For over 60 years, it has served as an architectural landmark on Market Street, with its eight Corinthian columns on the outside and interior marble detail. Standing 179-feet high, its cultural significance was peerless, as it welcomed a variety of performances, including opera, dance troupes and orchestras.

Besides presenting operas and serving as home to Dance St. Louis and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, its list of guest entertainers included Judy Garland, Bob Hope, Elvis Presley, Mikhail Baryshinkov and the Ziegfeld Follies.

Yet the doors to the Kiel Opera House, erected in 1932, closed in 1991, leaving only silence to fill its empty halls. Originally part of a two-venue complex that included the Kiel Auditorium, the future of the former performing arts theater remains unknown. The Kiel Center, a modern sports arena, replaced the Kiel Auditorium in 1994 after the Auditorium was demolished in the 1980s.

For the past few years, local civic, political and business leaders have been suggesting and rejecting proposals of what to do with the Kiel Opera House’s main theater (seating 3,563), four large assembly rooms and lower-level lounge/restaurant space.

One local nonprofit group’s aim has been to turn the opera house into a performing arts center. Kiel For Performing Arts, Inc., led by Chairman Ed Golterman, submitted its proposal to renovate the building, installing twin theaters, a dinner theater and supper club along with exhibit and performance space.

“For the past two or three years, we’ve looked at it from a civic standpoint,” said Golterman, a 1960 graduate of SLU’s College of Arts and Sciences. “[The Kiel Opera House] has multi-use capabilities. Our goal is to provide all types of music and dance, as well as cultural exhibits and special event spaces.”

Golterman added that his group’s proposal includes making the Kiel Opera House “a true endowment for fine arts,” providing outreach programs for St. Louis schools and classes in all performing disciplines. Private funding, not taxpayer money, would cover renovation costs for the Kiel For Performing Arts, Inc.’s proposal, Golterman said.

Previous proposals included an offer from a real estate developer to buy the Kiel Opera House for $1 million, an option that was rejected because of its low price. The possibility of turning the building into a museum to house Smithsonian artifacts was also proposed, but is no longer being considered. A third idea suggests converting the space into a jazz/blues hall of fame. At this time, no definite plans have been reached.

Golterman criticized Saint Louis University for its “silence on the Kiel Opera House,” given SLU’s significant presence in the region. “The smugness of Saint Louis University reflected in its geographically narrow civic vision should be noted at this time, as new leaders emerge to help save downtown St. Louis,” Golterman said.

Calling for a true cultural district in the downtown area, Golterman said that such a district would draw in well-known performers and groups, thus attracting tourists, potential residents and even students. “The young people who attend SLU need reasons to stay here,” Golterman said. “One reason is a culturally strong downtown.”

Saint Louis University was extended an invitation by the City of St. Louis to participate in a task force studying the Kiel Opera House situation. St. Louis City comptroller Darlene Green first announced the formation of the task force committee, composed of members from business, education, civic and political sectors, in early 1998. The group participated in the first phase of a study by the Urban Land Institute, which delivered its findings in July 1998.

“When the ULI had completed its work with the task force, the recommendation was that Kiel Opera House be a jazz/blues/music hall of fame,” stated Kathleen Brady, Vice President of Facilities Management and Civic Affairs. “The task force did not recommend that Kiel Opera House be reopened as it was previously . The University has not taken a position on the Kiel Opera House issue.”

Brady added that the ULI task force recommended strengthening fine and performing arts centers in Grand Center, an arts and entertainment district located north of SLU’s campus.

St. Louis 2004, which leads the movement to turn St. Louis into a leading region in the 21st century, also conducted a study to evaluate the fine and performing arts needs of St. Louis. According to a news release published on Dec. 11, 1998, a study commissioned by leaders working on a St. Louis 2004 arts task force found that “the [St. Louis] region needs additional arts facilities, and they should be located in Grand Center.”

Some opponents to the renovation of the Kiel Opera House note that Grand Center, established in 1988, provides St. Louis with ample opportunities to experience music, dance, theatre and art. Two of the larger organizations situated in Grand Center, Fox Theatre and Powell Symphony Hall, host mainly musical theater productions and performances by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, respectively. Grand Center’s venues also include Grandel Theatre-home for the St. Louis Black Repertory Company-Jazz at the Bistro, The Sheldon concert hall and art galleries, the Portfolio Gallery and Educational Center, the Vaughn Cultural Center, and the Forum for Contemporary Art.

Some argue that Grand Center, along with other entertainment areas, would suffer if the Kiel Opera House were reopened as a performing arts center.

Golterman said that the success of major cities across the U.S., such as Cleveland, Chicago and Pittsburgh, is due in part to the fact that entertainment districts extend beyond one specific region. “Geographic protectivism,” Golterman said, “does not serve to benefit the region. There is room for both the Fox Theatre and the Kiel Opera House.”

Any final proposals regarding the Kiel Opera House, property of the City of St. Louis, must be approved by elected city officials including Comptroller Green, who controls all real estate for the City of St. Louis, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen and Mayor Clarence Harmon. Bill and Nancy Laurie, Kiel Center owners and tenants of the Opera House, must also approve of any final plans.