The Colonial Theatre, located in the small picturesque coastal town of Belfast, Maine, has screened Hollywood’s best new releases since it first opened in 1912. For the last 27 years, The Colonial has been run by Mike Hurley and his wife Theresa Bagnardi and while their love for the movies remains, the couple has decided that their time to retire has arrived and they have put their beloved theatre up for sale.
The Boston Globe featured the “For Sale” listing in an extensive profile that includes photos of the building together with its history. While Hurley says that he has received a lot of calls from interested parties, no one yet has committed to the $1.3M he is asking for it. Fearing the disappearance of another independent cinema, the local community in Belfast is rallying to locate a buyer that will continue its operations.
One idea has been to form a group from the community to operate The Colonial as a non-profit. However, it’s been slow going since this group has only been able to raise $5,000 so far. Without an obvious buyer thus far, we wanted to highlight the opportunity for someone to step in to take over a well-loved cinema in a quaint setting on the coast of Maine.