Buffalo Bill performed in this place - twice. Built in 1868, the former Tootle House  was once the finest theatre west of Chicago. Maybe you saw video of it in flames, shared generously on Facebook.

In St. Joseph, Missouri, the structure stood tall for over 140 years. It’s era as an Opera House was over by the 1920s and 1930s, as motion pictures became more popular, but when William Fredrick Cody was starting his Wild West shows (mid 1880s), he probably looked forward to appearing there.

Original cost of the building’s construction was then a whopping $200,000, said a historic society spokesperson, “It was a beautiful place that could hold around 1500 people. ... It was a big part of the city’s golden age.”

St. "Joe" was a well known town back in Amerca’s ‘Frontier Days.' (Wink).

Just for another time reference, it was 1901 that Buffalo Bill Cody helped to get a town incorporated in Wyoming. This photo is modern day Cody, population approx 10,000.

cityofcody-wy.gov
cityofcody-wy.gov
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