Snow Hill's old opera house readies for next stage

It's raining, so it's wet inside the old Mason's Opera House building.

Not just wet. Water streams off the roof, onto the ground and through a gap under a door opposite from the main entrance off Washington Street. It collects in a pool a few inches deep in a corner of the main room where the rough flooring gives way to bare dirt.

A contractor for the town of Snow Hill recently completed a $260,000 structural overhaul of the building, replacing about half of the roof, installing steel support beams and constructing a second floor over part of the base floor.

But as the rising water silently attests on this soggy Tuesday afternoon, much work remains. Charlie Dorman, the town's mayor and former public works director, estimates the 107-year-old building will soak up at least $1 million in renovations before it's ready to be floated to tenants.

Why so much town treasure invested in one property: "It's the cornerstone," Dorman says, surveying the damp, cavernous room. And he means that literally. "It's at the corner of our only traffic light in town."

Town leaders envision the space holding an art and entertainment center, perhaps with a restaurant attached. They hope the development could become the vibrant focal point of a rejuvenated downtown.

"It's too nice of an old building to just let it go," Dorman says.

And it just so happens that the histories of the building and the town itself are tightly intertwined.

Mason's Opera House rose from the ashes of an 1893 fire that destroyed a barber shop and millinery store on the spot.

It could accommodate about 500 people inside three stories sheathed in brick. It naturally became a community gathering place, hosting silent movies, plays, musicals, vaudeville acts, dances, political meetings and high school graduation ceremonies.

In the 1930s, a W. Outten removed the third floor and its large parapet, giving the building its modern, art deco appearance. The ground floor became a restaurant; the second floor, a movie theater.

Fire again reshaped the property's fortunes in the 1940s, closing the theater. Now called the Outten Theater, it boasted a soda fountain downstairs and movies above. It was added to Maryland's Inventory of Historic Properties in 1988.

After more renovations that removed the marquee and wiped out most of the interior in the 1990s, the building turned into an antiques store. When the business closed in 1998, nothing took its place. The 5,000-square-foot building has been vacant ever since.

In the wake of his May 2012 election, Dorman declared that restoring the old opera house would be his first priority. That meant convincing its owner, businessman Bob Raley, to donate it to the town — a tall order considering he had once listed it for sale for $850,000.

"People had talked to him about it, but he was a very contrarian man," Dorman recalled. "But he and I hit it off."

Raley died in June 2013 not long after the donation was sealed.

The town's first order of business was to bring the building up to code. Worcester County chipped in $200,000, and the town spent $60,000 of its own money for the restoration, which was performed by the contractor Gillis Gilkerson.

Dorman said he isn't sure where the rest of the money will come from. But he is sure that it's a good investment for the town, which enjoys regular traffic during the day with its courthouse and government offices but little activity at night.

Snow Hill, population 2,100, is home to two restaurants. De McCormack runs one of them, the Harvest Moon Tavern.

When she opened its doors a half-decade ago, six businesses in town subsequently closed, "and we thought, 'What are we doing here?'" she recalled.

But the last couple years have seen an increase in business and more special events being hosted in town, attracting visitors from across the peninsula. The planned establishment of a brewery, to be called Snow Hill Brewing Co., also should be a boon to the town, she said.

As for the old opera house, McCormack said: "I hope something works out. From our point of view, it would be an awesome restaurant with all that brick."

Anything would be better than what it used to be, said Nikki Elliott, one of the owners of The Flower Shop in Snow Hill, which is across the street from the opera house.

"That building was in sad disrepair," she said. Restoring it to its former glory "can do nothing but help the downtown area."

jcox6@dmg.gannett.com

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On Twitter @Jeremy_Cox

TIMELINE

1893

Mason's Opera House rose from the ashes of a fire that destroyed a barber shop and millinery store on the spot, and could accommodate about 500 people.

1930s

W. Outten removed the third floor, giving the building its modern appearance. It housed a restaurant and movie theater.

1940s

Fire again closed the theater, by then called the Outten Theater. It was added to Maryland's Inventory of Historic Properties in 1988.

1990s

After more renovations, the building turned into an antiques store. The business closed in 1998, and the building has been vacant ever since.

2012

Newly elected Mayor Charlie Dorman declared that restoring the old opera house would be his first priority. A contractor for the town of Snow Hill recently completed a $260,000 structural overhaul of the building.