Moroni Opera House|
325 West Main Street
The Moroni Opera House, also known as the Monson House, was built in 1891 by Mons Monson and T. J. Morley. The theater was the "best-equipped opera house in the county" and had a 35-by-25-foot stage, a balcony, orchestra pit, and a seating capacity of 1,000.1
The Moroni Opera House was used for live theater, movies, and community events. The opera house closed in 1915 after Kozy Theater was built.1
In the 1930s the theater was used as a feed processing plant.2 The stage was later removed and all the props destroyed when the building was remodeled into a flour mill.3
The Moroni Heritage Development Commission began a restoration of the opera house in 1991 with help from the George S. And Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, National Heritage Foundation, Utah State Historical Society, and Community Impact Board.2 The Moroni Opera House is now used for live theater, dance performances, wedding receptions, and community events.
1. "Chapter 15: The Communities of Sanpete", A History of Sanpete County, by Albert C. T. Antrei and Allen D. Roberts, Utah State History CD-ROM
2. "Preserving the Past & Future", utahheritage.com
3. "Chapter 14: From Homesteading to High Technology", A History of Sanpete County, by Albert C. T. Antrei and Allen D. Roberts, Utah State History CD-ROM
4. The two other nineteenth-century opera houses are in Beaver and St. George.