Celebrities who've visited Dixon's Opera House over the years – Shaw Local

Since its settlement in the 1800s, Dixon has been an important stop for notable speakers, celebrities and entertainers traveling through Northern Illinois, perhaps the most famous visitor of the 1800s was Abraham Lincoln, who came to town in July 1856 to speak on the courthouse lawn and stayed at the Nachusa House during that time.

This column is the first of a two-part series looking at notable people who visited Dixon between 1875 and 1925. During this half-century, Dixon had two important venues capable of accommodating large audiences: the Dixon Opera House and Assembly Park.

Opera House

Prior to 1876, the third floor of Union Hall was the primary venue for these events, but it didn't have enough seating for large crowds. The building that still houses Salamandra's Restaurant today was built in 1855, the same year the railroad came to town.

The railroad was a key factor in allowing celebrities to travel to Dixon.

On November 30, 1876, four community-based citizens, Judge J.D. Crabtree and local businessmen Frederick Truman, H.J. Stevens and W.G. Stevens, built the Dixon Opera House.

The landmark building expanded in capacity and luxury and soon became “the city's cultural and entertainment center, offering a wide variety of lectures, minstrelsy, concerts, and 'serious' theatre.”

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony

In December 1869, women’s rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton spoke at Union Hall arguing for women’s right to vote, but, as the editors of the Telegraph reported, “few were convinced by her arguments.”

Two years later, her famous fellow activist, Susan B. Anthony, visited Dixon, but she too attracted only a small following.

Eight years later, on March 26, 1877, Susan B. Anthony returned to Dixon to speak for women's rights at the new Opera House. A Telegraph editor described her as a “wrinkled old woman.”

But he said, “We [the lecture] I am a women's rights advocate and will likely remain so until I hear the other side of this issue.”

John Philip Sousa

Many entertainers also visited Dixon, but perhaps none were more popular than John Philip Sousa's band of 60 musicians, who visited the Opera House on September 26, 1905.

The Telegraph described Mr Sousa as “unique among bandmasters”, adding that his band was “unquestionably the finest musical organisation in the world”.

The band arrived in Dixon by special train at 11.35am, played a concert at 2pm, then departed for Stirling at 4pm, where they played that evening.

The Great Svingari

Not to be confused with the fictional Svengali (with an “e”), the Great Svingari appeared at the Opera House in December 1908 for three consecutive nights.

“Recognized by the press and public to be the world's greatest hypnotist and telepathic master,” he enthralled Dixon's audience with a variety of demonstrations.

On the first night, Svingali had the man sleep onstage, then carried him downtown to a clothing store and placed him in the store's window for 24 hours. The next night, Svingali brought the sleeping man back onstage and woke him up.

The entertainer hypnotized nine people on stage and had them dance, pick cherries and perform other hilarious stunts “that had the whole room erupting in laughter.”

Clarence Darrow

Clarence Darrow, the well-known criminal lawyer and speaker for the Anti-Prohibition League, spoke at least twice at the Dixon Opera House.

In a speech on April 4, 1908, he opposed nationwide prohibition of alcohol, and in one on March 22, 1918, he railed against the “Kaiser” and Germany's hostile aggression in the then-escalating First World War.

The Telegraph described him as “a lawyer of world renown… an eloquent orator, an eminent lawyer and a man of extraordinary ability”, adding that “there was never a greater friend to the working classes than Clarence Darrow”.

William Jennings Bryan

In July 1925, Darrow and William Jennings Bryan served as opposing counsel in the famous Scopes Monkey trial in Dayton, Tennessee. Both men also testified twice in Dixon.

Bryan, a former U.S. Secretary of State and three-time presidential candidate, delivered a temperance speech to a crowd at the Opera House on March 28, 1918.

Former Dixon Mayor William Brinton introduced Bryan after he had stayed the night before at Brinton's home (later known as the Masonic Temple).

While promoting the prohibition of alcohol (opposing Darrow's position), Bryan said he could count on every mother in Dixon to vote against allowing saloons to come back and bring a curse and disgrace to the town.

But, he added, “men are not yet at the same level as women on this issue.”

The Dixon Opera House was destroyed by fire in 1903, but L. G. Lawler purchased the building in 1920 and converted it into the Dixon Theatre in 1921, expanding the seating capacity to 1,200.

Movies then became the main form of entertainment there.

Part two, which will appear in the March 22nd issue, will explore the “A” list of notable people who appeared at Dixon's Assembly Park during this era.

Tom Wadsworth, a Dixon native, is an author, speaker, and occasional historian. He holds a PhD in New Testament.