Public is welcome to Opera House opening

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NORWAY — After years of hard work, hours of volunteer service and generous financial donations, the Norway Opera House first-floor renovations have been completed and will be celebrated Friday, March 1, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"The public is invited to join the Norway Maine Opera House Corporation," announced corporation board member Brenda Melhus, "in a joyous celebration on the completion of our first-floor renovation project."

"The event will take place on Friday, March 1, from 4 to 6 p.m., with an official ribbon cutting at 4:30."

Melhus noted there would be tours of the project for everyone interested.

The Opera House is the centerpiece of the downtown Norway National Historic District, which was designated in 1988. The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the nation's historic places deemed worthy of preservation.

The three-story brick edifice was built in 1894. It was once the center of community activities, but has been vacant since a partial roof collapse in September 2007. The town took it by eminent domain in 2011 due to its unsafe condition and turned it over to the Norway Opera House Corporation this year.

Contractors have been working at the site for several months as part of a $1 million renovation project.