Men and women dressed in their finest; the women lifting up the sides of their elegant evening dresses before making their way up a grand staircase. There is a hushed chatter among the opera-goers, as they discuss the gilded walls and ceiling that line the performance room, and with the heavy curtains still drawn, there's more talk about what might exist hidden behind.

The picture is not hard to form, because much remains the same at the Opera House nearly 100 years after that opening day. Women dressed in their best still climb the stairs, holding the sides of their gowns. The walls and ceilings are still the subject of conversation.

It's just not technically an opera house.

Though the building still bears its original name as it celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, the space has gone through many occupants during this long history. Now owned by Paul and Linda Dorsa, the Opera House is used for weddings, banquets and conferences. Though the performance space has been converted into a modern, open facility with Wi-Fi access, it still remains true to its roots.

"We're a venue for any social activity," said Marie Tallman, vice president of marketing at the Opera House.

The Opera House dates back to the early 1900s. After a devastating fire burned most of downtown Los Gatos, E.L. Ford, a stationmaster for the Southern Pacific Railroad, purchased the property on Main Street where the house currently sits. Using capital supplied by his wife, Ford built the Opera House, a two-story building, in a Renaissance revival, Romano-Tuscan mode. The first floor of the building would be occupied by retail and commercial tenants, including an ice cream parlor and a book and stationery store. The second story would be used for operas and plays.

On Oct. 10, 1904, the Opera House officially opened with a performance by the Sweet Clover Company. It would soon host other professional touring groups, offering opera and theater performances.

Ford, however, had a wandering eye. A few years after the Opera House opened, he ran away with an actress who performed there. Apparently upset over her husband's infidelity, Ford's wife decided to sell the building.

Over the next few decades, a department store and then an antique shop occupied the site. The outside was rebuilt at one point, updating the building to design standards of the 1950s, with long columns running up and down the exterior.

Paul Dorsa, who has owned the building with his wife for the past 18 years, said he decided to restore the façade to its original condition when he bought the building. Dorsa grew up in Saratoga and had been a longtime admirer of the Opera House.

"I don't know what I liked about the building, but I liked it," he said.

Inside, much remained the same. Though the stage has long been demolished, the ceiling and the walls are made up of the original pressed tin, in 15 different motifs. The building hosts the largest collection of pressed metal in California, said Tallman.

The house also has its share of the paranormal. Tallman and others who work in the building said a ghost haunts the house and has been captured on film by photographers over the years. Just a few weeks ago, a photographer snapped a picture of the outside of the hotel, only to find an unexplained female-looking form in a window when he developed the picture. No one was at the window when the picture was taken.

A birthday celebration for the Opera House will be held in October of this year. Details of the event are still being planned, although Tallman is looking to schedule activities and speakers during the day.

The Opera House is located at 140 W. Main St. For more information, visit www.operahousebanquets.com.