A piece of Guilford history is returning to Town Hall!
Bret Gagne (“Furniture Doctor”) and First Selectman Matt Hoey with Town Hall auditorium seats (circa 1895)
When Town Hall was first built in 1893, the rear of the ground floor included an auditorium with seating for 350 people, says Guilford town historian Joel Helander. Over the years the building was renovated and made bigger. The auditorium was eliminated circa 1947 and the ornate wooden seating was put into storage.
When the Town Hall was renovated again in 1974, the auditorium seating was “up for grabs,” and Helander, already in tune with the need for historic preservation, moved three sets of connected seats to his family home on Clapboard Hill Road. They have been there ever since.
Now, with the help of an $1100.00 preservation fund grant from the Guilford Preservation Alliance, one set of three connected wooden chairs, classic in appearance and quaint in their antiquity, have been restored. All town residents are invited to see and indeed sit, in a piece of Guilford history. They have been placed for residents’ use outside the assessor’s office in Town Hall. First Selectman Matt Hoey has been a strong supporter of this project.
The chairs are an expression of how the community once gathered. The auditorium was originally used for performances and concerts, high school graduations and was even an exhibit area for the Guilford Agricultural Society’s annual fair on the green. But “first and foremost” it was used for town meetings.
“Back in the day residents turned out in full force to attend,” Helander says.
Town Hall Auditorium Performance
Cast of the comic opera The Mikado on stage of the Guilford Town Hall auditorium.
According to Helander, a performance of the Gilbert and Sullivan musical “The Mikado” was staged in the auditorium in 1907. An article in The Shore Line Times notes the actors were all local residents, including the chorus and orchestra.
The photograph herewith was taken by Henry S. Davis in May of 1907. This rare photograph is from the collections of the Guilford Keeping Society. It will be displayed on the wall beside the chairs.
Next time you stop by the Town Hall take a seat in a piece of old Guilford!
