CLAREMONT OPERA HOUSE

Claremont Opera House is a 783-seat performance venue located inside Claremont City Hall at 58 Opera House Square in Claremont, New Hampshire. The Italian Renaissance Revival building was designed by New York City architect Charles A. Rich, a Dartmouth College graduate.

The venue hosts tribute concerts, comedy acts, community theater, and touring performers throughout the year. In the early 1900s it served as the entertainment center for the Upper Connecticut River Valley, and it continues to draw audiences from across the region for a range of live events.

The building was dedicated on June 22, 1897, at a construction cost of $62,000. For decades it was managed by local druggist Harry Eaton, who booked stock companies, vaudeville, minstrel shows, and films over a 32-year tenure. The opera house was closed in 1963 due to lack of use. A restoration committee formed in the 1970s, and after fundraising and renovation work, the venue reopened in 1979.