Claris Opera House

The Opera House was constructed in 1873 after a number of mishaps including a fire and a construction collapse that killed workers. It was built by private banker George Claris, and speaks to the rising wealth of a small number of St. Thomas residents. Annie Pixley, one of the most popular American stage actresses of her time, performed at this opera house as part of the popular show M'Liss Child of the Sierras on February 22, 1882. According to the St. Thomas Times newspaper, her arrival in St. Thomas by train was met with a large crowd. She also spent summers in Port Stanley, which was the site of her son's unfortunate drowning death in 1886. She died and is buried in London, ON. The Claris Opera House was later taken over by Ambrose Small, a Toronto businessman who mysteriously disappeared in 1919.