Kiel Opera House
Encyclopedia
The Peabody Opera House is a civic performing arts building in St. Louis, Missouri
. Founded as the Kiel Opera House, it opened it 1934 and operated until 1991, when it and the adjacent Kiel Auditorium
were closed so the auditorium could be demolished and replaced by the Scottrade Center
. When the auditorium was slated for demolition, the owners of the complex promised to rehabilitate the opera house as well. The owners, however, never renovated the building, instead claiming that they had fulfilled their financial obligations. In June 2009, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen voted 25-1 to subsidize the renovation and reopening of the Opera House under the direction of its new owners, Sports Capital Partners. The subsidies were funded by municipal bonds and state/federal historic tax credits. On July 12, 2010, it was announced that the name of the opera house would be changed to the Peabody Opera House, named after the company Peabody Energy
. The renovation lasted for fourteen months and included the construction of a new entrance for the building.
On October 1, 2011, the Peabody Opera House opened for the first time since the $79 million renovation. The show featured personalities such as Jay Leno
, Aretha Franklin
, and Chuck Berry
and was attended by a full house of 3,100.
, Dean Martin
, and Sammy Davis Jr. with Johnny Carson
as the emcee (subbing for Joey Bishop
who was out with a bad back) performed their only televised concert together during the heyday of the Rat Pack
at The Kiel Opera House. A closed-circuit
broadcast done as a fundraiser for Dismas House (the first halfway house for ex-convicts). After being thought lost for thirty years Paul Brownstein tracked down a print of the show that had been sitting in a closet in St. Louis. It has since been broadcast on Nick at Night (in 1998) as part The Museum of Television & Radio Showcase series and released on DVD
as part of the Ultimate Rat Pack Collection: Live & Swingin.
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. Founded as the Kiel Opera House, it opened it 1934 and operated until 1991, when it and the adjacent Kiel Auditorium
Kiel Auditorium
Kiel Auditorium was an indoor arena, in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It was the home of the Saint Louis University basketball team and hosted the NBA's St. Louis Hawks, from 1955-1968....
were closed so the auditorium could be demolished and replaced by the Scottrade Center
Scottrade Center
Scottrade Center is a 19,150 seat arena located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, opened in 1994. It is the home of the St...
. When the auditorium was slated for demolition, the owners of the complex promised to rehabilitate the opera house as well. The owners, however, never renovated the building, instead claiming that they had fulfilled their financial obligations. In June 2009, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen voted 25-1 to subsidize the renovation and reopening of the Opera House under the direction of its new owners, Sports Capital Partners. The subsidies were funded by municipal bonds and state/federal historic tax credits. On July 12, 2010, it was announced that the name of the opera house would be changed to the Peabody Opera House, named after the company Peabody Energy
Peabody Energy
Peabody Energy Corporation , previously Peabody Coal Company, is the largest private-sector coal company in the world. The company is headquartered in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri....
. The renovation lasted for fourteen months and included the construction of a new entrance for the building.
On October 1, 2011, the Peabody Opera House opened for the first time since the $79 million renovation. The show featured personalities such as Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
, Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, and Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
and was attended by a full house of 3,100.
Notable events
On June 20, 1965 Frank SinatraFrank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
, and Sammy Davis Jr. with Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
as the emcee (subbing for Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop was an American entertainer who was perhaps best known for being a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...
who was out with a bad back) performed their only televised concert together during the heyday of the Rat Pack
Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
at The Kiel Opera House. A closed-circuit
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
broadcast done as a fundraiser for Dismas House (the first halfway house for ex-convicts). After being thought lost for thirty years Paul Brownstein tracked down a print of the show that had been sitting in a closet in St. Louis. It has since been broadcast on Nick at Night (in 1998) as part The Museum of Television & Radio Showcase series and released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
as part of the Ultimate Rat Pack Collection: Live & Swingin.