Wayne County Public Library - Commercial Photographs

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Wayne County History and Genealogy Gateway

Wayne County Public Library, Goldsboro, NC

The Messenger Opera House, 1922.

The Messenger Opera House was located on the northeast corner of Chestnut and South Center streets. It was opened in December 1881 by Julius A. Bonitz. The top floor, which had a seating capacity of 900, hosted means of entertainment and events such as national touring companies, motion pictures, political debates, minstrel shows, musicals, plays and school commencements. The first floor housed prominent businesses as well as Goldsboro’s first bus station. The theater in the opera house building entertained audiences until 1928, when its entrance was sealed after the death of its proprietor. In 1954, Hurricane Hazel damaged the building and it was reduced to a one-story structure.

Photograph Inscription:

“Goldsboro Opera House.” taken in 1922

owned by my father Major William Uzzell & son of Thomas Wood Uzzell from 1920 to 1929.

First store to the left; was entrance to upstairs,

to the Opera House; later, first motion

picture theatre in town; also used for

county school commencement exercises, cir. 1911-1915.

Store to the far right corner was the

first Bus Station in Goldsboro. Notice A & P Store

in Center, with fire escapes and two big signs

on the Southside. 2 don’t r[unreadable] other stores,

one may have been a Dry-cleaning business. W. E. U.

Photograph Donated By: W. E. Uzzell

Photograph Number: BUIC8

References:

Bonitz, Julius A. “The Messenger Opera House One of the Handsomest Theaters in the South.” Goldsboro Messenger. Goldsboro, North Carolina, 6 May 1887.

Johnson, George A. “Older Residents Have Fond Memories of Opera House.” Goldsboro News Argus. Goldsboro, NorthCarolina, 28 October 1954.

Norwood, Charles S. “Early Goldsboro Hotels and Buildings.” In Wayne County Heritage, North Carolina, 1982. Mary Johnstone, compiler. Winston-Salem, N.C.: The Association and the Society in Cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company, 1982.

Norwood, Charles S. “Julius A. Bonitz.” In Wayne County Heritage, North Carolina, 1982. Mary Johnstone, compiler. Winston-Salem, N.C.: The Association and the Society in Cooperation with Hunter Publishing Company, 1982.

Rountree, Moses. “In the Good Old Days, at the Opera House.” The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina, 14 November 1954.