Blog

Thank you to the Adams Community Chamber for the honor of John McMahon Volunteer of the Year! And for the Adams Community Foundation Grant to repair our fascia and gutters this spring! Our historical story would make a great book, with a little mystery, loss, adversity, growth, disappointment, detours, and triumphs! This road to success is always under construction!
 
CHAPTER 1 Optimistic Dreams 1900-1902 FC Reese purchased the corner lot after the great fire burned down the First National Bank and pieced together a plan to build the opera house.
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​A common question on tours – Do you have ghosts? – or some form of that. Have you seen or heard a ghost? So I will share Corning Opera House and theater tales! You decide if they are Tall Ghostly Tales or not!
Theatrical folk are superstitious! According to early theater days (1700-1800s), it is bad luck for an actor to whistle on or off stage! In the early days of theater, original stagehands were hired from sailing ships. The sailors were used to climbing the ropes and their skills were needed on adjusting theatrical rigging. Sailors used coded whistles to move the sails, therefore if you whistled on stage, the stagehand took that as his cue to lower a set piece from the rigging. If done at the wrong time this could result in injury or death. Today’s stagehands use intercoms or light signals. Just remember don’t whistle!
Then there are ghost lights! A single bulb is left on stage whenever a theater is dark. Some say it is to chase away mischievous spirits, others say it keeps the ghosts contented. But most likely it is for safety, no one wants to tumble off the front of a stage. Or items on a stage are always moving, today 

​People are fascinated to learn under the original Corning Opera House stage were two dressing rooms, one for female and one for males. In the center of the stage was a trap door that led to either room. When the Adams County Free Press purchased the building in 1935, the dressing rooms were painted entirely black and became the Darkroom.