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George Frederick Frye (1833-1912) immigrated from Germany to Seattle in 1853. In 1860, he married Louisa Catherine Denny, the daughter of Seattle pioneers Arthur Armstrong and Mary Ann Boren Denny. George and Louisa Frye had six children and resided at 1306 Madison Street. In 1883, they commissioned Irish born architect John Nestor (1836-1912) to design a first-class theater for Seattle. Nestor had prior experience designing theaters, and the Frye Opera House was modeled on Baldwin Theater in San Francisco.

The Frye Opera House opened in December 1884 on the northeast corner of First and Marion Street. Measuring 120 feet square, the four-story building stepped down a steep grade, with first floor retail spaces set into the hillside. At a cost of $125,000, it was the most expensive building in the city at the time and the largest theater north of San Francisco. It was designed in French Second Empire style, and the top featured an elaborate mansard roof, sometimes referred to as “French Street architecture.” The auditorium also served as a multipurpose facility for local organizations in need of a large assembly space. George Frye personally managed every aspect of the Opera House business, such as negotiating with theatrical companies from around the country and scheduling all the performances.

From 1884 to 1889, the Frye Opera House was Seattle’s premier cultural attraction, providing an expanding population with a fashionable venue for musical and dramatic performances. The building had a brick and stucco exterior, but the wood structural framing made it extremely vulnerable to fire. The Frye Opera House was completely destroyed in the Great Fire of 1889. After the fire, George Frye decided not to rebuild the theater, and later constructed Hotel Stevens on the old opera house site.

Turner Hall, on the corner of Jefferson and Fourth Avenue, was one of the few Seattle stages to survive the fire. At about 1,400 seats, the capacity was similar to the Frye Opera House. George Frye leased Turner Hall from 1889-1890. He installed new scenery and props to attract artistic talent to Seattle, and managed theatrical productions at Turner Hall for about a year. The Turner Theater combined vaudeville, minstrel shows and legitimate theater entertainment while the city rebuilt.