Park Theatre Historic Murals Receive Major Restoration Funding

Significant donations from the Putnam Foundation, Kingsbury Fund, CMH Foundation, Mascoma Bank, and individual contributors are bringing The Park Theatre closer to restoring and installing its Four Mountain Murals in the main auditorium.

The historic giant paintings - 9 x 15 feet - were a distinct feature of the original Park Theatre, commissioned by Theatre founder Romolo Vanni in 1941 to grace the walls of his recently renovated auditorium. The artist, Carl Eric Nelson (1911-1975), known for his creative signs around the region and the Horse and Sulky mural on the T. R. Langdell Building in Wilton, carefully selected views of Mount Monadnock from each of the four towns that flank it in each of the four seasons.

The paintings captured classic mountain scenes and quickly became an iconic Theatre attraction. Rediscovered thirty years after the Theatre closed, they had suffered some water damage and wear. Under the supervision of the historic theater conservator Curtains Without Borders, the paintings were taken down and put into storage. With their restoration, the new Park Theatre will fully recreate the experience of enjoying culture and entertainment not just in a large room but in a memorable space, sparkling with the rainbow light of Art Deco sconces that were also preserved from the original theater. And the Theatre, with recessed spaces designed for the purpose, will display the paintings to their best effect for the enrichment of patrons and visitors who view these treasures of regional history.

With the generous donations mentioned, only $14,000 of the project budget of $35,000 remains to be raised. Donations towards this important project may be made online at the "Donate" section of www.theparktheatre.org or by calling the theatre office at 603-532-4551. All gifts are tax-deductible.

The Park Theatre is located at 19 Main Street in downtown Jaffrey, NH, just 95 minutes from downtown Boston.

About The Park Theatre

The Park Theatre first opened in Jaffrey in 1922, and was the center of community life as a cinema, vaudeville house, and concert venue for 54 years until it closed in 1976. The theatre was purchased by the newly formed Park Theatre nonprofit in 2006. It has been rebuilt as a state-of-the-art film and performing arts center, featuring two auditoriums seating 433. It presents movies, live theater (including children's productions), concerts, and lectures. It offers a place for business and community gatherings for the Monadnock Region and its 100,000 residents, school districts and dynamic artistic community. The new theatre complex began construction in January 2019 and was completed in 2020. It opened to the public on August 5, 2021.

The Park Theatre is partially funded by the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.

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