I was curious a couple of weeks ago, and decided to look into what was Monroe’s first concert/entertainment venue. As far as I have been able to determine, that would be Gerspach & Herring’s Opera House on DeSiard Street, across from where St. John comes in. The swimming pool for 141 Lofts now sits on the site.
The earliest mention of it I found was in 1876 newspapers. Mr. Gerspach died in 1888 and it was sold to Mr. J.B. Garretson when it became the Garretson’s Opera House. It burned in 1894. The below drawing of it appeared in the 1893 World’s Fair edition of the Monroe Evening News. The venue appears to have been on the top two floors while the bottom floor was rented out as a saloon and drug store!
Ouachita Parish History Tidbits 