Uvalde Grand Opera House

The opera house opened in 1891 on the town square, two stories with arched windows, a copper roof and a corner turret topped by a dragon weathervane. It is among the oldest working opera houses in Texas, and the one with the most original features intact. Then-Congressman John Nance Garner bought it in 1916, and his family later gave it to the city. It was restored and renamed for Janey Slaughter Briscoe, the wife of Governor Dolph Briscoe, though the Briscoes never owned it.

The original weathervane is displayed inside, with old photographs and artifacts from Fort Inge, the 1849 post south of town, and the building now also houses the Uvalde visitors center. Staff will show you through the building on a tour if you call ahead.

Upstairs is the reason it survives: the auditorium still runs a season. Volunteers and members put on plays, concerts, singer-songwriter nights, comedy and Mystery at the Opera House nights, and they sew the costumes, build the sets and pour at the bar. The opera house has been the town's stage and gathering place since 1891, and for anyone driving through, the quickest way into Uvalde's history is to stand on the square in front of it and look up at the replica dragon.