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To replace an opera house destroyed by fire in 1882, Ernest Hempstead of Meadville commissioned J. M. Wood of Chicago to design this music academy in 1885. Two shallow storefronts have the auditorium behind them on the first floor, while the second floor has offices at the front and a balcony facing the upper portion of the theater. The windows are round arched with a segmental-arched picture window at the center. A pyramidal tower above the pediment adds height and drama to the building.