BiddefordCity Theater is a year-round near 500-seat, restored Victorian opera house at 205 Main Street in Biddeford, Maine, United States. Biddeford City Theater is a non-profit, volunteer-driven, organization that produces and hosts plays, musicals, concerts, movies, music, comedy, and other artistic performances with patrons from all over New England. The mission of City Theater Associates is to foster an appreciation for the performing arts by using creative avenues to increase community involvement.
In the late 1840s, the City of Biddeford purchased a parcel of land at the corner of Adams and Main Streets, and at that site planned a building to house the city’s municipal offices, as well as the original opera house. The opera house opened in October 1860 with a play depicting slavery in the Southern states – appropriately on the eve of the Civil War. With those first performances, an era of theatrical history began for the city of Biddeford. Renowned thespians Edwin Booth, Joseph Jefferson, and Pat Rooney appeared over the years before appreciative audiences.
On December 30, 1894, a raging fire destroyed the entire city building. An emergency city council meeting was called for on January 2, 1895. From that initial session, until the final architectural designs were completed, the question of whether or not to rebuild the opera house was hotly debated. Eventually, the dispute over building a performance arts center was settled in favor of the arts, and the planning for a larger and more structurally sound facility was initiated. John Calvin Stevens, the world-famous Maine architect, designed a richly ornamented opera house in the colonial revival style, complete with a dramatic horseshoe balcony. A large, ornate brass chandelier with glass shades showcased the stenciled ceilings. The rebuilt opera house reopened on January 20, 1896, and quickly resumed its role as a cultural focal point in York County.
A favorite among audiences was Vaudeville, with Biddeford as an important stop on its circuit. Dramatic performances by such stage immortals as the Barrymores, along with minstrel shows, community pageants, and plays were among the Theater’s popular offerings. J. J. Salvas, a local theatrical director and actor of note, regularly entertained capacity crowds with his portrayal of various characters. (photo shows J. J. Salvas in costume for his role as Tonkoutou.) Illustrated songs were also enjoyed by enthusiastic audiences.
However, one such performance ended tragically and remains a part of City Theater’s folklore. On Halloween Eve, 1904 singer Eva Gray collapsed after her third encore of the song Goodbye, Little Girl, Goodbye. With her 3-year-old daughter present, the beautiful 33-year-old died backstage from heart failure. Many since have referred to Eva as the Theater’s resident “ghost”.
Soon, films began to gain popularity, and when talkies were introduced in 1928, live theater was nearly eclipsed. The opera house became a movie house in the 1930s. After that, those grand days of vaudeville were over, except for the occasional appearance of an act between films.
Renamed City Theater in 1955, interior improvements were started. The lobby and its staircase were paneled, new poster display cases were built, along with a projection booth, and a permanent cinemascope screen was put in place.
The transition from opera house to movie theater was neither easy nor graceful. Television and drive-ins won the battle over movie houses, and in 1965 City Theater closed its doors. From 1971-1974 it was actually used as a storage facility for the city. Ironically, in 1973 City Theater, as part of Biddeford City Hall, was recognized and listed as a Historical Landmark with the National Trust.
Regardless, in 1975 a load of sand was dumped in the middle of the venerable old facility, turning the orchestra pit into a horseshoe pit!
However, not everyone thought the Theater should suffer this fate. In 1977, the newly incorporated City Theater Associates began a move to reopen City Theater. Through a lot of hard work and community volunteerism, the Theater reopened in 1978 with the internationally acclaimed Norman Luboff Choir. The Theater received a face lift, but was still in dire need of many essential upgrades and comprehensive restoration.
The public supported the City Theater and attendance grew as plays, musicals, concerts, dance recitals and community events once again graced the stage.
In 1996 the Theater celebrated its 100th year anniversary and was awarded a gift of new seats from the city of Biddeford. Soon a combination of funding received from federal, state, municipal, private, and business sources put restoration efforts into full motion. The highlights of this effort include a new marquee along with restored and reproduced stenciling on the Theater’s lobby walls, house walls, and ceiling. The Theater also received modern updates to its lighting and sound system, a digital projector and the installation of a new heating and air conditioning system. Old buildings demand constant maintenance and the upgrades continue. Today, efforts are under way to make upgrades to stage flooring, the costume room and public restrooms, as well as to re-point exterior brickwork, and to make long- overdue upgrades to the fly system (most of the pulleys and the pin rail above the stage are original equipment).
City Theater continues its mission of fostering an appreciation for the performing arts. In addition to five main stage productions, we have expanded our season by collaborating with other non-profits and entertainment organizations to bring music, comedy and dance to the City Theater stage.
The Woodstock Opera House is a historical venue for performing arts and receptions located in Woodstock, Illinois. It was built in 1889 and designed as a multi-use facility with space for city administration offices as well as police and fire departments. The building was planned by architect Smith Hoag and built by contractor Simon Brink for a cost of $25,000. Today, the City of Woodstock still owns the building, but the building is used exclusively as a performance space.
The Napa Valley Opera House is a theatre in Napa, California, it opened on February 13, 1880, with a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore.
