This past week, the Superior Telegram released its thirteenth episode of Archive Dive, the monthly history podcast hosted by Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood. Every month, Maria and a local historian dip into the archives of historic events, people and places in Superior and Douglas County.
This month, we take a peek inside of one of Superior’s grandest buildings, the Grand Opera House.
Buildings designed by Carl Wirth anchored downtown Superior in the late 1800s. His most elaborate design was the Grand Opera House on Belknap Street. The lavish theater opened in 1890 and entertained Superior residents for years before it was destroyed by fire.
For this episode of Archive Dive, Maria is once again joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they discuss the history of the opera house and its next door neighbor, the New Jersey Block. Also designed by Wirth, the New Jersey Block is now known as the Globe News Building.
Also in the episode, Maria and Teddie will chat about some of the events that the Grand Opera House hosted, which former President spoke there, the multiple fires, the dismay over a loss of a valuable piece of equipment, the role then-Superior Telegram owner John T. Murphy had with the Grand Opera House, the early days of the New Jersey Block, the mystery of when Globe News officially became Globe News and more.
You can find that full episode at superiortelegram.com or whatever streaming service you listen to this podcast.
Today, we are re-sharing Archive Dive's twelfth episode, which was released in January. It explores the history of the two century-old buildings in Superior that were destroyed in a 2022 fire.