Arcadia historic DeSoto Opera House was one of the first
buildings to be built in 1906 after the Thanksgiving day fire in 1905. It
was built by John J. Heard in which it housed his bank downstairs, the
Florida Loan and Trust Company. The rooms upstairs surrounding the theater
were rented out to help business owners get back on their feet after the
fire and to continue to supply services to the residents of the county.
Current owner Dick Cernoch says that it was also
used for dances, political meetings, movie theater and the local USO.
Local historian Howard Melton said that while the adults viewed the
show the children would be sent outside or they would play tag in the
hallways. They then would be invited back in to sit in front of the stage
for a show of their own. He also remembers the theater from when he was a
child. He said that it was used for graduation ceremonies, black face
comedians, vaudeville, silent movies and talkies.
He also said that since
the churches and schools didn’t have auditoriums the used the Opera house
for all their large functions. At the present time it is being used as a
museum and antique mall.
- 8:00pm-4:00am
- Scott, Sprout, Lori, Toni, Tom, Michael (manager), Jason and Myrriah from the Charlotte Sun newspaper
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Dick ( owner) said that he was in the back room when he heard what
sounded like a large crowd of people in the theater. When he checked it out
there was no one there.
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He also said that people are uncomfortable near the front of the stage.
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Children talking, laughing and running have been heard on the main stair
case, the hallways and in front of the stage.
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The owner reported that three psychics have come through the opera house and
claim that there are multiple benevolent presences in the opera house.
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There have also been several reports of foot steps on the stage.
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There has been a report from a patron, that she heard what sounded
like a party going on above the stage. A year later this same woman, told
management that she was in the corner room and she had a vision of a man in
the corner telling her “NO” as if to keep her out of that area of the room.
She then was shown the painting of John J. Heard and claims that was the man
she saw.
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Michael and his wife heard a loud noise and found that a mask in the
hallway that was nailed to a Music machine as part of the decoration. It was
found approximately 9 feet away at the top of the stairs. The mask was
originally located in front of a painting of John J. Heard who was the
builder of the opera house.
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A past vendor (Cindy) heard a child walking from another room down
the hall and entered her room. Then felt as though the spirit then stood
behind her but she saw nothing when she turned around. She had also heard
children running on the stairs and laughing.
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A local couple claim that one evening at dusk they were sitting in their car
at the traffic light on the corner. They looked up and saw a little girl in
the corner window and she was wearing a frilly party dress. Note:
Investigator Toni, went outside to look at the window from the traffic
light. There are several large trees in front of the windows and the window
is actually Plexiglas. The only clear shot of the window is either directly
underneath it from the sidewalk or across the street at the light. It was
noted by Toni that the Plexiglas is distorted and creates some wonderful and
interesting images when lights and clouds are reflected in the glass. This
could be a possible explanation for the possible sighting of the little
girl.
