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building was purchased by Col. Henry P. King. On
February 3rd, 1901, it was announced the building would be transformed into an opera house. Small storefronts remained at the front of the building, but the opera house was soon finished later that same year. The first show to be put on would be "Faust" on October 18th, 1901. The opera house would remain busy, hosting many different types of acts and sermons until 1914.
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performed at the King Opera House. After one such performance, the daughter of practitioner Dr. William
Parchman reportedly went up to Tolson to speak with him about the show. A friend told Parchman his daughter and Tolson were flirting with each other during this conversation. One night while Tolson was waiting for his train at the depot, Dr. Parchman shot him multiple times.
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The auditorium of the opera house has 218 seats on the ground level, with about 96 seats in the balcony; all seats on the ground floor have an intricate, period-correct design. Built to accommodate large and well-sized performances on its stage, the opera house's basement, in contrast, has two small
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In 1979 it was purchased by the City of Van Buren
Community Development Agency and restored to the King Opera House. Many areas of the interior, including structural beams, still retained fire damage. Much of the restoration done during this time can still be seen today. The project took place until
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There was also a
Paranormal Documentary made back in 2023 directed by Gavin Webb. It goes into the history of the Opera house and why it could be so haunted. Even talking about the days before it was the famous "King Opera" and brings up that a lady in white is seen in the men's restroom asking for
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The King Opera house has been reported to be haunted by staff and many citizens of Van Buren. The main haunting is that of
Charles Tolson. Charles C. Tolson was born on December 25th, 1868 in Mississippi. He was the manager of a stock company and a vaudeville actor. During his time as an actor, he
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By the 1930's, the building was renamed to be the Bob Burn's
Theater after the famous actor and radio star of Van Buren. The front of the building remained a storefront with the top floor being an apartment. In the 1960's, Malco Theaters bought the property, but retained the name as the Bob Burn's
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structure first opened its doors in 1891. The ground floor was used partly as the
Willard Billiard Parlor and the other half was the Wallace Saloon and Restaurant. The second floor was home to the Van Buren Press newspaper. This structure was at the time known as the "Wallace Block". In 1898, the
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On March 14th, 1914, a fire began in a dry-cleaning storefront. The flames took over the opera house and damaged the entire interior. Despite the damage, vaudeville acts remained booked. On
November 11th, 1914, it was announced the opera house would be renovated into a moving picture house. In
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February 1919, the remodel was finished and the doors opened as the Van Buren
Theater. June 3rd, 1919, Joe Huff bought the building. In April 1920, he announced it would undergo another remodel.
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The City of Van Buren operated the building until 2022, when they turned over management to Arts on Main (the arts-centered nonprofit next to the building).
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The stage measures 28 feet wide from curtain to curtain, has a depth of 26.5 feet, and a baton height of 20 feet.
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dressing rooms and two closets. The basement can be highly cramped in its relatively modest changing area and
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her
Husband then disappears. This film was titled "The King Opera House: A Paranormal Documentary".
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National Register of Historic Places in Crawford County, Arkansas
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215:'s Main Street. Since it was built in the late 19th century, the
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Historic district contributing properties in Arkansas
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359:Performing arts centers in Arkansas
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113:Show map of the United States
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349:Opera houses in Arkansas
181:Architectural style
157:35.436547°N 94.341359°W
334:Paranormal Documentary
61:King Opera House, 2007
40:U.S. Historic district
307:National Park Service
162:35.436547; -94.341359
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136:Coordinates
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283:References
261:green room
199:ID76000402
148:94°20′29″W
145:35°26′12″N
270:Hauntings
185:Victorian
123:Location
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231:History
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