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Matthew Farfan
 Classified
a historic site by the governments of Canada, the United States,
and the province of Quebec, the Haskell Free Library and Opera House
was designed by architects James T. Ball and Gilbert H. Smith, and
built by contractor Nathan Beach between 1901 and 1904.
Haskell Free Library and Opera House, 1905.
(Photo: Haskell Archives)
Founded (and
funded) by philanthropists Martha Haskell and her son Col. Horace
S. Haskell in memory of the late Carlos Haskell, the Haskell Free
Library and Opera House is unique. Built directly on the international
border between Canada and the United States, it serves the communities
on both sides of the line -- Stanstead, Quebec, and Derby Line,
Vermont. Patrons from both countries enter the building without
passing through customs. The border is marked off with a black line
across the ground floor of the building. The entrance and half of
the reading room are situated in the U.S., while the other half
of the reading room and all of the books are on the Canadian side.
In the Opera House upstairs, the stage is in Canada, but most of
the seats are in the U.S.
 The
Haskell Opera House, the world's only international opera house,
occupies the upper floors of the building. Since its inauguration
in 1904, with a show by the Columbian Minstrels, the Opera House
has hosted a variety of shows, ranging from popular plays to classical
music. Its heyday, however, was during its first two decades, when
travelling vaudeville and minstrel shows were popular before the
advent of motion pictures.
Right: Martha Haskell (1831-1906). (Photo: Haskell
Archives)
In the early
1990s, Vermont's handicapped-access and fire-safety regulations
placed limits on the number of spectators allowed in the Opera House.
These restrictions ultimately forced the historic theatre to close.
In 1996, however, major structural alterations were undertaken,
to bring the Opera House up to standards. Since 1997, it has hosted
a full schedule of performances.
Visit the Haskell
Free Library and Opera House.
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