Marking another historic Belleville site

A crowd came out Wednesday to see the unveiling of the third-of-five historic plaques the Hastings County Historical Society is erecting to mark the 200th anniversary of the city of Belleville.

The third plaque marks the Griffin Opera House, built in 1884 at the corner Bridge and Church streets, site of the present O’Flynn Weese law offices.

It was a popular centre of theatre, opera, and minstrel shows, halfway between Toronto and Montreal.

Belleville Councillor Mitch Panciuk says the plaques help everyone get a better understanding of the city’s history.

#1 PANCIUK PLAQUE

Panciuk says the city is pleased with the plaques’ project by the Society.

#2 PANCIUK PLAQUE

Guest speaker Diana Koechlin, Chair of Later Life Learning, told the crowd the original Belleville Opera House  had been built earlier but burned down after three years. She said the Griffin building was red brick and sloped down the Church Street hill. It could hold an audience of 1,300 people, which was 10% of Belleville’s population at the time.

Koechlin noted that “talking movies” came in during the 1920s, the beginning of the end of the theatre which was torn down in 1933.

She pointed to the McCarthy Theatre which was built on Front Street downtown in 1938 and closed in 1962, which eventually led to the 2003 opening of the Empire Theatre by Mark Rashotte in 2003.

Koechlin said it was “all the legacy of the Griffin Opera House.”

Steve Weese told the crowd the law office was pleased to have the marker at the front of its building.

He noted that pieces of the brick walls of the original opera house have been found, during some reconstruction at the present building.

The O’Flynn Weese office hosted a reception following the unveiling.