Restoration

Opened in downtown Augusta in 1913 to plans by the Maine architect Harry S. Coombs, the building exhibits the lingering influence of Beaux Arts design, coupled with Georgian Revival details and a retrained, geometric patterning that anticipated the Art Deco style. The building suffered extensive damage in a 1926 fire, and the rebuilt theater, completed shortly thereafter, was larger than the earlier. It featured silent films with live music until sound pictures ("talkies") were introduced in late 1929. The Colonial closed for business in February 1969.

The building was purchased by a private individual in 1970 and used as business storage for many years. Much of the equipment including the marquee and seating as dismantled and removed. Leaking roof drains and a hole in the roof allowed water and birds into the building, causing significant damage.

When Colonial Theater, Inc. acquired the historic building in 1997, it was in a state of disrepair, to say the least. The leaking roof had rotted the floor in the auditorium, causing a giant hole that opened to the basement below. Piles of coal ash from the old coal furnace covered the basement floor. Birds and other creatures that had inhabited the building for years left guano and other waste behind. On the exterior, loose and falling bricks along the facade created hazardous conditions on the sidewalk below.

Since 2016, major structural repairs have been completed, as outlined on the timeline below. Removal of the old leaking ductwork on the roof and replacement of the old roof were first on the agenda. There would be no point in completing any of the other repairs without adequate protection from the outside elements.

Once the roof was finished, major interior and exterior structural repairs could begin, including rebuilding a large portion of the auditorium floor. With that came environmental testing and remediation / abatement of toxic substances in the basement, including asbestos containing materials and piles of coal ash. In order to ensure a stable foundation for the upper floor, basement floor piers/pylons and brick pillar supports were repaired.

Repairing the large hole in the auditorium floor first required abatement of toxic coal ash in the basement as well as repair and repointing of the brick pillars supporting the floor above.

In November of 2019, restoration of the front façade began in several stages: repair and repointing of masonry, repainting, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the decorative cartouche along the roofline, and finally, the restoration of all street-facing doors and windows, which was just completed in the fall of 2024.

The theater is being restored in a very careful, accurate and deliberate way in order to bring back the beauty that so many before us had seen. Years of neglect and decay will be stripped away to reveal a wonderful, historically accurate restoration of this historic building generations of Augusta-area residents saw, lived with and enjoyed.

Since the Augusta Colonial Theater is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, all restoration is completed in concert with preservation experts in order to ensure the historic integrity of the building and its defining characteristics. For example, grant funding has allowed us to complete detailed analysis of paint samples both inside the theater and on the exterior. The patchwork pattern of painted bricks on the facade replicate the pattern used in 1926 after a devastating fire essentially gutted the building and darkened the exterior brickwork. 1926-1927 is being used as the overall baseline for restoration guidance since little is known about the appearance of the interior prior to the remodeling after the fire in May 1926.

Much of the lobby was painted robin's egg blue at some point, but faded and discolored areas of the 1926 paint scheme can still be seen in areas that had been covered with bulletin boards and posters.

This close up of the original paint scheme provides hints of original colors, though they have browned over time.

This panel represents the original paint scheme of the lobby. Upon full restoration, these art deco colors will once again greet visitors.

RESTORATION IN ACTION

The Augusta Colonial Theater’s Doors & Windows Restoration Project was funded by Maine Development Foundation’s RevitalizeME Gen2 subgrant program, which was funded by the Historic Preservation Fund as administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

Additional grant and individual funding was also received from the Davis Family Foundation; Maine Preservation, through a 1772 Foundation grant; Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust; and Evelyn Hunt on behalf of the Randy Mackay Trust.

RESTORATION TIMELINE

2024-?

