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The National Opera House (NOH) is a nonprofit organization based out of Pittsburgh, PA. Our primary mission is to preserve the arts, culture, and music in underserved communities. We welcome you to join us on this journey.
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New England Conservatory Honors Alumna Mary Cardwell Dawson with Portrait Unveiling
The New England Conservatory honors alumna Mary Cardwell Dawson, a trailblazing Black opera singer, in a new portrait by Iris Lee Marcus that will be permanently displayed in NEC’s Blumenthal Family Library. Open to view by the public and the students, the portrait highlights the diverse and often overlooked history of the conservatory.
Jonnet Solomon – An Extraordinary Treasure
One day in 2000 while driving along Apple Street in Pittsburgh, Jonnet Solomon noticed a historical marker in front of a large, abandoned house. Solomon, a young woman who had emigrated to the United States from Guyana in 1984 with her family when she was eight years old, could not have expected that her decision to get out of her car to check out the marker and the dilapidated Queen Anne-style mansion behind it would change the course of her life.
How Mary Cardwell Dawson and her opera company influenced Pittsburgh’s music scene
A vine-covered, boarded-up Queen Anne-style mansion sits on Apple Street in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood. While the building might not look like much now, it was once home to the National Negro Opera Company, the first and the longest-running Black opera company in the U.S. And its creator, Mary Cardwell Dawson, was the leader of a movement to make classical music more accessible to Black audiences in Pittsburgh and around the country.
National Negro Opera Company
Organized in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, under the direction of Mary Cardwell Dawson,[1] the company was launched with a performance at the local Syria Mosque. The star was La Julia Rhea, and other members included Minto Cato, Carol Brice, Robert McFerrin, and Lillian Evanti. During its 21-year run, NNOC also mounted productions in Washington D.C., New York City, and Chicago.
Groundbreaking on Pittsburgh's National Negro Opera House arrives after 22 years of persistence
The overture announcing the rebirth of Pittsburgh’s National Negro Opera House is over. With Tuesday’s groundbreaking, restoration has formally begun on the Homewood landmark that played an important role in the nation’s musical history. Jonnet Solomon, the local businesswoman who bought the building in 2000, hosted the event on Apple Street, where the dilapidated Victorian building, which now has more than $2 million dedicated to its revival, sits.
Pittsburgh Opera and National Opera House announce programmatic and strategic partnership
Pittsburgh Opera and the National Opera House announce a long-term programmatic and strategic partnership. The National Opera House (NOH) is the steward of the legacy of the National Negro Opera Company (NNOC), the first African-American opera company in the United States. The NNOC was founded in Pittsburgh by Mary Cardwell Dawson in 1941 and operated until her death in 1962. The NNOC headquarters building, also referred to as the National Negro Opera Company House, is owned by NOH President Jonnet Solomon.
Groundbreaking on Pittsburgh's National Negro Opera House arrives after 22 years of persistence
The overture announcing the rebirth of Pittsburgh’s National Negro Opera House is over. With Tuesday’s groundbreaking, restoration has formally begun on the Homewood landmark that played an important role in the nation’s musical history. Jonnet Solomon, the local businesswoman who bought the building in 2000, hosted the event on Apple Street, where the dilapidated Victorian building, which now has more than $2 million dedicated to its revival, sits.
Commentary: It’s time to correct the record for a Pittsburgh Black history landmark
“She died in that house,” Dolores Slater told me in a January 2023 interview. I had asked her about Ada B. Harris, widow of the beloved Pittsburgh numbers banker William “Woogie” Harris, and the house at 7101 Apple St. that historic preservationists have dubbed the “National Negro Opera Company House.”
The Fight to Save the National Negro Opera Company House
Jonnet Solomon was driving through Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood one day more than 20 years ago when a large, abandoned Queen Anne-style manor house on Apple Street caught her eye. She pulled over, got out, and read the historical plaque outside. This marked her first encounter with the story of the National Negro Opera Company, an organization founded in 1941 by Mary Cardwell Dawson that was once headquartered in the building.
