Camden Opera House Block
About this property
The Camden Opera House Block is a historic multifunction building at 29 Elm Street in the center of Camden, Maine, United States. Built in 1893 after the town's great 1892 fire, it is one of the town's most prominent buildings. It houses town offices, a social meeting hall, and a 500-seat theater. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. The Camden Opera House Block is located near the southern end of Camden's downtown business district, opposite the town common on the southwest corner of Washington and Elm Streets, and within the Camden Great Fire Historic District. It is a rectangular brick three-story structure, with storefronts (now mostly occupied by town offices) on the ground floor, the theater and meeting spaces on the second floor, and a large social hall on the third floor. The exterior styling is Romanesque, with round-arch windows on the third floor of both street-facing facades, and the main entrance recessed in a round-arch opening on the Elm Street facade. On November 19, 1892, a fire swept through downtown Camden, destroying a large number of wood-frame commercial structures, including the town offices, numerous fraternal meeting facilities, and the town's opera house. The Opera House was one of the most prominent buildings constructed in the wake of the fire, designed by Lewiston architect Elmer I. Thomas and completed in 1893. The building was designed to house not just town offices and the theater, but meeting spaces for local business organizations and the local post office, as well as two retail storefronts. In 1932, the former post office space, facing Washington Street, was remodeled to serve as Camden town offices. This renovation, which included a new Colonial Revival facade, was designed by Portland architect E. Leander Higgins. Since that time, the town has expanded into other parts of the building. The theater is used for town meetings, local productions of all types, and is one of the host sites of the Camden International Film Festival. National Register of Historic Places listings in Knox County, Maine
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Camden Opera House Block
This page lists Camden Opera House Block. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Camden Opera House Block listed on the National Register?
Camden Opera House Block was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 29, 1986.
What type of historic resource is Camden Opera House Block?
Camden Opera House Block is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Camden Opera House Block?
The period of significance for Camden Opera House Block is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Camden Opera House Block?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Camden Opera House Block will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Knox County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Knox County.
Explore KnoxCounty ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Camden Opera House Block will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.