Center Theatre proposing Downtown Historic District in Dover-Foxcroft
DOVER-FOXCROFT — At the Dover-Foxcroft Planning Board Zoom meeting held on Feb. 4 at 6:30 p.m., the Center Theatre’s Executive Director Patrick Myers and Scott Hanson of MacRostie Historic Advisors presented a project that the Center Theatre is undertaking to create a National Register Commercial Historic District in downtown Dover-Foxcroft. The District could include up to 14 buildings reaching from In the Woods (formerly the Mr. Paperback store) to the Observer Building, which itself is already listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Myers said that the Center Theatre is pursuing the district because it will give them the opportunity to apply for grants and funding that they would not be eligible for otherwise as well as encouraging tourism and enhancing the region. Myers told the board that the proposed District would provide a variety of benefits to the downtown and the region as a whole with very few, if any, strings attached.
“If the proposed historic district is accepted by the National Park Service, who has jurisdiction over the National Register of Historic Places, ” Myers said, “there will be no restrictions placed on the property owners in the district.”
HISTORIC DISTRICT — A map of the proposed Downtown Dover-Foxcroft Commercial Historic District prepared by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission. The effort to create the district is being led by the Center Theatre, a historic movie theater and performing arts venue located at 20 East Main Street in downtown Dover-Foxcroft.
After a question from planning board member Barry Hutchins, Hanson assured the board that “a building could be painted hot pink with no review from the National Register.” Myers also said that he hopes a district could make downtown revitalization more attractive for some of the historic buildings because tax benefits become available for building projects within the district that meet historic preservation guidelines.
Myers said preliminary work on the project has already begun and he has been in contact with most of the property owners within the district to discuss the project and invite questions. Hanson will be making a presentation to the Dover-Foxcroft Selectboard at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 22 and at a public meeting held via Zoom on Wednesday, Feb. 24. Hanson is already familiar with Dover-Foxcroft, having worked on the redevelopment of the Moosehead Mill. Myers also said that there is a page on the Center Theatre’s website, www.centertheatre.org, that gives information about the project. He hopes that the project will be completed and the Historic District officially in place by the end of the summer.
For more information about the Dover-Foxcroft Downtown Commercial Historic District or any other programs and projects of the Center Theatre, visit www.centertheatre.org, find the Center Theatre on Facebook or call the Theatre at 207-564-8943. The Center Theatre is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation with a mission to make arts, education and entertainment accessible to our rural community to engage and inspire.