Ripley Opera House is named after patron William Y. Ripley and located in historic downtown Rutland, Vermont. The architectural legacy, built in 1881, is closely associated with the history of Rutland. An original building, built in 1868 and named Ripley Music Hall, was destroyed by fire in 1876. In 1881, General Edward Ripley — son of William Y. Ripley — replaced the building and renamed it Ripley Opera House. The handsome, three-storied edifice has a brick veneer with half-round windows topped with keystone projections, horizontal brick stripes, and a triangular pediment. Two stone plaques, engraved with the symbol of music and drama, rest on the upper front corners of the building. Ripley Opera House contains a theater, with excellent acoustics, on an upper floor. For decades, the opera house served as the main cultural center and was used for concerts, lectures, vaudeville, and social gatherings. Eventually the theater was adapted for silent motion pictures. Nowadays, Ripley Opera House is used as retail and office space.