February 21, 2001

Students take guided tour of Opera House

Area schools explore past, future of historic building

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
       Last Thursday morning, members of the Opera House Heritage Association took nearly 350 fourth- and fifth-grade students from area elementary schools on a guided tour of the history of the Opera House. The students learned about Traverse City's history, how the Opera House came to be built and later saved plus ongoing restoration efforts to return it to its original form.
      They also got a taste of the music and entertainment from that bygone era. Area educators and musicians Donna Shugart and Mary Anne Rivers put on a vaudeville-style show for the students and discussed the types of entertainment commonly booked in Opera Houses at the turn of the 19th Century.
      While their mission was educational, the morning's activities were also meant to spark an interest in the Opera House for the next generation.
      "We thought this would be a great way to teach them about some history of their own home town," said Kim Lovell, marketing director of the Opera House Heritage Association. "We love to share good news about history."
      Students from Living God Christian School and Eastern, Central, Long Lake and Glenn Loomis Elementary schools participated in the event. Many had never visited the City Opera House before. Others had just come to enjoy an event like the Festival of Trains but did not know about the building's heritage.
      "I learned a lot about how to find the original work under the paints," said Sophie Frank, a fourth-grade student at Long Lake Elementary School. "I liked the music, too."
      Billing himself as an architectural conservator, Steve Seebohn of Petoskey told students the process he uses to uncover the original artwork, which is often buried in layers of paint. He also discussed different finishing methods used in building at the time and showed samples of stencils he has found at the Opera House.
      "I use the same tools for restoration that they used to make it," said Seebohn, who has worked on restoration projects around the country, including the Michigan Capital building and the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, D.C. "We want all the restored artwork to look the same as it originally did."
      After their morning's visit, the students will write an essay about the Opera House, drawing on all that they learned. The essays will be entered in a contest sponsored by Candice Miller, Michigan's Secretary of State who is also the state's official historian. The contest invites fourth- and fifth-grade students to write about a favorite historical site in their area, explaining why they like it and its historical significance. The contest will be part of upcoming Michigan Week activities.
      When members of the Opera House Heritage Association got wind of the contest, they decided to offer the Opera House to area teachers as a topic for their students. Event organizers hoped this would both introduce students to this historic landmark and show Traverse City's appreciation to the state for recent restoration grants. Opera House Heritage Association members plan to collect all the essays from participating students and send them in together to Miller's office.
      Students also received a blank drawing of the Opera House's playbill curtain to take with them. They can use this sheet to draw their own version of a curtain; all of the drawings will be displayed at an upcoming curtain restoration project scheduled for mid-March.
      "We wanted to show the students in a real tangible way that the Opera House has real benefit to Traverse City and will be used for generations to come," Mary Anne Rivers noted. "We're hoping to get a little ownership in here from the kids, this is your town and the Opera House is very special because only three historically preserved opera houses are left in Michigan out of hundreds built."