A Big Numbers Hit in 1930 Created Pittsburgh Mob Legends
Pittsburgh was a numbers city. Throughout much of the 20th century, people throughout the Steel City played the daily street lottery hoping for one big hit that could improve their economic circumstances. It was seductive: a single nickel or a dime played on three digits could yield a return greater than a week’s pay for many of the city’s general laborers and millworkers. In the summer of 1930, one big hit on the number 805 made heroes out of some Pittsburgh racketeers while others became villains. This story digs into the origins of the city’s gambling rackets and the people and events that made “805” an enduring Pittsburgh legend.
National Trust Awards $3 Million in Grants to 40 Sites to Help Preserve Black History
On July 15, 2021, the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced more than $3 million in grants to 40 sites and organizations through its African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. Over the past four years, the National Trust has funded 105 historic places connected to Black history and invested more than $7.3 million to help preserve landscapes and buildings imbued with Black life, humanity, and cultural heritage. This year’s funds were awarded to key places and organizations that help the Action Fund protect and restore significant historic sites. Grants are given across four categories: capacity building, project planning, capital, and programming and interpretation.
Richard King Mellon Foundation Makes Major Donation to Preserve Home of National Negro Opera Company
The Richard King Mellon Foundation will donate $ 500,000 to help remodel the former House of the National Negro Opera Company in Homewood, which the National Trust for Historic Preservation recently named it one of the 11 most endangered historic sites in the U.S. The home, once the pride of Pittsburgh, is close to collapse, having been abandoned for more than 50 years, despite having been a major cultural center. It housed the National Negro Opera Company, which was founded in 1941 by opera singer Mary Cardwell Dawson. The company disbanded in 1962. “This property was once the center of black cultural life in Pittsburgh and a national arts destination,” said Foundation Director Sam Reiman in a press release.
Negro Opera Birthplace Rescued By A Visionary With Preservation Goal
PITTSBURGH — Few people would have even noticed the abandoned, dilapidated Queen Anne-style building on Apple Street in Homewood, a predominately Black neighborhood of Pittsburgh, but the blue and gold historical marker outside it caught Jonnet Solomon’s attention. By chance, she had happened upon the former headquarters of the National Negro Opera Company (NNOC), founded by Mary Cardwell Dawson in 1941. Preserving the structure, which had been vacant for decades when she first saw it in 2000, seemed like a fool’s errand to many, but that never deterred Solomon.
The National Negro Opera Co. House Gets Another Chance — And a $500,000 Grant
Abandoned for more than half a century, the birthplace of the National Negro Opera Company in Homewood is on the verge of collapse; The National Trust for Historic Preservation recently named it one of the 11 most endangered historic sites in the U.S. Now, the 17-room, Queen Anne-style style house on Apple Street — built in 1894 — is getting a fighting chance at a new life. The Richard King Mellon Foundation this week announced it is making a $500,000 donation to help save the historic building.
OperaWire - "National Negro Opera House — once the center of Black cultural life in Pittsburgh — receives $500K grant "
Abandoned for more than half a century, the birthplace of the National Negro Opera Company in Homewood is on the verge of collapse; The National Trust for Historic Preservation recently named it one of the 11 most endangered historic sites in the U.S. Now, the 17-room, Queen Anne-style style house on Apple Street — built in 1894 — is getting a fighting chance at a new life. The Richard King Mellon Foundation this week announced it is making a $500,000 donation to help save the historic building.
National Negro Opera House — once the center of Black cultural life in Pittsburgh — receives $500K grant
For 20 years, Jonnet Solomon has made it her mission to preserve, protect and ultimately restore a national landmark, the National Negro Opera House in Homewood, named one of the 11 most endangered historic sites in the country. But the Queen Anne-style building, constructed in 1894, is now in imminent danger of collapse. Solomon estimates it will cost up to $2.6 million to fix the house, and this week the Richard King Mellon Foundation contributed $500,000 to help stabilize it.
