City Theatre
205 Main Street,
Biddeford,
ME
04005
205 Main Street,
Biddeford,
ME
04005
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Grand opening ad from January 20th, 1896 posted.
I’d say that the exterior, at least, of the City Theatre is Romanesque Revival rather than Beaux-Arts in style. I have no clue as to the interior, but it could well be some variety of Classical design, which was a fairly common choice for the interiors of Romanesque Revival buildings.
The architect of the 1895 Biddeford City Hall complex, including the Opera House, which reopened on January 20, 1896, was John Calvin Stevens.
Under Biddeford Maine in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide is listed the City Opera House. K.W. Sutherland was the Mgr. The theatre was on the second floor and had electric illumination. The seating capacity was given as 1,075 which is higher than the capacity today. The proscenium opening was 25 feet wide X 39 feet high, and the stage was 35 feet deep. Local newspapers were weeklies: Journal and the Times, and the Saco Record. Hotels for show folk were the Thatcher and Smith’s. Local railroad was the Boston & Maine; the 1897 population of Biddeford was 18,000.