The Junction City Opera House opened in 1882 through the initiative of local citizens to bring cultural events otherwise only rarely encountered in the Midwest. The building also housed the city’s fire station, police department and city offices until 1937 when a new City Hall was constructed for these purposes. In 1942, a full renovation transformed the Opera House into a modern movie theater. It was renamed The Colonial and showed motion pictures until it closed in 1982. In 2003 the Opera House was placed on the State Historic Register and plans were made to renovate this cultural treasure. In 2008 the newly renovated building, renamed the C.L. Hoover Opera House, opened to the public after a seven million dollar restoration.