Foundation Gift To Aid Pittsburgh's Endangered Historic Black Opera House
One of Pittsburgh’s most endangered historical landmarks received a big boost toward preservation on Monday. Jonnet Solomon is owner of the National Negro Opera Company house. Courtesy of Jonnet Solomon Jonnet Solomon is owner of the National Negro Opera Company house. The Richard King Mellon Foundation announced it was awarding $500,000 to efforts to restore the National Negro Opera Company House, in Homewood. In the early 1940s, founder Mary Cardwell Dawson housed her pioneering troupe there. The building later became a noted boarding house for visiting Black celebrities, from singer Lena Horne to heavyweight boxing champ Joe Louis. But the state historical marker out front notwithstanding, the house has been vacant for more than 50 years, and has grown dilapidated. In September, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named it one of the country's 11 most endangered historic places. But until now, owner Jonnet Solomon had struggled to raise funds to renovate it.
Grant from Pittsburgh's largest foundation to jumpstart fundraising to save National Negro Opera Company House
Vacant for 50 years, Homewood building named one of the most endangered historic places in the U.S.
Foundation Gift To Aid Pittsburgh's Endangered Historic Black Opera House
One of Pittsburgh’s most endangered historical landmarks received a big boost toward preservation on Monday. The Richard King Mellon Foundation announced it was awarding $500,000 to efforts to restore the National Negro Opera Company House, in Homewood. In the early 1940s, founder Mary Cardwell Dawson housed her pioneering troupe there. The building later became a noted boarding house for visiting Black celebrities, from singer Lena Horne to heavyweight boxing champ Joe Louis. But the state historical marker out front notwithstanding, the house has been vacant for more than 50 years, and has grown dilapidated. In September, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named it one of the country's 11 most endangered historic places. But until now, owner Jonnet Solomon had struggled to raise funds to renovate it.
Restoring the National Negro Opera House in Honor of Mary Cardwell Dawson
By now, more folks in our communities and organizations are likely to be familiar with the terms and concepts of intersectionality and being a "double minority," which refer to the entangled aspects of one’s identity that situate them at various points within the social strata. These considerations are therefore also hopefully a bit more at the forefront of our collective consciousness and discussions as we’ve celebrated Women’s History month as Black History month came to a close: two groups of marginalized people for whom months of centered recognition are dedicated probably underscore the ways in which Black women are even further marginalized from the locus of power in our society, although this is certainly not the case for influence. (This is also the case for many of the LGBTQ+ community and, with intersectionality in mind, I hope there will soon be a time when we’re committed to also celebrating their contributions to society — especially those of queer and trans BI/POC.)
Organizers Rally To Raise Attention And Dollars To Preserve National Negro Opera House In Homewood
HOMEWOOD, Pa. (KDKA) -- Founded by Mary Cardwell Dawson in 1941, the National Negro Opera House — a historical landmark — has sat abandoned along Apple Street in Homewood for decades. Getting funding to fix it has been elusive. The paneling is peeling, the columns are collapsing, and a piece of Pittsburgh's Black history is hanging on by a thread. "Every time I see it, it breaks my heart because here's this piece of history that's here in our great City of Pittsburgh, that's wasting away," said Sydni Goldman, the creative director of the National Negro Opera House.
Mabel Freeman and the National Negro Opera Company
In the 1940s, Mabel Jones Freeman began an association with the Washington Opera Chorus, a chapter of the National Negro Opera Company. She presented the Mabel Jones Freeman Dance Group, her dance company comprised of thirteen members, in the 1947 variety musical concert of the Opera Company. According to the program, Freeman’s company performed five pieces accompanied by original music scored by Freeman herself. There was no review of this concert, so little is known about the content or quality of the movement. The central theme of her featured choreography was the transition of nature from spring to summer to winter.
Iconic piece of African American history largely forgotten
PITTSBURGH — An iconic piece of African American history is nestled in a largely forgotten Pittsburgh neighborhood. “Any given day, you would hear opera on the third floor. Joe Louis would be in the house, Lena Horne would be here, and Ahmad Jamal would be here taking lessons,” said Jonnet Solomon, the owner of the National Negro Opera House in Homewood. The house is condemned and considered structurally unsafe. But 79 years ago, it made history.
