Harry Ash
Harry Ash had a variety theatre in Juneau before 1896, when he moved into the Yukon River basin. The Alaska Mining Record reviewed his Juneau show in January 1894 saying it was a mammoth show, new and up to date. There were popular songs, comic skits, and the Drummond sisters danced and did a contortion act. There was also a topical two-act drama.1)
In the spring of 1896, Harry Ash, Billy Leake, and Oscar Ashby came into the Yukon from Juneau, where they had dancehalls.2) Ash had a theatre in Circle, Alaska. After news of the Klondike strike reached Circle, Harry Ash and Tex Richard headed upriver by dogteam in February 1897.3)
Ash brought horse outfits from Circle and started a gambling and saloon establishment in a big tent. He did well when the miners came to town with their gold. Billy Leake and Oscar Ashby started an [unnamed] dancehall in Dawson and Harry Ash started the Opera House.4) The building was on Front Street, one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in boom town Dawson. There was a grand opening in late October 1897, announced by black paint daubed on sheets of wrapping paper. The program was vaudeville with performers brought from Circle, and concluded with a drama and then a prize fight. One of the proprietors then announced that the hall would be cleared for dancing. This was Dawson’s first theatre. A fire swept through Dawson’s downtown in November and caused an estimated $50,000 worth of damage to the Opera House. Reconstruction began almost immediately and within two weeks, the theatre was back in business.5)
Ash was a practical joker, and he found a piece of honey-combed quartz during a late-night walk around Dawson. He packed it with nuggets that he had lying around. He told men about his find in return for a half interest in their claim, and they told others and soon a string of men were climbing the steep Moosehide Slide looking for gold. Joe Ladue led the bunch and that night it was hard to find a man who had not gone looking.6)
Billy Chappell and Alex McDonald imported an electric light plant in the winter of 1897/98. They formed a company and hired Captain Donald B. Oleson, who had electrical experience, as general manager. The equipment was installed in October 1898 and Harry Ash’s Opera House was among the first clients.7)
The Opera House closed its doors for good after a second fire in January 1900.8)