The McMinnville Opera House, also known as Hawchins Opera House, was a landmark structure in McMinnville, Tennessee, that was destroyed by fire in 2008. Built in September 1888, by African American entrepreneur William Hawchins. The building had businesses on the first floor, the main opera house on the second, and Mr. Hawchins' apartment on the third. The building was beautifully decorated with many ornaments, and a metropolitan opera house look for its time. This building helped the growth of McMinnville, making the town become known as a "Cultural Center".