Colonial Theatre
611 Main Street,
Laconia,
NH
03246
611 Main Street,
Laconia,
NH
03246
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Colonial Theatre (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: General Cinema Corp., George A. Giles Co.
Architects: George L. Griffin
Functions: Concerts, Live Music Venue, Live Performances
Styles: Colonial Revival
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
800.657.8774
Nearby Theaters
Yet another “Colonial” in NH… but this one is haunted. From the Lake Winnipesaukee Historical Society…
“The Colonial Theatre, on Main Street in downtown Laconia operated for 86 years. It was, at the time ‘One of the handsomest play-houses to be found in New England and far ahead of anything which the average city of Laconia can boast’, reported the Laconia Democrat in 1915, when the Colonial Theatre opened with 1,231-seats. It presented movies and vaudeville shows, the music of John Phillip Sousa and in May 1961 the world premiere of Carol Lynley in "Return To Peyton Place”. In 1983 it was converted into a five-plex, with 4-screens in the auditorium and a 5th screen on the stage. It was operating as a movie house until August 2002.
In 2017 it was being renovated to create a 750-seat multi-purpose single auditorium 750-seat theatre. The Colonial Theatre reopened in August 2021.
Interesting fact: The Colonial Theatre is said to be haunted. Reported incidents include: footsteps heard and lights go on and off, and doors open and close when no one’s around. Visitors get a strange feeling that they should leave as soon as possible. A figure of a man has been seen".
Contributed by
John Elwood
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Recent comments (view all 23 comments)
LACONIA — The city, in partnership with the Belknap Economic Development Council (BEDC), has committed itself to arranging a financial package of $15 million to acquire and renovate the long-closed Colonial Theater along with the commercial and residential units on the lot at 609-621 Main St.
Randy Eifert, chairman of BEDC, announced the pending transaction at Wayfarer Coffee Roasters yesterday afternoon to a packed house of more than 50 people who, upon hearing the news, burst into a spirited ovation of clapping and cheering.
I read somewhere very recently that the BEDC will purchase the Colonial and then lease it to the City for 7 years for use as a municipal auditorium.
Uploaded pictures from the single screen days and postcard images.
GENERAL CINEMA operated this wonderful so beautiful theater, as a young asst. was sent there give the manager a two week vacation, what a nice two weeks I had always remember how I fell in love with this theater it is special, and now I read the community spending much to bring her back, great news she then always be there.
This item from the March 22, 1913, issue of Engineering Record is probably about the Colonial Theatre, which opened in April, 1914:
The Colonial Theatre is undergoing restoration and will be a multi-use theater of 750 seats, as noted in this weblog post. Fundraising for the project continues as well. A web site about the restoration includes this page of “before” photos.I recently visited the Colonial Theatre. Check out some photos and a short history at After the Final Curtain
Scheduled for re-opening in 2021. Website: https://coloniallaconia.com/
This theater reopened in August 2021.
I photographed it throughout it’s restoration: After the Final Curtain
Awesome photos Matt
In May 1961, the World Premiere of “Return To Peyton Place” starring Carol Lynley was held at the Colonial. The original auditorium was divided into a five-plex in 1983, with the main auditorium dividing into four screens and the stage area converting into a fifth screen. The Colonial closed as a movie theater in August 2002, that also housed a pizza place in a separate area.
On June 15, 2015, the city of Laconia announced they had partnered the Belknap Economic Development Council (BEDC) on a $15 million package to purchase, restore and reopen the Colonial Theatre as well as redevelop the retail space and the 14 apartments in the building. BEDC created a limited liability corporation, 609 Main Street, LLC, to run a capital campaign to cover some of the cost of restoring the building. The first part of rehabilitation began in March 2016 when the partitions that divided the auditorium into four screens was removed and was reverted back to its original single-screener.