Archives West Finding Aid

John H. Ming opened Helena's first opera house, described by one city newspaper as "Montana's first pretentious theater," on September 2, 1880, featuring Katie Putnam in a production entitled "Old Curiosity Shop." Ming's Opera house was a general variety theater offering Helena audiences a wide selection of entertainment, including minstrels, comedies, dramas, hypnotists, magicians, opera, musicals, romances, burlesque, bands, Shakespeare, melodramas, and vaudeville. The Eastern production companies stopped to play Ming's as they travelled west to the coast on the Northern Pacific Railroad. Ming's Opera House, located at 13 N. Jackson, underwent a lavish remodeling and celebrated a second grand opening in October 1888, shortly after the death of its founder. Operation of the theater continued under the guidance of the Ming family, primarily James L. Ming, until 1898. In November of that year, the opera house was purchased by Eugene T. Wilson, receiver of the First National Bank of Helena, as settlement of the Ming mortgage held by the bank. Wilson served as the theater's manager until 1901. Dates and terms for bookings were decided by mail. Most shows played only one night, and a contract generally gave the theater from 20 to 35 percent of the house. The division of the proceeds depended on the type of show, on the need for special effects such as music or scenery, and on the type of advertising used (some troops provided advance men, posters, and street parades to promote a production). E.T. Wilson sold Ming's Opera House in April 1901,for $15,000 to John Cort of Seattle. In 1902, the theater was managed by Fred W. Gatz as the Helena Theater. By 1915, the Ming's Opera House building was replaced by the Shrine Consistory Temple and the Helena Theater had gone out of business.