Woodland Opera House, Opera house in Woodland, California.

The Woodland Opera House is a two-story red brick building about 104 feet long and 60 feet wide, with walls 20 inches thick. Its interior follows a 19th-century American playhouse plan: a proscenium stage, a horseshoe balcony, and uninterrupted semi-circular seating above a large orchestra area. A stage house at the north end, destroyed by fire in the 1930s, once rose 60 feet above street level.

Designed by San Francisco architect Thomas J. Welsh, the first opera house in the Sacramento Valley opened in 1885. A July 1892 fire that began in Dead Cat Alley destroyed it along with much of downtown Woodland. After businessman David N. Hershey bought the site, contractor William H. Winne rebuilt it in 1895–96 for $8,990, reusing walls and materials from the original. It closed in 1913 after more than 300 touring companies had performed and a lawsuit followed a patron's fall through a loading door.

The theatre's name comes from the woodland setting of Yolo County, and its stage has hosted John Philip Sousa's band, Helena Modjeska and boxer John L. Sullivan. Today it runs mainstage shows from September to June, a youth theatre camp each August, and school-day performances with the Yolo County Office of Education.

The theater provides wheelchair accessibility for visitors with mobility needs. Arriving early helps you explore the interior and take advantage of any guided tours that may be available on the day of your visit.

The stage house that once rose 60 feet above the north end was destroyed by fire in the 1930s and never rebuilt. The building also shares part of a common wall with its western neighbour, and its brick walls are 20 inches thick.