In 1891, three brothers-in-law, Anthony Bartak, Charles Wilhelm, and Frank Votruba, built this 1,200-seat Victorian opera house. Designed by E. R. Prall of Pontiac, it was the first facility in Traverse City to use electric lights. It has a 43-foot ceiling, hardwood maple floors, and excellent acoustics. Built as a meeting hall and auditorium, it hosted concerts, traveling plays, vaudeville shows, high school graduations, dinners, and balls. In 1920, a motion picture firm leased the opera house and closed it to avoid competition with its own film theaters. During the Depression, the building was used briefly for a WPA project creating miniature city buildings. In 1971, it was listed on the national and state historic registers. In 1978, the City Opera House Heritage Committee began raising money to restore the structure. In 1980, the descendants of original owner Frank Votruba gave the opera house to Traverse City.