2022 Preservation Achievement Award Winner: Belknap Economic Development Corporation
The N.H. Preservation Alliance is pleased to announce our 2022 Preservation Achievement Award winner, the Belknap Economic Development Corporation, for outstanding revitalization and rehabilitation of the Colonial Theatre Block in Laconia, with support of City of Laconia, Misiaszek Turpin, PLLC, Bonnette, Page and Stone, EJM Holdings, Rusty McLear, and the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program.
One of the largest historic preservation projects in state history, saving the Colonial was a $14.4 million redevelopment project that revived a community performing space, four commercial storefronts, and new apartments in the heart of downtown Laconia.
The Colonial Theater Block in Laconia, NH. Photo credit: The Belknap Economic Development Commission
The Colonial opened its doors with great fanfare in 1914. Its interior was elaborately detailed and its grand drape featured a richly painted Venetian scene. In the 1930s, following a national trend, it shifted from live performances to motion pictures, and in the 1980s it was converted to a multiplex. Fortunately, rather than gutting the interior, the owners simply installed partitions that made separate viewing rooms and saved much of the original historic detail and ornamentation.
The Colonial closed for good in 2002 with its stunning interior still largely intact. After a Seven to Save listing in 2010 and strong voices advocating for rehabilitation, the City and the Belknap Economic Development Council took the bold step of partnering in 2015 to purchase, renovate and reopen the theater.
Their 6-year effort has come to fruition with a stunning revival of the historic space and modern amenities to assure the comfort and viability of it for many years to come. The 750 seat theater has been rebuilt with modern technology, and accessibility upgrades. The woodwork, original gilded plaster ornaments, frescoes, high coffered ceiling decorated with classical motifs, and a "1914" medallion centered above the stage have all be painstakingly restored. In other spaces, an elevator was added, stairways upgraded. The finished project is really three distinct mixed-use developments”: rehabbing the theater and renovating both former apartments and commercial units.
What a revival! With more than ten government and private funding partners and more than 300 community leaders investing in the project, the renovated theater and housing/ commercial spaces are on their way to driving economic activity in Downtown Laconia and the region.
Read about the rest of our 2022 Preservation Achievement Award Winners here.