Digital Division
419 & 421 Division St
Lockwood Opera House
est. 1872
The Lockwood Opera House brought theater to Northfield. When Ephraim Lockwood opened the opera for business in 1873—the year after it was built—it became one of Northfield’s top entertainment locations and attractions. As a booklet commemorating the opera house upon the opening of the Ware auditorium on 4th Street describes, “There was no lack of audience in those days.” This was one of the very first steps in building Northfield into the performing arts-centered community that it is today. When Ware’s—now known as the Grand Theater—opened in 1899, it was considered a significant upgrade from Lockwood’s.
For about 40 more years, under new ownership after 1898, the opera house stayed open, still a popular location for smaller shows and productions. The lower floor space had since the building’s construction been used as retail space, first by Lockwood himself for a dry goods store. Around the time the opera house ceased operations, a new longstanding Northfield relic was established: Jacobsen’s. This family-owned department store held its spot at 419 Division for 56 years, closing down in 2003. The following summer, a revitalization effort headed by the Lockwood group commenced, and shortly thereafter, Joan and Jim Spaulding opened a new restaurant in the old opera house: the HideAway, a coffeehouse with an award-winning grilled cheese that is constantly duking it out with Hogan Brothers for the title of best sandwich joint on Division.
