Grand Opera House

The Grand Opera House, often called The Grand and originally known as the Academy of Music, is a historic opera house located in Macon, Georgia, United States. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, it is now the performing arts center of Mercer University.HistoryThe Academy of Music was constructed in 1884 with the largest stage in the southeastern United States and seating for 2,418, almost one-fifth of Macon's population at the time. The building was renovated in 1905; the present seven-story facade was added and the building reopened as the Grand Opera House.The Grand has had numerous historic uses; live horses and chariots appeared in an 1908 production of Ben-Hur and during World War I, actor Charlie Chaplin led the John Philip Sousa band for a fundraising effort. The theater has also hosted, among others, Sarah Bernhardt, Will Rogers, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Lionel Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore, Bob Hope, the Allman Brothers Band, and Ray Charles.