Mosher Opera House: Jackson, Michigan: 1800s-2020s

Back in the 1800s, Jackson’s Pearl Street was known as Luther Street. It was on Luther that the mayor of Jackson, Ben Mosher, had an entertainment venue built specifically for the enjoyment of the city’s residents. It was called the Mosher Opera House.

Although it was called an “opera house”, hardly any – IF any - operas were held there. The term ‘opera house’ just sounded classier than “theater”.

The Mosher had a seating capacity of 1,200, sported beautiful eight-foot chandeliers, and a ticket price of five dollars. Sounds like chicken feed these days, but back then, that was considered a lot of money, since most theater admission prices were just pennies.

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Not content with it just being an opera house, Mr. Mosher commissioned L.D. Grosvenor to re-design it as a building that would feature other entertainment venues and various shops. Once completed, it was called the Mosher Block which included two storefronts, and a spacious hall for dances, meetings, minstrel shows, readings, and various stage performances. In fact, one of the prominent actors to visit and perform was Edwin Booth, brother of President Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Booth.

Through the years, the once-theater space was turned into a roller rink, with different shops and cafe’s coming and going.

If you head down Pearl Street you can still see what is left of the old opera house. It now is the home of Schupbach’s Sporting Goods and still retains part of the original structure. The dome over Schupbach’s is a reminder of the events that once took place on the top floor.

You can see an old photo (on Facebook) of what the old opera house looked like HERE.