The Newberry Opera House, located in Newberry, South Carolina, is a fully restored historic building that is a live-performance space for popular artists, touring theatre companies, and local organizations. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.
The Grand Opera House, often called The Grand and originally known as the Academy of Music, is a historic opera house located in Macon, Georgia, United States. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, it is now the performing arts center of Mercer University.
The Chateau Theatre originally opened as a Vaudeville house in Rochester, Minnesota, in 1927 with an interior decorated as a medieval village. The theater was converted to a movie house eventually remodeled and reopened as a Barnes & Noble bookstore. The Chateau was originally opened on October 26, 1927. The architects, Ellerbe, said," We have given this town the finest theater of its size, bar none, in the U.S."
The Orpheum Theatre, a 2,308-seat venue listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, on the southwest corner of the intersection of South Main and Beale streets. The Orpheum, along with the Halloran Centre for Performing Arts & Education, compose the Orpheum Theatre Group, a community-supported nonprofit corporation that operates and maintains the venues and presents education programs.
The Somerville Theatre is an independent movie theater and concert venue in the Davis Square neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, United States. Over one hundred years old, the Somerville Theatre started off as a vaudeville house and movie theater. The theater has since transitioned and now operates as a live music venue and first-run movie theater. As a music venue, the theater has played host to many historic concerts, including the first of the two Last Dispatch concerts, two shows by Bruce Springsteen in 2003, and a performance by U2 in 2009. Recent live performances have included Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, Cursive, Norah Jones, The Jonas Brothers, Joan Baez, and the John Butler Trio.
The Palace Theatre is a stage production venue at 76-96 Hanover Street in Manchester, New Hampshire, United States. Built in 1914, the theatre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Athens Building.
The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston, Texas is currently operated as a not-for-profit performing arts theatre. The Romanesque Revival style Opera House is located at 2020 Post Office Street in Galveston's Historic Downtown Cultural Arts District. It was named "The Official Opera House of Texas" in 1993 by the 73rd Texas Legislature. It has a seating capacity of 1,040.
An atmospheric theatre is a type of movie palace design which was popular in the late 1920s. Atmospheric theatres were designed and decorated to evoke the feeling of a particular time and place for patrons, through the use of projectors, architectural elements and ornamentation that evoked a sense of being outdoors. This was intended to make the patron a more active participant in the setting.
The Victoria Theatre is a historic 1,154-seat performing arts venue located in downtown Dayton, Ohio. The Victoria hosts a variety of events including theatre, music, dance, film, and comedy.
The Saenger Theatre is a historic theater and contributing building to the Lower Dauphin Street Historic District in Mobile, Alabama. It was dedicated in January 1927. The Saenger Theatre is a Mobile landmark, known for its architecture and ties to local cultural history. The theater has been completely renovated in recent years with an upgraded electrical system, VIP facilities, new stage rigging and sound system. It is the official home of the Mobile Symphony Orchestra and also serves as the venue for movie festivals, concerts, lectures and special events.
The Riley Center, also known as the Grand Opera House and formally as the Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts, is a performing arts and conference center in Meridian, Mississippi. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
The Bama Theatre is a historic theatre in Tuscaloosa, Alabama that currently serves as the city's performing arts center. Its modern redevelopment is the result of cooperation between the Arts Council of Tuscaloosa and the Tuscaloosa County Parks and Recreation Authority. The three-story brick and limestone building is located at the corner of Gary Fitts Street and Greensboro Avenue in downtown Tuscaloosa. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on August 30, 1984. It is also a contributing building in the Downtown Tuscaloosa Historic District, NRHP-listed in 1985.
The Lincoln Theatre is a 582-seat performing arts venue located at 769 E. Long Street in the King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The theater is owned by the City of Columbus under the auspices of the Lincoln Theatre Association. Operation of the facility is managed by CAPA. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
The Majestic Theatre is a performing arts theater in the City Center District of Downtown Dallas. It is the last remnant of Theater Row, the city's historic entertainment center on Elm Street, and is a contributing property in the Harwood Street Historic District. The structure is a Dallas Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Wheeler Opera House is located at the corner of East Hyman Avenue and South Mill Street in Aspen, Colorado, United States. It is a stone building erected during the 1890s, from a design by Willoughby J. Edbrooke that blends elements of the Romanesque Revival and Italianate architectural styles. In 1972 it became the first property in the city to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the second in Pitkin County. The upstairs auditorium hosts a number of events every year, ranging from nationally prominent music and comedy acts and some of the Aspen Music Festival's events to productions by local community groups.
The Fox Theater is located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for its architectural significance.
The Martha Ellen Auditorium, now the State Theatre, was built 1916 in Central City, the county seat of Merrick County in the state of Nebraska in the midwestern United States. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, as a well-preserved example of a Nebraska opera house.
The Stonington Opera House is a theatrical venue at the corner of Main and School Streets in the center of Stonington, Maine. Built in 1912, it is one of a small number of early 20th-century performance halls constructed in Maine. It is the current home of Opera House Arts, a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring and preserving the historic building to its original purpose as a central community institution. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
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