Last week, Lebanon Opera House, the nonprofit arts and culture organization that operates the performing arts venue of the same name, kicked off its celebration of the theater’s centennial with a grand reopening following a multi-million dollar renovation project. The project featured modernized searing, an expanded lobby and improved artist-support spaces, along with an interior design that combines art deco detail and patterns evocative of the theater’s 1920s origins with modern simplicity. With its last significant renovation over 20 years ago, the Lebanon Opera House was in due for an update to bring it into its second century of service.
As prominent as the opera house is, particularly after the renovation, it is housed within Lebanon City Hall, an active municipal building for a city of about 15,000 people at the core of the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire and Vermont. As a touring musician or theater production sets up for an evening performance, residents may be paying property taxes, obtaining vehicle registrations, or filing building permits one floor below. The building also houses the city council chambers and the offices of the city manager and various city departments. Continue reading “From the Files: Lebanon City Hall”