As most excited high school juniors and seniors know, the Delphi Community High School Prom is being held at the newly restored Delphi Opera House. The Opera House is a beautiful place to hold prom. There is a grand staircase that would be perfect for prom pictures, and a large theater lobby where prom-goers can take a relaxing break from dancing. Not only will the Opera House host many wonderful events, such as the Delphi prom, but it has hosted many wonderful events. It is a building filled with many memories of lavish parties and interesting characters.
Originally, the Delphi Opera House was the Assion-Ruffing City Hall. According to the Delphi Opera House website: “The red brick Italianate building was constructed with three retail bays on the ground floor, office and/or residential rooms on the second level, and a spacious meeting room on the third floor.” However, the city hall was never intended for government purposes; rather, it was meant for entertaining from the moment it was built. The first event held in the building was on June 27, 1865―a dance in honor of soldiers returning from the Civil War. Common events held in the third floor hall included theatre performances, lectures, dinners, concerts, dances, and other community events.
In 1881, John Lathrope partnered with John Ruffing and remodeled the third floor of the city hall building, giving it new wall and ceiling papers and installing folding opera seats. For the grand opening of the Lathrope & Ruffing Opera House, the Litta Grand Opera Company from Chicago featuring the famous soprano Marie Litta performed to a packed house. John Lathrope ensured that the Opera House always had entertainment for the community, often booking events like travelling theater troupes, minstrel companies, lecturers, and concerts. Famous poet James Whitcomb Riley performed at least six times.
In 1914, the Opera House was condemned by the fire department because it was on an upper-level floor and had only one exit. Eighty-two years later, the Delphi Preservation Society bought it and has since restored it. They have attempted to keep most of the wall and ceiling papers, the trim, and other vintage features the same, only restoring them―and don’t worry: there is more than one exit now!
The Delphi High School Prom will be held in the same third floor area where so many people have performed. High schoolers will hopefully be able to picture the nicely dressed men and women, listening intently to James Whitcomb Riley, a native Hoosier, read his poems. Hopefully, they will be able to imagine the waltzes and the Mazurkas that happened a hundred and fifty years before them on the same dance floor. The Delphi Opera House is a wonderful venue for prom, and every student who attends will be awed by the beauty of it.

Link to Delphi Opera House: http://www.delphioperahouse.org/