The Colonial Theatre Sets the Stage for a Small Town’s Revival

LACONIA, N.H. – In 2002, after an 87-year run, the Colonial Theatre in Laconia, New Hampshire, closed up, largely due to stiff competition from other theaters in the area. Fast forward a decade later, and a movement to restore the historic theater and performing arts center was underway.

Today, the performing arts facility located in downtown Laconia has undergone a $14.4 million renovation. The project was one of the largest historic preservation projects in state history.

“People grew up going to the Colonial,” says Justin Slattery, a New Hampshire native and executive director of the Belknap Economic Development Council, a nonprofit economic development organization in Belknap County. “It was really a community asset and a community anchor. It was something that people could rally behind, and want to support because it was such a beautiful structure. Seeing it kind of rot away was something that frustrated people. And so we were able to have the right team in place.”

Pete Lally, 50, is someone who grew up visiting Laconia from the surrounding rural community. During jaunts to the area, he and his family would see the Colonial. Several decades later, Lally is one of the driving forces behind the revitalization efforts for the entertainment venue and the rejuvenation of this community of 17,000 people.

“Looking at it now, I’ve come to appreciate what a year-round vibrancy it is,” he says of both the theater and the community. “The transformation of the theater has been remarkable just to see what the talented people who did the restoration were able to accomplish. It is amazing.”

Lally is now president of Spectacle Live, which manages several performing arts centers throughout New England, including the Colonial Theatre. “The Colonial does a little bit of everything,” Lally says. “There’s a lot of concerts and comedy shows that we have in there. There’s a theater company and we have a lot of community events.”

Since reopening, the theater has hosted everything from local productions of plays like Fiddler on the Roof, to popular bands (10,000 Maniacs, Lonestar, Five for Fighting), tribute bands (Red Hot Chili Pipers) and the renowned comedian and podcaster Marc Maron.

History of the Colonial Theatre

Built in 1914, the Colonial Theatre’s original 1,400 seats opened to a mixture of stage shows and vaudeville, but pivoted to showing motion pictures in the 1930s. One of the theater’s most prominent features is its 1930s-era marquee that overlooks its main entrance on Main Street.

The original developer of the theater was Benjamin Piscopo, a stone cutter from Venice, Italy, who emigrated to Boston and became a real estate developer. Around 1911, Piscopo moved to Laconia and developed several businesses, including the Colonial Theatre. Piscopo hired George L. Griffin, a local architect, to design the building in the Neoclassical style, and commissioned three murals by artist P. Holdensen, along with a hand painted fire curtain depicting the city of Venice.

In 2020, the theater was named to the National Register of Historic Places, honored for its architecture and longstanding role as a center of entertainment and commerce.

The restoration

“The restoration was done with such care to whether it’s the plaster work or the painting or just the other features of the building. It’s just a stunning place,” Lally says.

The $15-million, 51,000-square-foot project includes the restoration of the theater, a housing unit and retail shops. Renovations began in 2016 and, after decades of closure, the theater reopened in May 2021.

“The city of Laconia is a major investor in the project,” Slattery says. “Then we have federal historic tax credits. We have investors from throughout the country that are involved in the structure, New Hampshire tax credits, 400 donors—a lot of support to the puzzle to redevelop it.”

Slattery says the organization has worked with more than a dozen businesses in the theater’s vicinity, helping them finance expansions and purchase equipment, among other things. Additionally, several new businesses have opened up near the theater, Slattery says.

Lally says that since the theater reopened during the Covid-19 pandemic, they started with smaller events that were socially distanced. “It actually resulted in some creativity and some fun events that ended up happening,” Lally says.

Kirk Beattie, city manager for Laconia, says the Colonial is a centerpiece for downtown. Beattie said there was some apprehension to the idea to renovate the theater because of the price tag, but residents and officials have found that although one may not be able to put a dollar figure on it, there is a difference in the downtown experience.

“When places go out of business, for whatever reason, we’re seeing new ones come in,” says Beattie. “We’ve seen people take a leap on taking businesses or storefronts that may have always been simple retail, and are turning them into something different: restaurants, barber shops and all these things that draw people to the downtown.”

Kristi Eaton

Kristi Eaton is a freelance journalist in Oklahoma, formerly with the AP in Oklahoma and South Dakota. She covers social justice issues, gender, travel and more, with a focus on solutions-based stories. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Associated Press, The Washington Post and elsewhere. Visit her website at KristiEaton.com or follow her on Twitter @KristiEaton.