A GRAND HISTORY

Seventy Years of a Grand Saga

May, 1933.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt had been President for two months.  The country was reeling from the ravages of the 1929 stock market crash and subsequent depression.  Unemployment, a manageable 4% in early 1929 had ballooned to 25% of the work force.  Mortgage foreclosures hit an all time high.   Neither the FDIC nor the Federal Reserve System had yet been created, so many who survived the stock market crash lost their life’s savings when banks couldn’t meet their demand for deposited funds.  Roosevelt declared a “bank holiday” when all banks in the country were forced to close until bankers and government could regain control of the situation.  The banks remained closed for 8 days and then only the best run banks could reopen.  Many never did open again.

Downeast Maine had been particularly hard hit.  The lumber industry dwindled to almost nothing as construction slammed to a halt.  The agriculture and fishing industries were plagued by economic failure.

And so it was that a mentally troubled dishwasher by the name of Norman Moore overheard two businessmen talking in the Ellsworth diner where he worked.  The men had been discussing what could be done about several unused, dilapidated buildings in downtown Ellsworth.  Moore heard voices that told him he could solve the problems.

By Monday morning, May 8, 1933, after several unsuccessful attempts, Moore had set fires that burned to the ground 130 buildings and most of downtown Ellsworth.  The destruction was almost total—Ellsworth would have to rise from the ashes if it was to continue to exist.

Approaching the devastation one problem at a time, the City of Ellsworth decided not to just rebuild what they’d had, but began construction of the new and improved Ellsworth.  Within four years, the rebirth and regeneration was nothing short of miraculous.  A riverside park had been added; the whole downtown shopping area was redesigned; major streets were rerouted. 

And in April, 1937, the City Council decided to move even further afield by making a major investment in a downtown movie theater.  Designed by Boston’s Krokyn & Browne and built by the Bangor contractor, William McPherson, construction started in March, 1938.

Four months later, to great acclaim, the Grand opened.

Opening night was welcomed with a great flourish.  The marquee sparkled, speeches were made, the entire City Council showed up, the Ellsworth High School Band played before the feature film, “Holiday,” starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.  The addition of  “another fine building” in Ellsworth’s business district was noted by a local newspaper, “,,,devastated beyond recognition a few years ago but which today needs to bow its head to no city of similar size in New England.”

Within weeks, the Ellsworth American was helping bring newsreels to Downeast Maine.

The movies of the late 30s and the 1940s were some of the classics—“Gone With The Wind,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Bambi,” “Samson and Delilah,” and the WWII super-patriotic “Stage Door Canteen.”  Movie patrons flocked to The Grand.  Author Sanford Phippen says he first realized he wanted to write when he saw the 1954 classic “Rear Window” at The Grand.  

As successful as the film program was, by the mid-1950s, television was eroding the audience for “the movies.”  The attraction of the small screen in the living room was tough competition.

In an attempt to offset the drain of TV, a boxing ring was installed and the Grand began a regular schedule of semiprofessional and amateur boxing matches.  Though innovative and generally well attended, boxing did not keep The Grand in the black.

Ownership changes did little to stem the flow of red ink, though various combinations of film, stage productions, rock ‘n roll, and other diversions were tried.

In 1975, a photo-journalist’s article in the Tuesday Weekly newspaper about The Grand caught the attention of local gallery owner, Harris Strong.  Strong was a transplant from New Jersey who had moved his business Downeast several years previously.  When growing up in New Jersey, he had been active both in straight theater and in Gilbert & Sullivan productions.  He had already formed a group called the Ellsworth Players and they had been performing in Ellsworth’s City Hall.  He recognized the value of The Grand’s stage and seating.

Strong headed an ad hoc group who formed the Hancock Country Auditorium Associates and on March 24, 1975, a nonprofit was formed and purchased The Grand.

The place was a mess!  Drains were plugged; the ceiling and walls leaked; vandals had damaged windows and doors; the heating plant almost didn’t work; wiring needed replacement.

The Associates did the necessary repairs to make The Grand usable again and then added a 12 foot “thrust” or extension to the stage to allow better stage productions…not cramped by the 12 foot stage that had previously existed when The Grand was primarily a movie theater. In the first performance in “the new Grand,” Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary fame performed a benefit concert on August 8, 1975.

Soon, the nonprofit’s management was looking for more groups to use the theater.  In addition to Strong’s Ellsworth Players, the New Surry Theater gave performances in the rejuvenated facility.  Strong teamed up with his friend Elizabeth Beatty and formed the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Hancock County to use the new stage.  And the Associates began booking outside groups.  All types of groups, from rock stars to the Bangor Symphony enthralled audiences from The Grand Stage.

Over the years many improvements have been made to The Grand.  A dressing room, new stage curtains, lighting and wiring have been updated, and the furnace was replaced.  In 2006, new seating was added courtesy of Jim Pendergist (current Chairman of the Board) and his family.  While replacing the seats, the inside of the auditorium was painted; new rest rooms were added as was a new sound and stage lighting system.  A brand new proscenium curtain was dedicated in late 2007 to long time stage director, Ken Stack.

There is some type of entertainment happening at The Grand on over 330 days a year.  Not only do local groups and nationally recognized talent work here, there is a program for children (Performing Arts for Children) that teaches them about theater and gives them a chance to perform.

Like any non-profit, box office receipts are never enough to keep the theater functioning.  Donations, grants and gifts as well as aggressive promotion are critical to keeping the doors open.

To continue pushing and pulling The Grand into the future, a new Executive Director, Jack Lafond, was hired in September, 2007.  Jack’s finger on the pulse of the theater, its supporters, its employees and the interests of the community will assure a continued bright future for as we celebrate The Grand’s 70^th anniversary and point toward the 75^th. 

12/9/2007