Millett Opera House

Austin, United States

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

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Built in 1878 by lumber merchant Charles Millett and designed by architect Frederick Ruffini, the Millett Opera House in downtown Austin was among the largest performance venues in Texas upon completion. Its original auditorium featured 800 removable seats and 24-inch limestone walls, creating what was then the largest enclosed space in the state. After the Austin Public Free Schools purchased the building in 1940, it faced demolition in the 1950s before local preservation efforts saved it. The structure subsequently housed a printing company until the Austin Club, a private social organization, leased and later acquired the property in 1979. Though the club's renovation divided the building into three stories and removed the original performance space, a portion of the hand-painted ceiling survives in one of its meeting rooms. The building, located at 110 East Ninth Street, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and holds status as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.

Architect

Frederick Ernst Ruffini

Type: opera house
Heritage: National Register of Historic Places listed place, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Place: Austin, United States

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Location

30.27083, -97.74083