Julius H. Steinberg

Julius H. Steinberg was a businessman and theatre entrepreneur in Michigan, United States.

He emigrated to Traverse City, Michigan in 1868 from Suwalki, Russian Poland when he was 20 years old, and became the first Jew to settle in that city.[1] Together with his wife Mary, Julius established a mercantile business and raised seven children. The store, which remained in the Steinberg family for over 50 years, closed in 1922 as the J.H. Steinberg Store. In 1891 Julius built the Steinberg's Grand Opera House above the store with a seating capacity of 700-800 at a cost of $60,000. The first production occurred in 1894 starring Walker Whiteside, a leading American actor, in Hamlet.[2] Movies were shown in the opera house for a short time until a Michigan law was passed in 1915 forbidding the showing of movies in second floor theaters. Consequently, Julius Steinberg built the Lyric Theater next to the opera house in 1916;[3] the Lyric Theater was remodeled in 1950 and renamed the State Theater, which is still active.

References

  1. ↑ Michigan Jewish History vol 19-2, June 1979, Official Publication of The Jewish Historical Society of Michigan.
  2. ↑ Michigan Jewish History, vol 14-2, June, 1974, Jewish Historical Society of Michigan
  3. ↑ "State Theatre history". Traverse City Record-Eagle. Retrieved 2016-10-29.


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