The Bardavon 1869 Opera House

When I mentioned to a few friends that I was going to visit a theater called the Bardavon 1869 Opera House they asked me why I was going there. I was surprised. After all, it’s the oldest continuously operating theater in New York State. Why wouldn’t I want to see it?

I arrived at the Bardavon, located in downtown Poughkeepsie, where I met Elizabeth, my tour guide for the visit. She’s a wealth of information, having worked at the Bardavon since the late 1970s.

The Bardavon has a long history. Just four years after the end of the Civil War, British immigrant and merchant James Collingwood had a dream. He wanted to construct a magnificent theater for his city, envisioning it as a place where ladies could go to be entertained, since the only things in the area were dance halls and bars.

Construction began on a portion of property that housed Collingwood’s coal and lumber business and took eight months to complete, opening its doors for its inaugural performance on February 1, 1869, as the Collingwood Opera House. Some of the original wooden beams from his lumber business can still be seen in the dressing rooms.

The Collingwood Family operated the theater for the next fifty years and throughout that time presented shows that featured artists such as John Philip Sousa, Ruth St. Denis, Edwin Booth, Isadora Duncan, and Gilbert and Sullivan. It was also used as a meeting place for important local and national civic and community events, including political rallies, school graduations and lectures. Prominent figures such as Mark Twain, both Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt have appeared there. More recently singers like Tony Bennett and Joan Jett have graced the stage.

In 1923 the theater was sold, and the new owners converted it to a “combination house” that showcased Vaudeville performers, stock and dance companies, and silent movies. After renovation it was reopened with the new name of the Bardavon Theater, in honor of William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, complete with a portrait of the bard himself painted on the walls of the theater. Unfortunately, in the intervening years the painting had been covered over and, despite the desire to do so, it was determined that it couldn’t be restored without undue difficulty.

In 1927 in the nearby city of Kingston, the Broadway Theater opened and both the Bardavon and the Broadway theaters continued to thrive through the 1950s until just after World War II when the Walter Reade Organization purchased the Broadway Theater and began major renovations, including the removal of the 1927 grand chandelier and marquee.

Meanwhile in 1928 the Bardavon had installed a specially designed Wurlitzer pipe organ, which is still dusted off for use occasionally and is one of a few in the country still surviving in its original location. It’s housed in a special room just off the side of the theater near the 12-person orchestra pit. I asked Elizabeth what they did when they had more than twelve musicians and was told the first row of chairs comes out and the pit is expanded.

Through the 1930s,40s and 50s, both theaters continued to thrive, but soon audiences began to dwindle and by the 1970’s movie theaters began to appear more and more in places like shopping malls. Unable to compete, in 1975 the Bardavon was forced to close its doors and was slated for demolition. And this would have happened but for the citizens who recognized the Bardavon’s illustrious history and beauty.

The community came together to halt the destruction, a not-for-profit group was established, and the theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. By 1979, the Bardavon was in business again as a performing arts center.

During this time the Broadway Theater reopened as the Ulster Performing Arts Center (UPAC) and the Bardavon was renamed the Bardavon 1869 Opera House. In 1999 the Hudson Valley Philharmonic made Bardavon their home, and in the mid-2000s, the Bardavon was asked to take over and manage UPAC. UPAC’s final phase of restoration took place in 2017.

Throughout all these years one employee of the Bardavon has remained on duty, if not in body at least in spirit. Yes, the Bardavon is reported to be haunted by “Roger” who was a stagehand. An audience member, it’s said, shot Roger as he was hanging out by the curtain during a performance. But Roger wasn’t going to let something as minor as death stop him from coming to work. In fact, employees say Roger is very dedicated and helps them by pointing out potentially dangerous situations. One stagehand credited Roger for preventing a fire. He said he saw Roger pointing to a curtain and when he investigated, found a lit candle nearby and the curtain beginning to smolder.

Elizabeth, my tour guide, said she’s felt a kind of electrical current in certain areas of the theater and has sometimes saw someone in the audience only to find no one was there. But rather than making Roger uncomfortable, they've instead chosen to welcome him and now have a 'ghost light' on the stage. Even when the theater is dark, the ghost light remains on.

Some years ago, the Bardavon was the focus of a paranormal investigation of sorts, but it would be nice to have a team come in to investigate with equipment other than sage and seances. If you want to find out more about Roger, check out the Poughkeepsie Journal Magazine dated February 1, 1994.

The Bardavon has the twofold distinction of being the oldest continuously operating theater in New York State, and one of the oldest in the entire country. In 2019, the Bardavon celebrated its 150th anniversary, but like most places it was forced to cease in-person performances in 2020 because of the covid pandemic. But the theater didn’t stop entertaining audiences, and the venue and staff quickly learned to stream content to keep patrons engaged and connected.

In October of this year, it will, once again, open to the public for performances with a new season. So, if you find yourself near Poughkeepsie, why not go to the Bardavon? There’s ample parking nearby.

The Bardavon 1869 Opera House is located at 35 Market Street in Poughkeepsie, NY. More information about the theater and the current season can be found at their website: www.bardavon.org.