Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Not much was left of the historic Czech Opera House in a central Kansas town when fire tore through the building 14 months ago.

But the group that runs the building in downtown Wilson is determined to save what little was left.

The opera house was built in 1901 and served as a theater, community social hall and museum of Czech memorabilia.

Wilson Czech Opera House Corp. president Allison Ford told the Hays Daily News the building was placed on the inactive list of the Kansas Historical Registry after the fire.

Volunteers spent two weeks in November cleaning out the debris. The next step is to brace the walls, followed at some point by fundraising to make the space usable as a sculpture garden or an outdoor theater.