Black Opera Company's Historic Pittsburgh Headquarters Called 'Endangered' By National Group
The run-down Victorian house on Apple Street, in Homewood, might escape notice save for the historic marker out front. But its boarded-up windows belie its status as one of the country’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. That’s according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which last week honored what that blue metal plaque identifies as the National Negro Opera Company House. Annually since 1988, the Washingon, D.C.-based nonprofit has issued a new list list to identify places “to tell the full history of our country,” said National Trust chief preservation officer Katherine Malone-France. “Because we feel like a truer national narrative is a firmer foundation for our shared values and our shared identity.”
Discover America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2020
Each year, America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places sheds light on important examples of our nation’s heritage that are at risk of destruction or irreparable damage. More than 300 places have been listed in its 33-year history, and in that time, fewer than 5 percent of listed sites have been lost. The 2020 list includes a diverse mix of historic places nationwide that highlight many of the cultures, stories, and experiences—including seven sites with significant connections to women’s history—that help tell the full American story. But with threats ranging from neglect to natural disasters to inappropriate development, these special places are at serious risk. Browse the list below and learn what you can do to support these irreplaceable sites.
National Negro Opera Company House Named One Of The Most Endangered Places In U.S.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has announced its annual list of most endangered places. One of the places on the list is the National Negro Opera Company House in Pittsburgh.
The National Negro Opera Company House Named One of the Most Endangered Places
The National Negro Opera Company House in Pittsburgh has been named one of the most endangered places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, NPR reports. "Well, I'm surprised it's still with us," Matthew Craig, executive director for the Young Preservationists Association in Pittsburgh, said of the house. "But that it is still with us lets me believe that it's a pretty strong and pretty well-built house. So we do have some time, but we don't have forever." Jonnet Solomon bought the house in 2000 with her late friend Miriam White. "The hope is by having the house on the most endangered historic places list, it'll bring some attention from local community members who'll want to help save it - not just to preserve its story, but to keep it going."
Mary Cardwell Dawson: Singer, Activist, Impresario
In the 1920s, a young opera singer by the name of Mary Cardwell came face-to-face with a hard truth: the color of her skin would dictate the outcome of her career. A National Negro Opera Company souvenir brochure from 1957 describes her realization: During intermission, she often went back stage to really observe for herself, hoping eventually to find one of her people there. Actually, she was only to be discouraged, disappointed and finally made to wonder why the omission of her people… She thus began to wonder why even she had chosen this field for her life’s work. She found the same type of exclusion existing in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which she often attended on Fridays, as well as operas in other cities from coast to coast. Everywhere, and in every respect, she found complete discrimination or exclusion. This weighed heavily upon that young student of the Conservatory. (link)
National Negro Opera Company Programs and Promotional Materials: Henry P. Whitehead Collection
The National Negro Opera Company House in Pittsburgh has been named one of the most endangered places by the National Trust for HisThe Smithsonian Institution thanks all digital volunteers that transcribed and reviewed this material. Your work enriches Smithsonian collections, making them available to anyone with an interest in using them. The Smithsonian Institution welcomes personal and educational use of its collections unless otherwise noted; If sharing the material in personal and educational contexts, please cite the Anacostia Community Museum Archives as source of the content and the project title as provided at the top of the document. Include the accession number or collection name; when possible, link to the Anacostia Community Museum Archives website. If you wish to use this material in a for-profit publication, exhibition, or online project, please contact Anacostia Community Museum Archives or transcribe@si.edutoric Preservation, NPR reports. "Well, I'm surprised it's still with us," Matthew Craig, executive director for the Young Preservationists Association in Pittsburgh, said of the house. "But that it is still with us lets me believe that it's a pretty strong and pretty well-built house. So we do have some time, but we don't have forever." Jonnet Solomon bought the house in 2000 with her late friend Miriam White. "The hope is by having the house on the most endangered historic places list, it'll bring some attention from local community members who'll want to help save it - not just to preserve its story, but to keep it going."
How one Pittsburgh-based artist formed a creative community to bring light to the vacant spaces in Homewood.
