-
Assion-Ruffing City Hall, ca. 1870s
-
Photos Courtesy Carroll County Historical Museum Photo Archives
Assion-Ruffing City Hall, built in 1864 by merchants Joseph Assion and John Ruffing, is still a commanding structure in downtown Delphi. It was built with stores on the ground floor, residences on the second level, and a spacious hall on the third floor intended for public gatherings including balls, concerts, ceremonies, theater, and other entertainments. One of the first events held there was a dance on June 27, 1865, in honor of Company B, 86th Indiana Volunteers, and other soldiers returning from the Civil War.
-
In 1882, John Lathrope, partnered with John Ruffing to remodel the third floor into a grand opera house. Lathrope was a renowned cornetist, and his Silver Cornet Band was a musical institution in Delphi and the surrounding area. He also operated a bakery and restaurant in the City Hall building and had a reputation for never doing anything half-way. On April 7, 1882, the Lathrope and Ruffing Opera House had its grand opening, featuring the Litta Grand Opera Company with the famous soprano Marie Litta as prima donna, performing to a packed house of nearly 500. For the next two decades the opera house was a heavily-used performance venue with travelling theater and minstrel companies, lecturers, concerts, local dramatic presentations—even graduation ceremonies. TOP
Debuting in Paris in 1878, Marie Litta quickly won both acclaim from the music world and the hearts of her audiences. Frequently compared to Jenny Lind for the quality of her voice, her career was short-lived as she fell ill while touring in 1883, returning to her home in Bloomington, Illinois, where she died at the age of 27.
Lathrope-Ruffing Opera House, 1888
Capt. John Lathrope, 1841-1917
Born in Penzance England, John Lathrope immigrated to the U.S. in 1851, living first near Boston, Massachusetts. Already an accomplished musician at age 10, John travelled to the Lafayette area via canal, his father having secured passage providing entertainment for the passengers and crew. His family worked on several small farms in the area before moving to Delphi in 1858. John served in the Civil War as a bugler and leader of the Ninth Voluntee Regimental Band. He ran several retail establishments in Delphi, but music was his first love. Lathrope was a renown cornetist and band leader conducting the Lathrope Band for many years. In 1882, he opened the Lathrope & Ruffing Opera House on the third floor of the City Hall building and was its manager for many years.
Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley, with close connections to Delphi and the vicinity of Deer Creek, gave at least six performances in the Lathrope & Ruffing Opera House, the first in December, 1882.
This was the picture when the Delphi Preservation Society acquired two-thirds of the City Hall building in the mid 1990s. It took years of effort to stabilize the roof and clear out the debris left by decades of neglect. In August 2005, at the 150th Old Settlers Celebration in Delphi, the Tonsil Klackers barbershop quartet became the first group to perform in the Opera House since 1914. More than 200 people climbed the stairs in 90-degree plus heat and, in seatings of 50-60 at a time, cheered as the music rang through the old hall. This proved to us that there was enough interest in the community to proceed with the opera house project.
We invited the Tonsil Klackers back for a repeat performance at this year's Old Settlers Celebration and on August 12, 2006, we had another ringing endorsement with another 200-plus people attending.DPS is now actively engaged in trying to restore this gem to Delphi's crown. In May 2006, a structural analysis of the City Hall building was completed to make sure that restoration was a viable option. We also secured a matching grant through the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology of Indiana's Department of Natural Resources, to renovate the façade of the City Hall building.
During 2007, the building will get a facelift—a missing cornice section will be replaced; the existing cornice and external balcony brackets will be repaired, scraped, and painted; the windows will be repaired or rebuilt; and the present vinyl and metal awnings will be replaced by historic roll-up canvas awnings. To plan for the restoration of the rest of the City Hall building and the Opera House, Delphi Preservation Society has enlisted the services of KJG Architecture, Inc. of West Lafayette. Working with the Opera House task force, KJG will develop the schematic designs for the City Hall building, the opera house, and an addition that will house the elevator, mechanical, and electrical systems to support the entire building. This planning process will take up to six months to complete with the resulting schematics providing the tools that will be needed to initiate fundraising for the restoration.
For additional information, email us at: operahouse@delphipreservationsociety.org.