Entertainment on Front Street

Imagine you're wandering the quiet streets of a new town, where the pace of life is slow and not much happens on a typical day. (Well, except for the occasional fires, of course.) As you walk along the boardwalk you suddenly notice a commotion by the railroad tracks. Your curiosity piqued, you watch with interest as a man climbs down from his wagon and begins to assemble a large box atop a tripod As he continues his work, a small crowd starts to form along the street. The man, seemingly oblivious to the growing audience, pulls a large black cloth over his head and disappears under it. What could he possibly be doing under that cloth? This moment, seemingly mundane yet charged with a sense of wonder, may have been the highlight of entertainment in early Junction City.

Thanks to the photographer who captured this scene, we are fortunate enough to have this wonderful image preserved for us a century and a half later and as close as we can get to a time machine.

This view is taken by the railroad tracks on Front Street shows the intersection at 6th Avenue In the very back you can make out the towers on the opera house, which was destroyed in the 1915 fire.