A previous opera house had been destroyed in a fire in the late 19th century.

Pella architect Henry DeGooyer designed the four story, brick Romanesque Revival structure.

[2] The opera house opened in November 1900 and regularly served its intended purpose for only a few years.

It continued to serve that purpose until the 1980s when the Pella Opera House Commission acquired the property and converted back into a live entertainment venue.

This article about a property in Marion County, Iowa on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.