{"nrhp_refnum":"77000939","name":"Collingwood Opera House and Office Building","other_names":["Bardavon"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"31--37 Market St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Poughkeepsie","county":"Dutchess County","state":"NY","lat":41.703073086000074,"lon":-73.92884581099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-10-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex of two connected buildings at 31-37 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, New York: a five-story brick office building built in 1863 and a rear opera house (later the Bardavon Theatre) built in 1868-69 by James Collingwood.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the two buildings form a small, coherent complex reflecting mid-nineteenth century Poughkeepsie's commercial and recreational life, with period craftsmanship in design and construction. The theatre served the city for decades as an entertainment and educational center that hosted prominent performers. Its 1923 movie-palace redesign is also counted as significant because it shows a shift in function and interior fashion.","narrative":"Two linked buildings on Market Street in downtown Poughkeepsie make up this complex: a five-story brick office building from 1863 and, behind it, an opera house opened on February 1, 1869. James Collingwood, who had bought the site in 1860 and used the rear yard as a coal and lumber depot, built both, and the pair were jointly owned and shared a utilities system. James Post designed the opera house, which hosted lectures, vaudeville, minstrel shows and performers such as Lillian Russell, Edwin Booth and Sergei Rachmaninoff. In 1923 the interior was redesigned by local architect William Beardsley as a movie palace with elaborate plasterwork in Greek, Roman, Islamic and Venetian motifs. The office building keeps cast-iron lintels and cornice, pressed-tin ceilings and oak woodwork. After closing in 1975, the theatre was reopened by a non-profit group. The listing recognizes the complex as a coherent example of nineteenth-century commercial and entertainment building.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"James S. Post (architect of the theatre); William Beardsley (1923 remodeling); built by James Collingwood","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Theatre closed in 1975, then reopened by a non-profit organization for stage presentations and films; condition listed as good.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.407014-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/77000939.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000939/24fb1d4bc7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000939/24fb1d4bc7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Rolf Müller (User:Rolfmueller)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bardavon_building_poughkeepsie_2007_03_18.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Rolf Müller (User:Rolfmueller)</a>, <a href=\"http://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:Bardavon_building_poughkeepsie_2007_03_18.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317337","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardavon_1869_Opera_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4860094"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/dutchess-county/collingwood-opera-house-and-office-building-77000939/"}