As the Woodward Opera House in Mount Vernon wraps up its restoration, workers recently re-hung two large paintings uncovered by the renovation.

On display in the theater are "Morning" and "Mid Day," paintings circa 1884 painted by the Armbruster Studio in Columbus, according to Doug Leonard, a board member of Woodward Development Corp.

Leonard told the Mount Vernon News that McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory out of Oberlin, Ohio, had supervised the restoration and conservation in 2018.

"These paintings were actually discovered under some later art work that was tacked over them but had been hanging in the opera house since 1884," Leonard said.

The Woodward Opera House, which opened in 1851, is “America’s Oldest  Authentic 19th Century Theater still standing,” according to its website. It houses a 500-seat theater, two 1,000-square-foot recital and multipurpose rooms and conference, meeting and banquet facilities.

Work began on the venue's restoration shortly after it joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, but the project accelerated in 1994, when the Knox Partnership for Arts & Culture became involved. In 1997, WDC formed to serve as the building's owner. A 501(c)(3) organization, WDC also owns the adjacent Woodward Annex, formerly known as the Cooper Building/Rogers Block.

"After acquisition, WDC began detailed historic and archaeological research aimed at establishing the physical evolution of the structures to permit an authentic restoration process," the website states.

The project has included the installation of new balcony seats and aisle lights, plus the fourth-floor Vernon P. Johnson Art Gallery. A student of the Cleveland School of artists, Johnson produced watercolors exemplifying his "particular vision for small town America, which he illustrated in his paintings of Knox County," according to the venue's website.

Restoration was funded by a combination of state and federal tax credits.

For more information, visit thewoodward.org.