Home | John Cooper on Oscar Wilde © 2026

Lecture Tour of America 1882

Writing and Research on Oscar Wilde

Joliet

Illinois


Opera House

Monday, March 6, 1882


The Decorative Arts

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Verification

Newspaper report

The Ottawa Free Trader, Mar 11, 1882, 8


Joliet News Historical Edition‬, ‪Will County Historical Society‬, 1884 - ‪Joliet (Ill.), p. 35

Venue 

Opera House

Chicago and Clinton Streets, NW corner, Joliet, IL


Built: 1873 [1]

Opened: February 3, 1874

Seating: 950

Destroyed (fire): March 18, 1891

Replaced: 1892 on the same site with a new opera house with a turreted corner


[1] of Joliet limestone from the quarries of William Davidson

Accommodation

No record is currently available as to whether Wilde stayed overnight in Joliet. It is entirely possible he traveled on early by train to Jacksonville, IL, a journey of some 200 miles, where he lectured the following evening.


John Cooper on Oscar Wilde © 2026