Home | John Cooper on Oscar Wilde © 2026

Lecture Tour of America 1882

Writing and Research on Oscar Wilde

Harrisburg

Pennsylvania


Grand Opera House

Thursday, May 4, 1882


The Decorative Arts

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Verification

Newspaper reports

Harrisburg Daily Independent, May 5, 1882, 4

The Harrisburg Report Patriot, May 5, 1882, 5



Harrisburg Telegraph, May 4, 1882, 4

Venue

Grand Opera House

SE corner of N. Third and Walnut Streets, Harrisburg, PA


Opened: October 13, 1873 (Masonic Fraternity; Architect: Frank E. Davis)

Seating capacity: 1324

Destroyed (fire): February 1, 1907

Replaced by: Penn-Harris Hotel (b. 1910, demolished 1923) 

Accommodation

Lochiel Hotel

Corner of Market and 3rd Streets, Harrisburg, PA (now 225 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101)


Built: 1835-36 as the Greek Revival Wilson Hotel

Adapted: 1870s mansard roof and facade details

Repurposed: 1912 as a vaudeville theater and later a movie house

Restored: 2008, building extant


Wilde took rooms at a hotel to change and rest, something  he often did even if not staying overnight, as was the case in Harrisburg. After the lecture Wilde returned to his rooms and gave an interview to the Harrisburg Telegraph before catching the 11:30 PM train to New York. (See story below under Ephemera).


Opposite are views of the extant structure at various stages in its existence.


The present day building has been sensitively restored since its days as a rundown movie theatre. The pediments over the windows, the first floor “balcony” railing, and the main ground floor windows all match the original building.


Related:

Lochiel Hotel and Colonial Theater (HMdb.org)


* Not to be confused with the restaurant styled as The 901 Lounge at Lochiel Hotel, Shanois St, Harrisburg, PA 17104.

Ephemera

Trouble at the Station

Wilde finds himself at the center of an international incident.


Harrisburg Telegraph, May 5, 1882, 1.


John Cooper on Oscar Wilde © 2026