John Cooper on Oscar Wilde © 2026

Lecture Tour of America 1882

Writing and Research on Oscar Wilde

Rockford

Illinois

Grand Opera House

Thursday, March 2, 1882

The Decorative Arts

< Previous Lecture

Verification

Newspaper report

Daily Gazette (Rockford), March 3,1882, 4

A less than enthusiastic reception.

Verification

Newspaper report

The Chicago Tribune, March 6,1882, 5

Also Noted

The Chicago Tribune, March 5, 1999

Oscar Wilde Well-received In Rockford…Again

by H. Lee Murphy

"Wilde first became known to Americans during a long lecture tour. Indeed, he stopped to speak one March evening in 1882 at the Rockford Opera House, staying at the old Holland House and dining at the home of a Dr. Thomas Butler, according to the Rockford Daily Gazette account at the time.

The Gazette said that Wilde attracted a small but attentive audience at his Rockford appearance.

Venue

Grand Opera House

113-117 North Wyman Street, Rockford, IL

Incorporated: November 6, 1880

Opened: November 12, 1881

Seating: 1500

Closed (as an Opera House): 1917

Demolished: April, 1927

Source:

Rockford Reminisce

Accommodation

Holland House

SE corner of Elm and Main Streets, Dubuque, IA

Built: 1854-56

Named for: John A. Holland, attorney

Opened: April 1856

Destroyed (fire): December 24, 1896

Holland House (left foreground).

John Cooper on Oscar Wilde © 2026