calaboose. June 17th of that year, bonds in the amount of$4,000 were issued, and the purchase of 11 feet of ground next door was purchased for $325 togive more land to the building project.

The Baltimore City Hall and Opera House was renamed the Victoria Theater in 1919 until 1931.The Victoria was the site of silent films, vaudeville shows, lectures and religious events. Due tothe “dueling downtowns”, the Victoria closed its’ doors in to films in 1931 when the owner movedthe projection equipment to the Aurora Theater in Basil.

In 1936 the McNeely family purchased the Victoria Theater and renamed it the Ohio Theater,which ushered in the time of the “talkies”. The Ohio Theater showed films until the mid to late50’s when it’s doors were closed for good. The building fell silent for nearly 60 years until theBaltimore Downtown Restoration Committee worked with the Village of Baltimore to begin therestoration process in earnest beginning in 2011.With the concerted effort of the Village Administrator Teri Wise, Mayor Bradley Nicodemus andRepresentative Tim Shaffer, we would not have come to the success we have found today. Wehave received a total of $90,000 in grants since 2011 to fix the leaking roof, tuckpoint andchimney work, installation of electricity, accessibility ramp and painting. We will continue to writefor grants and fundraise to continue with the restoration of the last Opera House in Fairfield