About Warren Cultural Center
From the moment Ed and Eva Warren opened the doors of their new building in December 1896, the Opera House took its place as the grand lady of the Greenfield town square. With its expansive windows, oxidized copper accents, and distinctive turret, the three-story brick structure served as a landmark for culture and commerce.
Edward Earnest Warren was born in New London, Iowa, on March 31, 1862. He was educated at the private New London Academy. In 1879 Edward moved to Greenfield and was employed by A.P. Stephens & Company for two years. He was then transferred to the company's store in Creston for two years. Mr. Warren returned to Greenfield in 1883 as a partner under the firm's new name of "Fuller, Warren & Company. Edward, together with his brother F.C. Warren, purchased the business in 1886 and called it "Warren Brothers Company. In 1889 Edward became the sole owner of the business.
In 1884 Edward married Eva Mary Viers from Fontanelle, Iowa. Eva was born in Washington, Iowa, in 1863. The two began a life-long partnership.
The Warrens built their new store and opera house in 1896, in company with John J. Hetherington, a Greenfield banker, on the site of the original Adair County Courthouse, which had been destroyed by fire.