Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House — Attraction in Nacogdoches

Does anyone know the real historical significance of this building? It happens to be where a quartet called the Singing Nightengales performed one night in 1907. They were strictly singers at the time. As it happened, a disturbance on Main St. occurred during their performance and everyone left their seats to go take a look. When the patrons returned, one of the performers by the name of Julius Marx began making a bunch of derogatory remarks about the town. The rest of the group followed suit. They figured they didn't have much to lose at this point, being upstaged by an unruly mule (or mules) outside. Surprisingly, the crowd loved it. This began a major pivot in their careers and comedy as a whole. Julius changed his name to Groucho, and along with Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo, they became the famous comedy team, the Marx Brothers. Groucho even immortalizes the town in their movie Duck Soup, where he addresses the "citizens of Freedonia." You think that is pure coincidence, when the next street over has...

Cole Art Center is definitely a sparkling jewel in the local art scene.

The Center, whose previous history as the Opera House is very interesting and notable as the venue where the Marx Brothers began their comedy career.

The building has been respectfully converted to an open, well lit venue that shares art from local artists as well as exhibitions from around the world.

Great destination...

This was my second time to see an exhibition, and I found the experience friendly, inviting, and surprisingly calming. I am new to the art world, and these type of events, and it was good to have such a...