Brogan: There's Something About Our Community!

In 2011, shortly after the publication of my first book, Was That a Name I Dropped? I wrote a series of blogs for Concord Patch about the closed Concord Theatre. The response was gratifying for me because of the 27 years I had been associated with the theater. Another piece, this time for the Concord Monitor a couple of years later and entitled, Let’s Bring the Concord Theatre Back to Life stirred even more interest within the community. While my pieces may have been laced with nostalgia, they were also a sincere plea that the rapidly deteriorating structure, which had not been in regular use since the film house closed in September of 1994, be saved from a potential demolition due to its condition.

The stories brought back a great many memories from the individuals who had seen movies at the theater during it’s 61 years as a showcase for a wide range of classic and less well-known celluloid epics. A lot of people e-mailed me or stopped me on the street to ask what could be done to rehabilitate the building and make it a vital part of the Concord community. My answer was usually that it would take a great deal of money as well as a vision from a leader who could help to make it happen.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, the Commissioner of the NH Department of Cultural Resources and a legend in our state, Van McLeod, nudged Developer Steve Duprey about the need to save the building while there might still be a chance.

Steve had periodically approached the Aznive family, who purchased the building in 1998 from Theresa Cantin’s nephew, Paul, about the possibility of purchasing the building. The timing, however, had never seemed right although Steve persisted.

In the meantime, the Capitol Center for the Arts was discussing their need for a smaller venue in order to enhance the type of offerings they could bring to Concord. Nicki Clark, the Executive Director of the Capitol Center was exploring the possibility of remodeling a portion of the South Main Street building that housed the Capitol Center. Fortunately for the City of Concord, the stars were clearly aligned the day that Steve Duprey picked-up the phone and called Clark to suggest that the former Concord Theatre might better serve their purposes.

I’ve lived in Concord for more than sixty-years and so what happened next didn’t completely surprise me. Whether its something in the drinking water or the environment that we work and live in, but the spirit of community prevalent in our city by the Merrimack, is something to behold.

The people of Concord the its surrounding towns, step-up for something they believe in. Whether its sports or the arts, there is something that unifies and enables whatever the project is, to be brought to fruition and to flourish.

Going back more than 55 years, I remember when the Kennedy Apartment Building went up next door to the Capitol Theatre. The Concord Music Club and a real cross section of the city came together to make sure the building housed an auditorium that could be used to bring music and musical performances to the city. It was named the Angelo Annichiarico Music Theatre in honor of a beloved music teacher.

I’ve seen it happen with the restoration of our City Auditorium, the Music School, Red River Theatres and the massive rehab of the Capitol Theatre into the Capitol Center for the Arts, to name but a few instances.

Hundreds of individuals and organizations stepped-up in the past few years to help turn the Concord Theatre into the “State of the Art” Bank of New Hampshire Stage, so named because of the Bank’s large donation to something they believed in. From Steve Duprey and Nicki Clarke through the architects, builders and the passionately committed staff from the Capitol Center as well as the donors who wanted to be a part what turned out to be the finest example of maintaining the integrity and history of the past and bringing to the venue the finest of today to ensure a long and fruitful future.

This past weekend was the Grand Opening of the theater after a ribbon-cutting in June and several months of performances. It seemed apropos as it began its new life, last Friday evening, October 18. That date marked exactly 86 years since the first film opened at the Concord Theatre.

Hundreds came to look, admire, be awed and to receive an acknowledgment for their contribution for helping to create another shining jewel in our city. The free Open House on Sunday morning brought even more locals, many of whom reminisced about attending a movie in the location many years ago. John Gfroerer captured the building’s 160 year history in a moving and enlightening film short that includes rare footage of Theresa Cantin who ran the theater from 1933 until 1994.

The outside of the building is already a local landmark thanks to a breathtaking marquee that lights up South Main Street in a warmly welcoming manner.

When I am asked what Theresa would think of this exciting new theatrical setting at 16 South Main Street, I reply, “She’d be thrilled to know it is once again bringing people together to be entertained.”

(Paul Brogan is the author of The Concord Theatre and Concord’s Love Affair with the Movies)