Victoria Hall

1889 opera house and town hall, restored and still hosting performances

Victoria Hall is the architectural centrepiece of Petrolia: a tall, red-brick Victorian pile completed in 1889 to serve as town hall, council chamber, and opera house all under one roof. The clock tower is the tallest thing in town.

After a devastating 1989 fire, the building was rebuilt to its original specifications. It now hosts a year-round season of musicals, plays, and concerts — punching far above what you'd expect from a town of fewer than 6,000 people.

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A story
The building was gutted by fire in 1989 — almost exactly a hundred years after it opened — and the citizens of Petrolia chose to rebuild rather than demolish, raising the money mostly through local subscription. The opera house's 400-seat horseshoe auditorium was reconstructed exactly as it had been.