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What's the first thing that comes to mind when someone says Kansas? It's probably not opera houses, yet Kansas is rich in opera house history. Jane Rhoads of Wichita State University learned a lot while visiting 432 Kansas towns during the past 17 years researching Kansas opera houses.

Rhoads: "Opera houses came in all shapes and sizes, all the way from an empty room above a grocery store to something as magnificent as the Brown Grand Theatre in Concordia. Altogether I found information concerning 903 opera houses that existed in Kansas." 

Rhoads is the author of the book "Kansas Opera Houses — Actors and Community Events 1855-1925." The book has been selected as a 2009 Kansas Notable Book by the Kansas Center for the Book at the State Library of Kansas. She says there once was a time when opera houses were very popular in Kansas. 

Rhoads: "Opera houses in Kansas were particularly popular from shortly after the Civil War until basically World War I. The heyday of opera houses was about 1880 to 1910." 

So how did Rhoads develop an interest in studying opera houses? You could say it goes back to her roots. 

Rhoads: "My great grandfather built an opera house in Eldon, Iowa, the McHaffey Opera House, and as a child I used to visit there, play on the stage and loved it. And so when my children were grown, I wanted to find out how many opera houses there were in Kansas."

Rhoads says opera houses brought entertainment and excitement to the community. 

Rhoads: "Opera houses really could be thought of as community centers, and they were where churches met before they had actually built their church building. They were where traveling troupes played. The troupes brought with them, you know, entertainment, excitement to the community. They were where the various civic organizations met. So you really could think of an opera house as a community building." 

Although the heyday of opera houses in Kansas has long since passed, Rhoads says a number of interesting opera houses still exist in the Sunflower State. 

Rhoads: "There's a number of really interesting opera houses that still exist in Kansas. Several of my favorites would be the McPherson Opera House, which is in the process of being renovated. The Brown Grand in Concordia is certainly the most elaborate, but other communities have done a nice job with their opera houses, too — Wamego, the Columbian Opera House; Waterville; (and) Wichita, the Orpheum."

To some extent, progress is somewhat to blame for the eventual demise of Kansas opera houses, as Rhoads explains.

Rhoads: "Opera houses really were the community center and seemed to be the distinguishing moment. The end of the opera house era would be when the high school built an auditorium. Everyone remembers the opera house; that's where we graduated. And once the graduations stopped, opera houses tended to fall into disrepair. Another thing that caused the opera house era to end was fires, because this was the day when there were no fire stations. So if a fire erupted, and opera houses were lit by gas, so many of them burned down and those that didn't burn down were simply torn down."

In spite of it all, a fair number of opera houses remain in Kansas and are used in a variety of ways. 

Rhoads: "Altogether, there are 54 opera houses in Kansas still standing with their stages, and, of these, 16 are still used as entertainment venues, and 18 are used as community centers. There are several opera houses then that have stages, but the building's empty. And then there are a number of opera houses that are used for a variety of community events. They are used as shopping malls, as furniture stores, commercial properties." 

So if you're looking to do something a little different this summer, consider visiting some of these historical places in Kansas. You, like Rhoads, may be intrigued by the social and theatrical significance wrapped around these opera houses.

Thanks for listening. Until next time, this is Joe Kleinsasser for Wichita State University.