Editor's note:On Dec. 11, 1816, Indiana became the 19th state in the Union. On Jan. 28, 1836, Porter County was created. A year later, on Jan. 18, Lake County became independent. As the state celebrates its bicentennial, the Post-Tribune will be taking a regular look back at the history of Northwest Indiana.

“You are walking into history, every time you walk through our doors,” said Scot MacDonald, of the Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso.

Still standing sturdy at 104 Indiana Ave., the 123-year-old theater was conceived as Memorial Hall by members of Chaplain Brown Post 106 of the Grand Army of the Republic. The chapter was chartered on Oct. 24, 1882, to honor the Rev. James Caldwell Brown, who died in Paducah, Ky., in 1862. Brown founded the Valparaiso Presbyterian Church and organized the first company of soldiers from the community. This history is documented with newspaper clippings and photographs in “A Living Memorial,” written in 1993 by Marcia Burbage, historian for the Community Theatre Guild and the Memorial Opera House Foundation.

The founders wanted a functional war memorial, not merely a plaque or statue. They renamed the building Memorial Opera House in 1894 and in 2014 the Memorial was rededicated to honor veterans of all wars.

The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War — descendants of the members of the Grand Army of the Republic — still meet in the building, said MacDonald, who was named business director in March. He has been with the Opera House since 2012.

“I started out as the box office manager and became the artistic director in May of 2013,” he said. He works with full-time technical director Scott Miller, three part-time employees and 200 active volunteers who usher, build sets, design costumes, perform and more.

“In the last two years, our ticket sales have increased by $20,000,” MacDonald said. “In 2014, we sold $37,000 in season tickets and in 2016 we sold $57,000.”

He credits the boom in sales to the implementation of “flex packages.” This permits subscribers to customize their season package of shows.

After the Memorial Opera House opened in November 1893, it became a center for the arts, graduations, weddings and club gatherings. Noted lecturers gave talks from the stage. Of course, opera productions and Memorial Day celebrations were an important part of the offerings.

One of the local newspapers, The Messenger on Nov. 30, 1893, reported the new building was a “magnificent monument built by living heroes” with “generous public and private contributions.”

In 1894, performers staged “The Mikado” and in 1898 the Conservatory of Music of the northern Indiana Normal School produced “Faust.” On March 19, 1896, Rabbi Emil Gustav Hirsch gave a talk on “The New Religion.” John Phillip Sousa and his band performed here in 1898.

Actress Beulah Bondi, remembered for her warm-hearted performance as George Bailey's mother in “It's A Wonderful Life,” got her start in acting on the Memorial Opera House stage in January 1897 in “Little Lord Fauntleroy.” The Messenger gave her a rave review when it reported “Little Beulah Bondi, as Lord Fauntleroy, was the life of the whole piece. … A small star, but a bright one.”

In June 1906, several thousand members of the Sons of Union Veterans of Indiana gathered in Valparaiso for the 20th encampment, reported the Indianapolis Star on June 4, 1906. The group used the Hotel Lafayette for its headquarters and held all business sessions at the Memorial Opera House.

Vaudeville acts and moving pictures eventually made their way onto the Memorial stage after the turn of the century.

The war memorial found itself at the epicenter of a different kind of battle in April 1913 when 600 Valparaiso University students started a riot downtown and stormed the doors of the building. The ruckus occurred during their annual spring rush, according to the Chicago Tribune on April 12, 1913.

Local newspapers gave detailed accounts of the students' confrontation with police as extremely violent. An elderly man was knocked down. Someone's arm was broken. Police and firefighters faced off against students who were throwing bricks and bottles. Shots were reported to have been fired. The Goshen-Midweek News Times reported as many as 3,000 students were involved and when the students broke into the theater, “men, women and children rushed to the exits and only the efforts of a few cool heads saved many from injury.”

According to the Tribune, five ringleaders were taken into custody. Protesters stormed the jail and police arrested five more. Those arrested were charged with riot and conspiracy to break up a theatrical performance. Bonds were fixed at $700 for each defendant.

As decades wore on, the building began to wear out. By the 1950s, the theater was under the control of the Porter County Board of Commissioners and the doors were closed.

“It was slated for demolition until a group began restoration,” MacDonald said.

The Little Theater Guild began to stage productions there. Later, under the name Community Theater Guild, the group took on the task of renovation. It started with fixing the crumbling steps, a new tile floor in the lobby, paint, curtains and then major repairs followed.

By 1967, the Guild planned the theater's first major renovation including a new floor and new auditorium seating. It aimed to raise about $15,000, according to the Chicago Tribune on May 21, 1967. Actress Bondi sent a generous donation to help the fundraising drive.

The Tribune reported Bondi wrote to Guild members and shared her memories of appearing on stage at the theater and sent the Guild her “warmest wishes” for success.

In the 1990s, the theater underwent a major $1.5 million renovation, meant to return the building nearer to its original condition.

The effort was documented in a special section published by the Post-Tribune on April 3, 1998. The renovation was paid for with an estimated $350,000 in private donations through the Memorial Opera House Foundation along with about $400,000 in county funds and $750,00 from the Build Indiana Fund.

As the Memorial Opera House looks to its 125th anniversary, MacDonald anticipates additional projects will be needed to maintain the building.

“We've applied for several restoration grants so we can continue to have a fantastic building for many more years,” MacDonald said. “We provide amazing quality entertainment for people of all ages and all tastes at a reasonable price.”

Nancy Coltun Webster is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.