Home | John Cooper on Oscar Wilde © 2026

Lecture Tour of America 1882

Writing and Research on Oscar Wilde

Woodstock

Ontario

Town Hall Auditorium

Monday, May 29, 1882

The Decorative Arts

< Previous Lecture

Verification

Newspaper report

The Woodstock Sentinel-Review, June 2, 1882, 5

"Oscar Wilde, the boss showman of the day, made a great impression here on Monday night. Oscar is not so much of a fool as he looks. He knows how to make money."

Newspaper advertisement

The Woodstock Sentinel-Review, May 26, 1882, 8

Venue

Town Hall Auditorium*

466 Dundas Street, Woodstock, ON, Market Square

Built: 1851-52 (from a design by Antoine Grobl)

Opened: 1853

Auditorium: second floor

Extended: 1871 (fire hall)

Extant as Woodstock Museum

* Under the auspices of the Mechanics' Institute

* The Old Town Hall became City Hall in 1901 when the town gained its city status. It was eventually succeeded as City Hall by the Post Office and Customs House extant at 500 Dundas St., built 1901. The old Town Hall building where Wilde lectured also survives and is now a historical museum.

Most recent photograph courtesy of John Griffith, 2023.

Accommodation

The O'Neill House

121-129 Market Square, Woodstock, ON

Built: 1880

Opened: 1881

Name changed: 1895 (Oxford Hotel)

Closed: c. 1990s

Abandoned: 1996

Building extant but unoccupied at 2019.

Plans were announced in 2025 to renovate the building as a retail and residential space.

Most recent photograph courtesy of John Griffith, 2023.

John Cooper on Oscar Wilde © 2026