Prairie Village’s Opera House featured on KDLT TV
A $200,000 renovation of Prairie Village’s Lawrence Welk Opera House was completed in 2014 and featured on KDLT TV News in mid-June. Check out the story by viewing the following video created by KDLT TV Sioux Falls.
The opera house at Prairie Village was constructed in 1912 in Oldham, SD. It was built in commemoration of the Socialist Party, and was first called the Socialist Hall. It was constructed through donations by area citizens and party locals. Later the “-ist” from the building name was dropped, and it became the Social Hall.
When the building made its permanent home at Prairie Village in 1970, the Social Hall was renamed the “Lawrence Welk Opera House” in honor of bandleader Lawrence Welk who performed in the opera house in Oldham during his early career.
Now over 100 years old, the opera house has been the venue for literally thousands of programs, performances, dances, social gatherings, and meetings. As the flagship historic building at Prairie Village, various activities continue to be conducted in this grand old opera house.
