Biddeford's City Theater
| Biddeford's City Theater | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| National Register of Historic Places | |||
| Historic District Contributing Property | |||
 Biddeford's City Theater (2017) |
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| location | Biddeford , York County , Maine | ||
| Coordinates | 43 ° 29 '36.7 " N , 70 ° 27' 22.9" W | ||
| Built | 1896 | ||
| architect | John Calvin Stevens | ||
| Architectural style | Victorian architecture | ||
| NRHP number | 73000156 | ||
| Data | |||
| The NRHP added | April 24, 1973 | ||
| Declared as CP | December 24, 2009 | ||
The City Theater in Biddeford City Hall is a Victorian opera house with just under 500 seats in the 20,000-inhabitant town Biddeford , Maine, United States. Theater, dance and music performances take place in the building all year round. The building, designed by John Calvin Stevens in 1896 , has been a Contributing Property on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973 .
The building served in its history as an opera house, cinema, warehouse, playground for horseshoes , stood empty for several years, and has been used again as a venue for theater and music since 1977. Since an extensive restoration in the 1990s, the theater has had a year-round program.
history
Plans for an opera house emerged in the 1840s when the Biddeford city fathers built a new town hall and wanted to add a venue to it. The city council was thus in the mainstream of the time. Since the middle of the 19th century, Maine's opera houses have also opened in smaller towns, presenting a colorful program of music and theater. Only a handful of these are now preserved. The opera house eventually opened in 1860 with an opera about slavery in the southern United States. In 1894 a fire destroyed the town hall and the adjacent buildings. In a highly controversial decision, the city council decided to reinvest money in a venue. They commissioned the architect John Calvin Stewart to design a new opera house.
The theater reopened on January 20, 1896. In addition to the classic theatrical performances, it also began to show a vaudeville program, which was particularly popular with the audience. The City Theater was one of the cultural focal points in York County (Maine) , Maine. During this time, for example, Fred Astaire , Mae West or WC Fields appeared in the theater.
With the advent of film in the early 20th century, the importance of theater and vaudeville declined, and in 1930 the City Theater was converted into a cinema. Despite another modernized renovation in 1955, the City Theater could not hold its own against the competition from drive-in theaters and television, and closed in 1963. After several years of vacancy, it served as a warehouse for the Biddeford municipal administration between 1971 and 1974. It was precisely at this time that it was included in the Register of Historic Places in 1973. From 1975 the building served as a hall for the skill game Horseshoes. In order to play it, the orchestra pit was filled with sand.
The condition of the theater motivated a group of volunteers to work to reopen the theater. The City Theater Associates campaigned with political lobbying and practical repair work to revive the theater as a place of culture. In 1978 it finally reopened with a concert by the Norman Luboff Choir . On the occasion of the 100th anniversary in 1996 it was possible to get money from the community, the state of Maine, the United States and various private donors, which are used for an extensive renovation. Seats, walls and ceiling were replaced and new event technology installed.
According to legend, a ghost is said to haunt the house. It is the opera singer Eva Gray, who collapsed from cardiac arrest at the age of 33 in 1904 after singing the third encore of Goodbye, Litte Girl, Goodbye .
building
The City Theater is lavishly designed in the colonial revival style of the USA of the late 19th century. It has a parquet floor and a horseshoe-shaped box. A chandelier hangs from the stenciled ceiling. On April 24, 1973, the Biddeford City Hall and thus the Biddeford's City Theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a monument . On December 24, 2009, they were also listed as Contributing Property of the Historic District Biddeford Main Street on the National Register of Historic Places.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e City Theater: City Theater History
- ^ Cinema Treasures: City Theater
- ^ Entry as a monument in the National Register Information System . National Park Service , accessed June 12, 2016
- ^ Entry as Contributing Property in the National Register Information System . National Park Service , accessed June 12, 2016
- ^ Shauna J. Haas: Biddeford Main Street Historic District: Registration Form . National Register Information System, National Park Service , August 20, 2009, accessed June 12, 2016, p. 9 (English, PDF file; 1,994 kB)