Stage Area Restoration and Expansion

Senators Susan Collins and Angus King helped the Augusta Colonial Theater secure $1.5M in federal funding to restore and expand the stage area. Federal funding required yet another round of environmental testing and reporting before monies could be utilized. We are happy to report that as of January 2, 2025, we have met all federal requirements to move forward with this work. The original stage was built for small vaudeville acts, though the Colonial was used primarily as a movie house. By extending the stage depth by 15', the restored Augusta Colonial Theater will be able to accommodate a wide variety of live performances. Identifying historic features will be rehabilitated and retained, while modernizing the space to meet the needs of a cultural center. 100% plans are ready and we can't wait to begin this work!

CONTRACTORS: TBD

MAJOR DONORS / FUNDING: National Park Service / HUD

2023-2024

Exterior Doors and Windows Restoration

In the fall of 2023, work began on restoring the original windows along the facade and replacing the five plywood plug doors with the original double mahogany doors. Each window was stripped to the original wood, repaired, reglazed, and the pulls re-roped, for beautiful functioning windows. Two sets of the original doors, which had been stored inside the theater, were able to be repaired but the others were beyond repair. They were replicated with solid mahogany. It was believed that the original doors were mahogany, but when work began, it was discovered that they were actually pine doors with a mahogany veneer. The new doors provide a glimpse into the yet-to-be-restored lobby of the historic building.

CONTRACTORS: Spauldings Furniture Restorations; Peachey Builders

MAJOR DONORS / FUNDING: O&P Glass; Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund; Belvedere Historic Preservation & Energy Efficiency Grant Program, Maine Community Foundation; Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust

2021

Iron Tablet Restoration
(decorative element / cartouche)

In the spring of 2021, the original art deco iron tablet (decorative element), that sits on the top of the building was restored. Molly O’Guinness Carlson of Head Tide Conservation Labs restored the original art deco zinc formations that were placed upon a newly created replica of the arched shape made by John Gawler of Gawler and Daughters Sheet Metal of Belgrade.

CONTRACTORS: Head Tide Conservation Labs; Gawler & Daughters; Peachey Builders

MAJOR DONORS / FUNDING: O&P Glass; Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund; Belvedere Historic Preservation & Energy Efficiency Grant Program, Maine Community Foundation; Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust

2019-2020

Facade Restoration

The Colonial’s Theater’s facade restoration included reconstructing the formerly leaning parapet, masonry repair and repointing, new flashing, and exterior painting. The project returns the front of the building to its 1926 appearance and addressed structural concerns. The exterior painting required paint sampling and analysis by Sutherland Conservation & Consulting of Augusta to accurately recreate the six-color tapestry paint scheme.

CONTRACTORS: Head Tide Conservation Labs; Gawler & Daughters; Peachey Builders Hascall & Hall; Sutherland Conservation & Consulting; Theodore Logan & Sons

MAJOR DONORS / FUNDING: Maine Historic Preservation Commission (CLG Grant); Davis Family Foundation; Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust; Belvedere Historic Preservation & Energy Efficiency Grant Program, Maine Community Foundation

2018

Auditorium Floor and Remediation

In 2018 Coffin Engineering was hired to do a structural analysis of the floor piers/pylons in the basement and restoration of the piers began using J.F. Scott Construction in Winthrop. At the same time several old boilers, toxic coal ash, and asbestos in the basement were disposed of under the direction of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), part of the coal ash was removed and part of it was buried, according to their standards and guidelines. The brick pillars supporting the floors were then completed and the sub-flooring was constructed to cover the hole in the floor. This was completed by J.F. Scott Construction.

CONTRACTORS: Coffin Engineering; J.F. Construction; State of Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP); Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Beacon Environmental Consultants, LLC

MAJOR DONORS / FUNDING: Kennebec Savings Bank; City of Augusta

2016-2017

Roof Replacement

Before any other restoration work could commence, the major source of much of the interior damage needed remediating. It is estimated that the roof leaked even when the Colonial had been operational and after years of neglect, there were holes in the roof that led to extensive water damage inside the building.

CONTRACTORS: G&E Roofing

MAJOR DONORS / FUNDING: G&E Roofing; Skowhegan Savings Bank