Island Falls Opera House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Island Falls Opera House
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 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
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| Location | Patten Rd. and Sewall St., Island Falls, Maine |
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| Area | 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) |
| Built | 1894 |
| Architect | Peters, Levett; Baldwin, Henry |
| NRHP reference No. | 84001359 |
| Added to NRHP | July 19, 1984 |
The Island Falls Opera House is a special old building in Island Falls, Maine. It's located where Old Patten Road, Burleigh Street, and Sewall Street meet. This building was built way back in 1894.
It was designed to be many things at once! It had shops, a place for shows, and even homes inside. Buildings like this used to be common in small towns in Maine, but now they are quite rare. Because it's so unique and important, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
For a while, the Opera House was empty and not used. But in December 2020, new owners bought it. They are working hard to clean it up and fix it.
The new owners, the Hartin family, live nearby. They plan to bring the building back to life! They want to reopen the theater and the shops for everyone in the community. They also plan to have two rooms for people to rent, like a hotel. This will be for visitors staying for a night, a weekend, or even a month. The Hartins now live in the house part of the building, as their living space is fully renovated.
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What Makes the Opera House Special?
The Island Falls Opera House is a large building made of wood. It has an interesting L-shape and stands out in the center of Island Falls. One part of the building is 2-1/2 stories tall. It has a pointed roof at the front.
The front of this section has a flat-roofed part that sticks out. Above that, on the second floor, there's a special three-part window. It's called a Palladian-style window. There are also narrow windows next to it and in the roof's peak. The sides of this section have many windows, some narrow and some more Palladian-style ones.
The back part of the building is even taller, at 3-1/2 stories. Its roof runs from east to west.
Inside the Opera House
When you go inside the southern part of the building, you would have found a general store and the theater entrance on the first floor. The old store still has its original wooden counters and shelves. The theater lobby still has the original ticket booth where people bought their tickets.
The theater itself takes up most of the upper floors. It still has its original seats and decorations on the walls. In the lower parts of the back section, there's a living area. This area has kept its original wooden details. You can see a fancy staircase and a decorative archway leading into the living room.
How the Opera House Began
The Opera House was built in 1894. A man named Columbus Lamb Pettengill and his son built it. They bought the land from W. W. Sewall, who owned a lot of land in the area. Mr. Sewall's land sale rules said that alcohol could not be sold in the building.
The theater was a very important place for entertainment in the town. People would come to watch shows and performances. In the 1920s, it was updated so it could show movies too. It was a central spot for fun and community gatherings for many years.
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