English's Opera House
Wednesday, February 22, 1882
The Decorative Arts
Newspaper report
Wilde’s lecture was advertised and reported as The English Renaissance, but by now he subject had changed to The Decorative Arts. See Lecture Subjects.
English's Opera House
Built: 1880 (William H. English)
Seating: 2,000
Opened: September 27, 1880
First electric light: 1889
Closed: April 30, 1948 (subsequently demolished)
The New Denison Hotel *
Construction began: 1870
Opened: January 1880
Demolished: 1933 (replaced by a parking garage)
* According to L&S, Wilde's hotel in Indianapolis was The New Denison.
Lewis and Smith's sources are often sketchily drawn, and on this occasion their source appears to be the Indianapolis Saturday Review (1880-84). Indeed they cite a story about Wilde being woken at 11:00 PM on the night of his lecture, to be taken to attend a reception being given by the Governor—Albert Gallatin Porter.
Based on the detail of the report there is no reason to doubt L&S as to Wilde's hotel, which was at the time one of the finest in the city. However, original source material has yet to be examined.
