Criterion A: Entertainment/Recreation
Period of Significance: 1925 to 1976
Local Level of Significance
The Gayety Theatre in Van Buren, Aroostook County, Maine is eligible for listing in the National Register under Criterion A Entertainment/Recreation for its historic use as a motion picture and live production theatre and for its second-floor recreational hall which was a separate dance hall and function room in the same building. In addition to theatre, the auditorium was used for town meetings, basketball games, dances, and other community events. The long history of recreational activities and the importance of those events to the town’s citizens are significant from the date of construction in 1925 to 1976, which represents 50 years ago; however, the venue continued to operate as a movie theatre until 1983. Later use as a restaurant on the first floor and apartments on the second as well as deferred maintenance has reduced some integrity of materials, design, and workmanship due to replacement windows and interior alterations. The building maintains spatial qualities of the auditorium and second floor meeting room, circulation patterns, and fenestration patterns. Integrity of location, setting, feeling, and association are intact and in the two primary recreational spaces much of the design, materials, and workmanship date to the period of significance and reflect changes made to accommodate changing recreational tastes.