Delaware's 'most iconic building' was saved by an extensive restoration 50 years ago
It was 50 years ago when The Grand, known as The Grand Opera House at the time, was at a crossroads.
Long from being the plush Wilmington arts hub it is today with a steady stream of national acts taking to its 152-year-old stage, "The Grand Lady of Market Street" was a shell of what it once was and would become again.
Dark most of the time, the run-down, dilapidated theater was anything but what its name suggested ― mostly used to screen low-budget movies on weekends with patrons sitting in seats that were already damaged beyond repair.
"It was just falling to pieces. It's really quite sad when you look at photos from that time," says Pam Manocchio, executive director of The Grand.
The theater had abandoned live theater and become a movie house starting in the 1910s and was even leased to Warner Brothers for a few years. For a short time, the theater was completely closed and abandoned.
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Before that, in its heyday, The Grand had been home to live shows by acting troupes and lectures "by the great thinkers, writers, scientists and political figures in the nation," wrote The News Journal's Bill Frank in an April 1972 column titled "Some grandeur due back at Grand Opera House."
Going to live events at The Grand, such as talks by former U.S. Secretary of State and Scopes trial attorney William Jennings Bryant, had been part of the lifestyle of Wilmingtonians drawn in by the theater's lavish interior before radio and television began to anchor one-time patrons to their homes more of the time.
But that all changed five decades ago when major changes helped pave the way for The Grand as we now know it.
From the Masons to nonprofit
To make it a central part of the downtown's revitalization and a "magnet to midtown" as The News Journal once wrote, an audacious plan was hatched in 1971 to return it as a statewide center for the arts.
"It was an amazing vision by a group of volunteers, basically," Manocchio says. "We call them 'The Grand Pioneers.'"
The Grand had opened 100 years prior in 1871 after being built by the Delaware Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons on the ground floor of its new temple, designed by architect Thomas Dixon, who also built Wilmington's Grace Methodist Church at Ninth and West streets near downtown.
At one time, it was the third-largest theater in the country.
The Delaware Masons, who had long maintained and preserved the historic building with its iconic cast iron façade, deeded the property to the city.
The deed negated capital gains, along with property and transfer taxes, allowing the newly formed nonprofit Grand Opera House Inc. to assume control, maintaining and renovating the theater with the Masons remaining on the third and fourth floors.
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The deal was made under the stipulation that if The Grand was not used as a cultural center, it would revert back to the Masons.
A News Journal staff editorial ("The Old Grand Wakes Up") at the time applauded the moves: "The best idea is that the Grand Opera House is a vibrant building whose magnificence has been muted. It's an asset in a city which doesn't have many. This is an idea to put that asset back to work, to show that the old opera house is no phantom."
New-look Grand
The first stage of the restoration, unveiled in 1973, included:
600 new seats donated by the nearby Loews's Aldine Theater
New projection and sound equipment
A fresh coat of paint inside and out
Repaired floors
Modernized stage
Updated house and stage lighting.
Longer term renovations in the coming years would include new heating and electric systems, air conditioning, a $250,000 façade restoration from the Longwood Foundation, along with restoration of the theater's original ceiling, designed and finished by Philadelphia-based brother team of decorative artists and fresco painters Charles and William Kehrwieder.
Over its 152 years, the theater has had different levels of upkeep, which still leads to some uncanny discoveries when new work is needed at The Grand.
"It's a very difficult building to maintain because of its age so you run into some interesting structural decisions from the past," she says. "When we go to upgrade something, you never know what surprises you will find."
The stage comes alive once again
In 1973, in-person arts events began breathing new life onto the 800 block of N. Market St. with five concerts announced in that year's schedule, including shows by the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Orchestra and the Vienna Boys Choir. It would be rededicated three years later to much fanfare and celebration with a much fuller schedule, including performances by Bonnie Raitt and Tammy Wynette.
Offerings at the 1,200-seat theater have grown wildly throughout the years.
The Grand's main Copeland Hall hosts about 30 music, comedy and other live shows each year, welcoming everyone from Willie Nelson and B.B. King to Wilco and The White Stripes over the years. It's also home to four resident companies: the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, First State Ballet Theatre, OperaDelaware and The Rock Orchestra.
And five years ago, Architectural Digest magazine lauded The Grand as the "most iconic building" in the state, proving that the old opera house was indeed no phantom after being rescued from the very real possible fate of a wrecking ball.
The '23-'24 Grand main hall schedule
Sept. 17 – Tig Notaro
Sept. 20 – Direct from Sweden The Music of ABBA
Oct. 5 – Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt
Oct. 8 – An Evening with Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Nov. 1 – Pink Martini featuring China Forbes
Nov. 2 – Sons of Serendip
Nov. 4 – The Moth: True Stories Told Live
Nov. 11 – The Rock Orchestra plays David Bowie
Nov. 18 – Graham Nash
Nov. 30. – Tab Benoit & The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Dec. 7 – Watchhouse
Dec. 9 – The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra
Dec. 10 – An Evening with Judy Collins - Holidays & Hits
Jan. 11 – The Greatest Love of All: A Tribute to Whitney Houston Starring Belinda Davids
Jan. 25 – Erth's Dinosaur Zoo Live
Feb. 17 – The Rock Orchestra plays Bruce Springsteen
March 13 – Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood LIVE
March 24 – Gaelic Storm and High Kings
April 3 – One Night of Queen Performed by Gary Mullen and The Works
April 5 – An Evening with David Sedaris
May 2 – Lewis Black
May 4 – The Rock Orchestra plays Fleetwood Mac
May 9 – The Temptations and the Four Tops
Have a story idea? Contact Ryan Cormier of Delaware Online/The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier) and X (Twitter) (@ryancormier).
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: The Grand, Delaware's 'most iconic building, was restored 50 years ago
