Macon Civic Club - It's Your Thing Grand Opera House - Macon Macon

Grand Opera House at Mercer University, or The Grand, is a historic opera house located in Macon, Georgia. The venue was originally known as the Academy of Music, built in 1884. The architect of the building was completed by Alexander Blair and W.R. Gunn in a Gothic style. The opera house was constructed with the largest stage in the southeastern US with a seating capacity of 2,418, almost one-fifth of Macon's population at the time.

Grand Opera House has had numerous historic uses such as live horses and chariots in Ben-Hur, a 1908 production. During WWI, the John Philip Sousa band was led by actor Charlie Chaplin for a fundraising effort. Some of the opera house's notable names include George Burns and Gracie Allen, Lionel Barrymore, Sarah Bernhardt, Will Rogers, Lionel Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore, the Allman Brothers Band, Ethel Barrymore, Bob Hope, and Ray Charles.

In 1936, the venue was changed to a movie theater as the popularity of vaudeville waned. It hosted Macon's only Hollywood premiere entitled God is My Co-Pilot in 1945. Currently, the Grand Opera House at Mercer University is known for hosting many Broadway touring companies, concerts, private events, community theatre productions, and other performances.