DREAMLAND THEATER - Nantucket, MA

The original Dreamland Theater building has a long and rich history which was honored throughout the new facility. Originally built in 1835 as a Quaker Meetinghouse located on Main Street near Fair Street, it was moved to Brant Point in 1883 where it became the center portion of the Nantucket Hotel. When the hotel was sold in 1905 the Meetinghouse portion of the building was purchased by the Improved Order of the Red Men. It was disconnected, placed on a barge, and floated across the harbor where it was relocated to its present site. The first floor of the building functioned as a moving picture theater with the second floor being a lodge room and dance hall. A large addition constructed in 1922 increased the theater’s seating capacity to 600. The building functioned as a theater until 2005, and following several redevelopment schemes for the building, it was purchased by the Dreamland Foundation in 2007. Following a lengthy study which deemed the building structurally unsound, the Foundation decided that renovating the existing building would be impractical. Plans were put in motion to raise funds and construct a facility whose design would honor its heritage through the reâ€�use of some of the old buildings parts as architectural features.

This new 15,000 square foot multipurpose facility includes a 320�seat Main Theater, a Studio Theater with a capacity of 140, and the Harbor View room and Terrace which can accommodate up to 80 people. Equipped with a state�of�the�art digital projection system, the Main Theater will show current blockbuster movies as well as host theatrical productions and other performing arts. The Studio Theater will also be able to show main stream movies, smaller theatrical performances, comedy shows and music events. During demolition of the original historic meeting house, heavy timber wood trusses were salvaged and incorporated into the new construction of the Studio Theater. The Harbor View meeting room and Terrace, with adjacent Catering Kitchen, provides additional meeting space and boasts spectacular views of Nantucket Harbor.

PHOTOS BY KIT NOBLE.