Standing in the shadow of Mystery Manor, the former home of the National Negro Opera Company in Homewood, Alisha Wormsley and Anqwenique Wingfield were met with a disquieting silence. “It was kind of surreal,” Wingfield says. “Scary-movie surreal.” It didn’t help that the front yard of the Queen Anne-style mansion was completely overgrown with weeds, making it virtually impossible to see from the street. “The trees had grown up in the shape of a ‘Y,’” Wingfield continues. “It felt like a gate, like we shouldn’t go in there.”
National Negro Opera Company (U.S.)
The National Negro Opera Company was managed and directed by its founder, Mary Cardwell Dawson (1894-1962). The company was founded in 1941. In the late 1940s, Mrs. Dawson moved to Washington, D.C., which then became the center of company activities. There were active chapters in Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Pittsburgh, and Red Bank, New Jersey. In 1950, the National Negro Opera Foundation was incorporated to help raise funds to sustain the company. The company ceased operations with Mrs. Dawson's death in 1962.
The Fight to Preserve Forgotten Rich Black History
A dilapidated façade betrays the rich historical significance held within the walls of a Pittsburgh estate. Mystery Manor sits at the top of a hill on Apple Street in Homewood, a predominantly Black, lower income neighborhood. Homewood at the turn of the 20th century was a beacon for ethnic whites and upper middle class Blacks, drawn in by the affordable housing.
The Preservation Puzzle of Mystery Manor, an Oasis of Black Culture in Pittsburgh
From the front yard, the run-down Queen Anne-style mansion at 7101 Apple Street in Pittsburgh appears to have its best days behind it, much like the surrounding, predominantly African-American Homewood neighborhood. Most of the 72 windows on the three-story structure are boarded up. The wraparound porch is buckling, and stucco is chipping off the wall. Hearing owner Jonnet Solomon describe the litany of break-ins that have occurred over the last few decades is like listening to an archeologist recall the splendor of an ancient temple sacked by vandals centuries ago. The list of missing pieces of the roughly 7,000-square-foot home’s interior is extensive: an iron beam, hand-carved mantles, chandeliers, antique door knobs, copper lanterns and pipes were all removed by salvagers and robbers. The wood that lined the entire second floor was stripped and stolen.
National Negro Opera Company (1941-1962)
Mary Cardwell Dawson established the National Negro Opera Company (NNOC) in 1941 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Born in North Carolina, Dawson graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in 1925, the only African American in her class. Facing discrimination in her aspiration for a career as an opera singer herself, Cardwell Dawson instead became an activist in navigating racial barriers of the period by becoming an advocate for black musicians, using the NNOC as a training ground for rising black talent.
National Negro Opera Company Collection, 1931-1989 [collection]
The National Negro Opera Company was an interracial performing arts organization founded in 1941 by Mary Cardwell Dawson (1894-1962). Mrs. Dawson graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music with degrees in piano, organ and voice. She opened the Cardwell School of Music in her home town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1927, and in 1941 presented Aida at a National Association of Negro Musicians Convention that was held in Pittsburgh. The company had guilds in various cities in the northeastern United States. Its repertory included: Aida, La Traviata and Il Trovatore (Giuseppe Verdi); Faust (Charles Gounod); Carmen (Georges Bizet); Ouanga (Clarence Cameron White); and The Ordering of Moses (R. Nathaniel Dett). The company ceased operations shortly after the death of Mrs. Dawson in 1962.
Pittsburgh’s Black Opera Impressario: Mary Cardwell Dawson
More than three decades after her death, Pittsburgh’s pioneer black opera company founder Mary Cardwell Dawson (1894-1962) has finally been honored for her many contributions to the Commonwealth’s musical heritage. On Sunday, September 25, 1994, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission unveiled and dedicated a state historical marker at the site of the Cardwell School of Music, 7101 Apple Street, in Pittsburgh. It was at the music school she had founded that the black music teacher organized, in 1941, the first national African American opera company. Indignant because her students were denied professional opportunities in opera because of rampant racism in the field of music, Mary Cardwell Dawson founded a company that endured for nearly two decades.
Our Goal
We are committed to the full restoration of the National Opera House by mid 2024. To accomplish this goal, we must raise $20 million dollars. 75% of the funds will be used to restore the National Opera House while the remaining 25% will go to programs and operations. Every amount helps us get closer to our goal.
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