[Editor’s Note: The following has been prepared in advance of the “Forum on Public Buildings.”]
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Cover of Playhouse Opening Program
Built: 1923, Colonial Revival
- Square footage: 8,560
- Current uses: Movie theater with florist on ground floor, two nonprofit organizations on second floor. The town currently nets $86,000 per year in rent, with no consideration of capital costs.
- Committee recommendations: Given the terms of the current lease, which runs through 2022, with an option to renew for five additional years, minimize capital expenses for the building.
- Relevant articles: Committee Mulls Whether Town Should Continue As Owner of Playhouse (November 2017), Officials: Bow Tie Cinemas Interested in Restoring, Possibly Purchasing New Canaan Playhouse (January 2017), ‘There’s a Fine Line Between Charming and Outdated’: Playhouse Committee Convenes First Meeting (October 2015), ‘It’s Part of Why People Come to This Town’: Officials Discuss Future of New Canaan Playhouse (April 2015), New Canaan Playhouse: Private Owner Would Have More Flexibility in ADA Compliance (March 2015)
Submitted by Lesley Cousley:
New Canaan Playhouse was built in 1923.
Built in 1923 and designed by New Canaan architect Calvin E. Kiessling, this was the first building of the Village Improvement Company, in part of its planned development of Elm Street, then known as Railroad Avenue. The Colonial Revival style building helped set the style for development downtown.
Below are portions of a written history submitted by Mimi Findlay in ‘remarks’ following newcanaanite.com article titled “It’s Pretty Sobering” Future of Playhouse Uncertain.
February 4, 2015:
The Playhouse, early on Feb. 9, 2017. Credit: Carl Franco
In 1922 a group of New Canaan residents, led by Kiessling, proposed a plan to rebuild part of the business section with a view “to making the town more beautiful and to provide a village green.” They intended to erect a Playhouse and motion picture theater on what was then called Railroad Avenue. “This attractive Colonial structure will form the Railroad Avenue end of the proposed village improvement plan as proposed by Mr. Kiessling, with the First National Bank [big brick building next to Town Hall] at the Main Street end.” (Quote from the Building Conservation Architects, “Early Twentieth Century Architecture in New Canaan” New Canaan Mid-Century Modern Houses, CT Commissionon Culture and Tourism, 2009)
New Canaan Playhouse, part of an ornament collection.
The Playhouse was built the following year, using Kiessling’s Colonial Revival style designs of red brick, white trim and a cupola. It was featured in the November 1924 issue of The Architect. His obituary claimed, “He is credited with starting the colonial design of New Canaan’s business district”.
The Playhouse was purchased by the town for $2.3 million in 2000. The building houses a two-screen, 282 seat theater and two retail properties. Bow Tie Cinemas has leased the theater since 2000 and is in its tenth year of a 15-year lease.
The Playhouse has already been the focus of one Town Council committee, headed by Steve Karl, who was interviewed by the Town Use Committee. In April of 2015, The League of Women Voters held a Forum to discuss the future of The Playhouse.
Sources:
- Historical Architectural Resources Survey, sponsored in 2010 by NCPA, originally prepared in 1987 and sponsored by NCHS
- Town Building Evaluation and Use Committee Report
- https://newcanaanite.com/its-pretty-sobering-future-of-playhouse-uncertain-22029