The vernacular Art Deco architecture of the Church Hill Theatre in rural Queen Anne’s County is a rare site – and its home to a local performing theatre company that also well cares for their historic theatre. Preservation Maryland will recognize Church Hill Theatre with a Community Choice award at the Best of Maryland preservation awards.
The Church Hill Theatre provides a home for the performing arts in the Queen Anne’s County town of Church Hill. The theater is a 1929 building that hosted live performances and town meetings until being converted into a movie theater in 1935. A 1944 fire gave the owners an opportunity to update the appearance of the building – giving the theater its current vernacular Art Deco appearance. When the movie theater closed in the early 1980s, a group of concerned citizens stepped in to save the building a turn it into a community theater.
Congratulate the Theatre at the Best of Maryland preservation awards event on Thursday, May 17, 2018 at The Star-Spangled Banner Flag House in Baltimore City. Celebrate with us and explore The Flag House with people that love Maryland as much as you do!
The stucco exterior dating back to that 1944 fire began to crack presenting a threat to the underlying materials and also to the interior of the building if water begins to penetrate the stucco. Preservation Maryland received a grant application from the Theatre and made an award of $10,000 in April 2017 to make needed stucco repairs. Much of the work was completed by Zierfuss Painting & Restoration.
Getting the exterior secured is an important first step for the organization as they continue to plan for the preservation of this community institution.