{"nrhp_refnum":"82002535","name":"Sesser Opera House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"106 W. Franklin St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sesser","county":"Franklin County","state":"IL","lat":38.09193649100007,"lon":-89.05071790899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-03-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick opera house and theater building at 106 W. Franklin Street on the main downtown street of Sesser, Franklin County, Illinois, built in 1914 by contractor James H. Hill with Sam Criswell and Canada Jones to replace an earlier frame opera house that burned.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the only remaining theater building in Franklin County without major structural changes. It was one of six theaters operated by Reid, Yemm, and Hayes in the early 1900s. It is also described as an early small-town opera house with a projection booth built into its original plans, and it served as the community's cultural center.","narrative":"Sesser Opera House, at 106 W. Franklin Street, was built in 1914 by contractor James H. Hill with Sam Criswell and Canada Jones after an earlier frame opera house burned. The brick building is about 40 feet wide and 150 feet deep, with a tall rear stage house, an arched arcade entry, and a roughly 250 to 300 seat auditorium. Its street front combines stucco, red Spanish roof tiles, and terra cotta bands in a Mission Style rare for southern Illinois, with Egyptian Revival, Romanesque, and Sullivanesque touches and Indian-motif and wolf gargoyle details. It was planned for both films and live shows, with a projection room above the entry. The nomination calls it the only theater in Franklin County without major structural change. It hosted minstrel shows, vaudeville, school plays, talent shows, bond drives, and visiting country music performers. Alterations include 1930s seating and projector replacement and a new forced-air heating system.","period_of_significance":"1900-1914 (specific date 1914)","architect_builder":"James Hill (James H. Hill, contractor, with Sam Criswell and Canada Jones; Criswell brothers did the stucco and terra cotta trim)","architectural_style":"Mission Style with elements of Egyptian Revival, Victorian Romanesque, and Sullivanesque, plus American Vernacular sculptural details","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as fair; the form marks the property as unoccupied, with the 1930s projectors still in place and able to be made operational.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.416239-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/55/8928/28892855/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/82002535.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002535/a89ba35053-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002535/a89ba35053-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"porterhse","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sesser_Opera_House_2013-04-23_20-50-35.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">porterhse</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:Sesser_Opera_House_2013-04-23_20-50-35.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892855","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesser_Opera_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7456115"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/franklin-county/sesser-opera-house-82002535/"}