{{Short description|Venue in Manhattan, New York (1889–1959)}} {{Infobox building | name = Harlem Opera House | native_name = | native_name_lang = | logo = | logo_size = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | image = Harlem Opera House.png | image_size = | image_alt = | image_caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_mark = | pushpin_label = | pushpin_relief = | map_caption = | pushpin_mapsize = | coordinates = | former_names = | alternate_names = | etymology = | status = | cancelled = | topped_out = | building_type = | architectural_style = | classification = | location = Manhattan, New York City | address = | location_city = | location_country = | grid_name = | grid_position = | altitude = | current_tenants = | namesake = | groundbreaking_date = | construction_start_date = | construction_stop_date = | topped_out_date = | completion_date = | opened_date = 1889 | inauguration_date = | relocated_date = | renovation_date = | closing_date = | demolished_date = 1959 | cost = | ren_cost = | client = | owner = | landlord = | affiliation = | height = | architectural = | tip = | antenna_spire = | roof = | top_floor = | observatory = | diameter = | circumference = | weight = | other_dimensions = | structural_system = | material = | size = | floor_count = | floor_area = | elevator_count = | grounds_area = | architect = John B. McElfatrick | architecture_firm = | developer = | engineer = | structural_engineer = | services_engineer = | civil_engineer = | other_designers = | quantity_surveyor = | main_contractor = | awards = | designations = | known_for = | ren_architect = | ren_firm = | ren_engineer = | ren_str_engineer = | ren_serv_engineer = | ren_civ_engineer = | ren_oth_designers = | ren_qty_surveyor = | ren_contractor = | ren_awards = | parking = | public_transit = | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> | embed = | embedded = | references = | footnotes = }}

'''Harlem Opera House''' was an opera house located at 211 West 125th Street, in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Designed by architect John B. McElfatrick, it was built in 1889 by Oscar Hammerstein; it was his first theater in the city.

== History == An early work at the house was ''The Charlatan'', an operetta with music and lyrics by John Philip Sousa and a book by Charles Klein,<ref>Chessum, Tracey. [http://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/09/16/musical-month-sousas-charlatan-guest-blogger "Musical of the Month: ''The Charlatan''"], Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, September 16, 2011, accessed January 24, 2016</ref> which transferred from the Knickerbocker Theatre. From 1900 to 1911, the theater was known as '''Keith & Proctor’s Harlem Opera House'''. Through the early 1920s, the venue was included in the Keith-Albee vaudeville circuit. By 1922, it was purchased by Frank Schiffman and subsequently closed.<ref name=cinematreasures.org>{{cite web|title=Harlem Opera House|url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/533|publisher=Cinema Treasures|access-date=24 January 2016}}</ref> The Harlem Opera House showed films starting in the mid-1930s. It was demolished in December 1959.{{sfn|Smith|2003|p=145}}

==Architecture and fittings== The venue featured a wide and a grand staircase and balcony of polished Italian marble. The auditorium offered blue seats, and the boxes were arranged in three tiers on either side of the stage. They occupied the most conspicuous part of the theatre, were set forward, and were entirely open. The curtain was made by E. T. Harvey and was decorated with an image of Shakespeare reading one of his plays to Queen Elizabeth and some members of her court; it was painted in bright colors.{{sfn|Epoch Publishing Company|1889|p=563}}

==References== *{{Source-attribution|Epoch Publishing Company's ''The Epoch'' (1889)}} {{Reflist}}

==Bibliography== *{{cite book|author=Epoch Publishing Company|title=The Epoch|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Xk4AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA563|edition=Public domain|volume=6|year=1889|publisher=Epoch Publishing Company|location=New York, New York}} *{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Eric Ledell|title=African American Theater Buildings: An Illustrated Historical Directory, 1900-1955|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ooXeCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA145|date=24 October 2003|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-4922-4}}

==External links== * [http://www.ibdb.com/Venue/View/1187#1187 Harlem Opera House] at the Internet Broadway Database

{{Authority control}} {{Coord|40|48|33|N|73|56|57|W|region:US-NY|display=title}}

Category:Theatres in Harlem Category:Opera houses in New York City Category:Opera in New York City Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1889 Category:1959 disestablishments in New York (state) Category:Former theatres in Manhattan Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1959 Category:Defunct opera houses