Completed in 1904 after its cornerstone was laid in 1903, the Clayton Opera House was originally built to serve as the Town Hall and for more than 100 years hosted performances, community gatherings, and cultural institutions in Clayton. Broadway actress May Irwin performed there in 1905 with her New York City troupe in Mrs. Black is Back, filling the house with almost 1,000 people, while vaudeville shows, local theatrical groups, orchestras, musical groups, the Clayton Band, the Darou Minstrels, and Kings and Queens of Rhythm also appeared. The building served residents of the Thousand Islands as a venue for dances, celebrations, basketball games, trade shows, and other community functions because movable seating on the orchestra level allowed the main floor to be cleared. For thirty-eight years the T.I. Museum was headquartered there and, under its charter, helped nurture the Thousand Islands Craft School and the Antique Boat Auxiliary, precursors of Clayton's Handweaving Museum and Arts Center and the Antique Boat Museum, before those organizations moved to their own facilities. The building originally had a clock tower with a bell that rang on the hour, and in 1920 Carl Frink fashioned a brass muskellunge weathervane for the top of the tower. During World War II the clock was removed so the tower could be used as an observation tower, and after a lightning strike in 1967 caused severe damage, the tower had to be removed. The bell remains on display in the lower level, the weathervane was restored and placed atop the Opera House, live performances returned in 2002, the town dedicated the building in 2003 for use in perpetuity as a performing arts center, and major restoration and renovation followed in 2007.