The Full Story
The Goss Opera house
If these walls could talk....the stories they would tell.
A Storied Past
Charles Goss moved to Watertown in the late 19th century and built a large store on the corner of Kemp Avenue and Maple Street. When that building was destroyed by a fire in April, 1888, Mr. Goss immediately set about replacing it with the building we know and love today.
Opening Doors
The doors of the building were opened once again in the spring of 1889, and the Goss became a bustling hub of community activity. Audiences filled seats for music and theater productions as well as community events. Box seats and a beautiful serpentine balcony, still intact today, overlooked a magnificent stage with superb acoustics.
Depression
The vibrant space slowly went dark after the Depression in the 1930s, and by the late 1950s, it became a largely forgotten part of our community history. A major renovation project began in 2008 to restore the Goss theater to prominence.
Friends of the Goss
On December 31, 2018, the Friends of the Goss Opera House, a newly founded 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, purchased the building with the intent of making the Goss a bustling hub of community activity once again.
Heart of Watertown
Because of the vision of Charles Goss and the commitment of our community, the Goss Opera House remains the heart of downtown Watertown.
