In the Beginning
	- history - photos
	The Restoration
	- history - photos
	The Grand Today
	- history - photos
	"The sympathetic restoration was meticulously carried out in an effort to have a facility that is as much like the original as possible, while using modern materials and architectural knowledge and conforming to current building codes."

The Restoration:  click here for photos The 1970s brought little improvement in the status of The Grand as it became an adult-rated movie house. In 1974 it gained the "distinction" of being perhaps the only adult--rated theater to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In an effort to rekindle interest in the theater, a made-for-TV movie was filmed at The Grand and in other Oshkosh locations in 1976. Produced and directed by University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh professor Bob Jacobs, "Exit Dying," starred nationally known actor Henry Darrow and told the fictional story of a seemingly haunted theater in a Midwestern town. On November 4, 1980 two-thirds of Oshkosh voters answered "Yes" on the referendum, "'Should the City of Oshkosh acquire, restore and engage in the operation of the Grand Opera House?" The City of Oshkosh purchased the theater in December of that year and, a few months later, the Grand Opera House Board was formed to deal with the issues of restoration, historic research, finance, public relations, utilization, volunteers and fund-raising. On October 4, 1982 the marquee-breaking ceremony marked the official start of the restoration project. The first year was spent clearing the building of debris from the past four decades and razing the unsafe areas. In addition, the adjacent property at 106 High Avenue, which dates from the same period as The Grand, was purchased and physically connected to the theater. This addition provided space for restrooms, a greater lobby area and street-level access for the handicapped, as well as a meeting room and administrative offices on the second floor. (The apartment on the second floor of the adjacent building was found to contain a beautiful antique chandelier and two marble fireplaces that would later be used to decorate the restored opera house.) When the building was finally ready for reconstruction, only the proscenium and the balcony remained. The interior was then rebuilt from the basement up. The sympathetic restoration was meticulously carried out in an effort to have a facility that is as much like the original as possible, while using modern materials and architectural knowledge and conforming to current building codes. The newly renovated opera house hosted its reopening dedication and open house on Saturday, September 27, 1986. After nearly four years and expenditures of approximately $3.5 million (most of which had been raised through grants and fund-raising efforts by the citizens of Oshkosh), the building's restoration was complete. On October 3, 1986 the new Grand Opera House opened its doors with a performance of "The Bohemian Girl," the same way it had over a century before. The opera by Michael William Balfe featured numerous community members as actors, musicians, dancers and production volunteers. Continued in The Grand Today