-Georgia, Theaters

A Place in Peril-The Powell Opera House of Blakely, Georgia

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The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation announced its 2025 Places in Peril on February 26, 2025. I was selected to photograph one of those places: The Powell Opera House in Blakely, Georgia. It is hidden inside a brick building in the downtown area.

The Powell Opera House is on Court Square in Blakely, Georgia. Arthur G. Powell, a local lawyer, had the building constructed in 1904 by the Columbus, Georgia construction firm Biggers and Crisp. It was initially a three-story building until a 1906 fire damaged it. In 1910, it was restored as a two-story building. The building is a curious design. The first floor and the front section of the building were always designed to be shops or offices. In a 1905 edition of the Early County News, there are advertisements for dentists, insurance agents, and attorneys. An advertisement for Irvin S. Olliff, a dentist, publicized that their offices are on the “Second floor front” of the Powell Opera House.

The side entrance of the building is used to access the second floor.

Located on the second floor of the Powell Building, which is sometimes known as the Southern States Life Insurance Building and The Gay Building, the theater has served as a storage facility for several decades. While it was known as an “Opera House,” no known operas were ever staged there.

The metal overlay with A. G. Powell’s name is at the entrance.

In 1981, there was a push to restore the opera house and get it listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Unfortunately, that plan seemed to have stalled. Luckily, Susanne Reynolds, the Director of Economic Development of Early County, has spearheaded the effort to restore the space so that the community can use it.

This is the main entrance to the opera house.
This is a view from the stage towards the box office. The space has been used as a storage area for decades which is reflected here.
One of the columns that sits on the edges of the stage.
This is a close-up of the capital.
This is a side room off of stage left.
This is the stage left hallway to the dressing rooms.
This is one of the dressing rooms.
This is the clothing rack and wall of another dressing room.
This is on the second dressing room door.
This is the power box behind stage right.
This is posted inside the box office with hand drawings by past employees.
These are handwritten notes on ticket sales inside of the box office.
One of the skylights in the building is in the second-floor hallway.
Image is courtesy of the March 19, 1981 image of The Early County News.

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