I guess you could call this one “Separated at Birth.” There’s been an interesting new development for the recently closed Elm Street Middle School in Nashua. The impressive but aging structure is now empty.
Students and teachers will enter the doors of the new Brian S. McCarthy Middle School (DiAntonio Dr.) when classes open on Tuesday, Aug.
27. Several proposals had been tossed around for the old school that sits on an approximately nine-acre site (downtown-south), right off Main Street. It’s near a shopping center, banks and dining establishments.
It’s a fantastic location. One of the most interesting ideas came from Rivier University proposing to build up its varsity ice hockey program with a home rink (and another rink) and locker room facility on the southwest corner of the property. I haven’t heard anything since.
Many folks are nostalgic about the landmark building and concerned about what finally goes in there or even if the structure will be razed. And others are worried about Edmund Keefe Auditorium which is “attached” to the sprawling brick building and fear its ultimate demise. The latest news from the new Keefe Auditorium Commission is that the auditorium portion of the school must be separated from the main school building.
It is now considered a “stand-alone building.” Let’s say a potential buyer wants to purchase the auditorium; city officials announced that the structure could only be redeveloped as a modern theater venue. More than 900 people attended Symphony NH’s final concert at the Keefe Auditorium on June 9.
And it was a bittersweet occasion. The event was a beautiful farewell to the auditorium that has served as the longtime home of Symphony NH. This venue boasts the only stage in Nashua large enough to hold a full orchestra.
The Actorsingers have enjoyed bringing great community theater to the Gate City since 1955 and have also presented many productions in the grand Keefe Auditorium. The Actorsingers continue using the facility, and their next production is Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Performances at Keefe Center for the Arts on Nov. 8-10, 2024.
Legend Billy Joel once graced the Keefe Auditorium with his musical hits. I see it written as both the Keefe Center for the Arts and the Edmund Keefe Auditorium. The venue was named after the beloved city educator Edmund M.
Keefe around 1990 from what I gather. Mr. Keefe was a longtime Gate City teacher, principal and then the Nashua Superintendent of Schools in 1958.
He lived to be 101 and was always involved in civic engagement in the city he loved so much. Did you know this famous Nashua venue was dedicated on June 2, 1937, with an open house to the city? I was reading online old Nashua Telegraph news articles about the new then-high school built for $600,000, including the new gymnasium and the auditorium (capacity 1,800): “The auditorium has a front entrance leading directly from the school, with a large lobby and stair hall equipped with a ticket booth, coat room, toilet room and staircase to the balcony above. The stage is of ample size for all school theatricals, etc.
with dressing rooms and an orchestra pit. There is a projection room at the rear of the balcony.” Good thinking, Nashua city officials.
It’s a magnificent, old auditorium worth saving and one, that can hopefully, be “glamorized” in the next few years for residents and visitors to enjoy for more decades to come..
