Rothschild Bros. on the Ithaca Commons

Established in hopes that Ithaca would be a prominent theatre town, Henry L. and John M. Wilgus paid for the construction of a massive opera house entitled the Atheneum. A few retail stores occupied the first floor while the theater could seat about 1,000 people on the second floor. The building was later purchased by the Rothschild siblings and renovated to fit their department store.