The Bardavon - Past, Present and Future
The flashing marquee lights of the Bardavon 1869 Opera House are difficult to overlook. However, their presence on Market Street, Poughkeepsie was not always guaranteed. Founded in 1869 by James Collingwood as the Collingwood Opera House, the Bardavon has seen decades of change — from the vaudeville era, to urban renewal in the 1970s, to the present day.
In the early years, Collingwood Opera House hosted acts including John and Ethel Barrymore, Mark Twain, The New York Philharmonic and John Philip Sousa. “It was a place where artists were routed through, just like they are today, really. It’s not different in terms of how the business runs, it’s just who the artists are, of course, has changed dramatically,” says executive director Chris Silva.
In 1923, the name of the building was changed to The Bardavon, a nod to the Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare. “Most theaters in the 20s were vaudeville,” says Silva, who divides his time between the Bardavon and the Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston. “So, for like a nickel, you could come in and see amazing people — Burns and Allen and Eddie Cantor — these real classic performers.” Throughout the day, artists would showcase their acts, and then a film would be shown.
After vaudeville, Paramount Pictures owned the building, and would often test-run its films to audiences. Director Billy Wilder screened Sunset Boulevard at the Bardavon, and changed its well-known ending based on the crowd’s reaction notes. Similarly, the building was a pre-Broadway house at one time, and tested plays on its stage.
Beginning in the 1950s, the Bardavon strictly showed movies, and with the rise of urban renewal in the 1970s, the Bardavon faced the fate that many old buildings at the time did. If not for the efforts of Steve Dunwell, an IBM engineer, and his wife Julia, the ground where the Bardavon still stands may have been just another place to park. “The exact same thing happened in Kingston at almost the same time,” explains Silva. “The 70s were a time when old was bad. Tear down anything old and make it a [parking] lot. In both those communities, it was simply individuals [who saved the buildings] — they weren’t involved in the theater, they didn’t own it — they just lived here.”
According to Silva, who has been working at the theater for 24 years, it’s a constant saving. “We’ve spent $20 million renovating both theaters over the last 20-plus years. We’re just finishing the Kingston one right now. But now they’re solid,” he says.
From the get-go, the Bardavon drew in some of the biggest performers at the time — but why? “Well, it’s a job. Everyone’s getting paid,” explains Silva. “Paramount [Pictures] used to own all the theaters, which is kind of illegal now because it’s a monopoly. So, they would control what movies are shown, what artists performed, et cetera,” he continues.
Famous names in music still flood through the Bardavon’s doors. One of the other reasons for this according to Silva — besides money– is because of the atmosphere. “Artists do love to play beautiful, old houses that are built for music,” he says. “Your distance from the stage to the first half a dozen rows feels like you can just reach out and touch everybody, and that’s a wonderful thing for artists. They love that intimacy.” Upcoming performers include Melissa Etheridge and George Lopez, and Bob Dylan has rehearsed at the Bardavon on three different occasions over the past 10 years.
In addition to some of the most well-known performers in the world, local talents have taken to the Bardavon stage. Many dance companies hold their recitals on the Bardavon’s stage, and local acts often open concerts. Additionally, the Bardavon works with groups of local artists to bring programs to schools in the area. “We have a hip-hop company that comes up, a jazz ensemble, classical music, clowning, puppet making… and those artists go into the schools and work with a hundred kids for two weeks,” says Silva. “Then they culminate with some sort of performance on our stage, or sometimes in the streets, depending on what we’re doing.”
As for the future of the Bardavon, which has been renovated three times since it first opened, Silva says, “More. Just more. The thing that I’m so happy about is that we have spent all that money [on construction] and it’s done. I have air conditioning, I have heat, the roof’s not going to cave in. All these things were real possibilities — losing heat and air conditioning.” He recalls when he first started working at the Bardavon and discovered that the entire building was held up by a 140-year-old hollow wood beam engraved with Collingworth’s name; it has since been replaced with steel to prevent the ceiling from collapsing. “I think the future is just going to be a lot more product,” says Silva. “Because now we can stop the construction, after 20 years on both theaters, and just do shows, which is what we do.”
