Calumet Theater

One of the first municipal theaters in America, the Calumet opened on March 20, 1900, “the greatest social event ever known in copperdom’s metropolis.” The theater contained a magnificent stage and elegant interior decorations, including an electrified copper chandelier. For over a decade, Copper Country audiences witnessed the broad panorama of American legitimate theater, and many prominent stage personalities, both American and European, trod the boards of the Calumet. By the 1920s, motion pictures replaced live theater, and, subsequently, live drama returned to the Calumet. The reopened community theater resumed its position as a focal point of civic pride for the people of Calumet and the Copper Country.