The Park Theatre, 19 Main St. in Jaffrey, is closer to restoring and installing its four mountain murals in the main auditorium after donations from the Putnam Foundation, Kingsbury Fund, CMH Foundation, Mascoma Bank and individual contributors.
The 9- by 15-foot paintings were a feature of the original Park Theatre, commissioned by founder RomoloVanni in 1941 to display on the walls of his recently renovated auditorium. The artist, Carl Eric Nelson known for his creative signs around the region and the Horse and Sulky mural on the T. R. Langdell Building in Wilton, selected views of Mount Monadnock from each of the four towns that flank it in each of the four seasons.
Rediscovered 30 years after the theater closed, they had suffered some water damage and wear. Under the supervision of the historic theater conservator Curtains Without Borders, the paintings were taken down and put into storage. With their restoration, the theater will display the paintings in spaces designed for that purpose
After the donations, $14,000 of the of $35,000 cost remains to be raised. Donations may be made online at the “Donate” section of theparktheatre.org or by calling the theater office at 603-532-4551. All gifts are tax-deductible.