{"nrhp_refnum":"69000156","name":"Fulton Opera House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"12-14 N. Prince St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lancaster","county":"Lancaster County","state":"PA","lat":40.03804426600007,"lon":-76.30822138164689,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1969-08-11","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1969-08-11","areas_of_significance":["Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story theater building at 12-14 North Prince Street in the business section of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, originally built in 1852 as Fulton Hall, a town hall and community center, and remodeled in 1873 as the Fulton Opera House.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the building is a type specimen of a 19th-century theater, restored to its late 19th-century appearance, and that it is among the oldest surviving theaters in the interior of the country. It hosted many touring companies and notable performers until 1930, and the restoration by the Fulton Foundation returned it to active use.","narrative":"Built in 1852 as Fulton Hall, a town hall and community center on the foundations of the old Lancaster prison, this four-story building in downtown Lancaster was remodeled in 1873 as the Fulton Opera House. Samuel Sloane designed the original structure, and John and Gottlieb Sener built it. The theater seated about 1,100 in its later arrangement and hosted touring companies and notable performers, including Edwin Booth, Sarah Bernhardt, Adelina Patti and Buffalo Bill, until 1930. Its interior features gilded boxes in a baroque style, and its facade is Victorian with Italian treatment. Following a 1964 purchase by the Fulton Foundation, workmen restored the facade, vestibule, auditorium and balcony to their late 19th-century appearance. The building is regarded as a rare surviving example of a 19th-century American theater that has operated continuously.","period_of_significance":"1852-1930, 1873","architect_builder":"Samuel Sloane (architect of the 1852 building); John and Gottlieb Sener (building contractors); Edwin Forrest Duray (1873 remodeling designer); C. Emblem Urban (architect of 1893 alterations)","architectural_style":"Victorian facade with Italian treatment; baroque interior","criteria":[],"status_note":"Restored to its late 19th-century appearance by the Fulton Foundation beginning 1964 and still an active theater showing films, opera and stage productions.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.871955-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/69000156_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000156/0b8e0b820e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000156/0b8e0b820e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Scanlan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fulton_Opera_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Scanlan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fulton_Opera_House.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"01000956","name":"Lancaster City Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/lancaster-city-historic-district-01000956/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994229","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton_Opera_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5508452"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lancaster-county/fulton-opera-house-69000156/"}