page_title: Crosby's Opera House
section_title: The Crosby Opera House lottery
hierarchical_section_title: Crosby's Opera House / History / The Crosby Opera House lottery
caption_attribution_description: English: Part 3, March 1866; Washington street, between State and Dearborn streets
context_page_description: Crosby's Opera House was an opera house in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was founded by Uranus H. Crosby in 1865 with the goal of advancing the arts in Chicago by bringing opera to the city. The five-story building was designed by William W. Boyington and contained statues of painting, sculpture, music and commerce that welcomed visitors as they entered through the arch of the building. After holding only occasional performances, Crosby ran into many business difficulties that resulted in a decision to sell the building in 1866. The Crosby Opera House Art Association was formed to help Crosby sell the building by lottery. The lottery distributed over 210,000 tickets, awarding purchasers great works of art and even the building itself. After being sold back to Crosby by the lottery winner, A.H. Lee, the hall began producing more consistent performances. The opera house stood for less than six and a half years before it was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and was never rebuilt. In 1989 the city demolished the deteriorated properties and have only recently made plans for redevelopment.
context_section_description: By May 1866, investors were weary of the leadership of Crosby, who failed to make significant profit on the property. The Crosby Opera House Art Association was formed and they organized a scheme to raise funds and dispose of property through a lottery. Instead of having people think they were gambling, they encouraged people to believe they were promoting culture in the city. For $5 a ticket, people would receive an engraving and had the chance to acquire the opera house or any of its holdings.  Works from the art gallery wing were of particular interest. The lottery was very successful, and the association had to open branch offices in other cities to comply with the demand for tickets. In the meantime, the money raised helped the opera house to hold performances from Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa and Pasquale Brignoli, which were free to anyone holding a ticket. The prizes, and their values advertised, were:
  First: Crosby's Opera House, valued at $600,000 plus $30,000 expected earnings per year of use
  Second: Albert Bierstadt's The Yo Semite Valley, valued at $20,000.
  Third: Jasper Francis Cropsey's An American Autumn, valued at $9,000
  Fourth: Christian Schussele's Washington Irving and His Friends, valued at $5,000
  Fifth: James McDougal Hart's Woods in Autumn, valued at $5,000
  Sixth: Constant Mayer's Recognition, valued at $5,000
  Seventh: William Holbrook Beard's Deer on the Prairie, valued at $4,000
  Eighth: Régis François Gignoux's Alpine Scenery, valued at $3,000
  The drawing was originally scheduled for October 11, 1866, but because of high ticket demand it was delayed until January 21, 1867. The association distributed 210,000 tickets and offered three hundred and two prizes, with the opera house as the grand prize. 25,593 tickets were purchased by Crosby in hopes of maintaining ownership; the rest were sold. Most shops and businesses in Chicago closed so that employees could attend the event. Nineteen trusted public officials from around the country such as banker William F. Coolbaugh, former Lieutenant Governor of Illinois Francis Hoffmann, American Express agent J. C. Fargo, and historian David Pulsifer oversaw the drawing. On the morning of the 21st, special trains brought ticket-buyers from all over the country into the city. At precisely 11 AM the first ticket number was pulled out of a drum. This continued until 112 pieces of art were awarded to visiting patrons. Woods in Autumn was won by J. J. Taylor of Springfield, Illinois and Alpine Scenery was awarded to E. P. Dwyer of Chicago. Crosby maintained possession of The Yo Semite Valley, An American Autumn, and a sculpture of Abraham Lincoln by Leonard Volk, valued at $2,500. Deer on the Prairie was awarded to Daniel Russell of Boston, Massachusetts. A. H. Lee of Prairie du Rocher, Illinois had the winning ticket, #58,600, for the opera house. However, Lee's wife was ill and he had little interest in leaving her for Chicago. On January 25, 1867, he met with Crosby in Chicago and agreed to sell the house to him for $200,000. The public bought over $1,000,000 in chances on a $600,000 building. Subtracting the $200,000 given to A.H. Lee, Crosby paid off the construction cost and pocketed profits all while still maintaining ownership of the opera house. Given the convenience of the transaction, the public began to speculate as to whether or not A. H. Lee even existed or if Crosby had staged the outcome. Shortly after, Uranus Crosby returned to Massachusetts.
caption: Crosby Opera House on the day of the lottery
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