[2] The mission of City Theater Associates is to foster an appreciation for the performing arts by using creative avenues to increase community involvement.

The opera house opened in October 1860 with a play depicting slavery in the Southern states – appropriately on the eve of the Civil War.

Renowned thespians Edwin Booth, Joseph Jefferson, and Pat Rooney appeared over the years before appreciative audiences.

From that initial session, until the final architectural designs were completed, the question of whether or not to rebuild the opera house was hotly debated.

John Calvin Stevens, the world-famous Maine architect, designed a richly ornamented opera house in the colonial revival style, complete with a dramatic horseshoe balcony.

The rebuilt opera house reopened on January 20, 1896, and quickly resumed its role as a cultural focal point in York County.

Dramatic performances by such stage immortals as the Barrymores, along with minstrel shows, community pageants, and plays were among the Theater’s popular offerings.

The lobby and its staircase were paneled, new poster display cases were built, along with a projection booth, and a permanent cinemascope screen was put in place.

The public supported the City Theater and attendance grew as plays, musicals, concerts, dance recitals and community events once again graced the stage.

Soon a combination of funding received from federal, state, municipal, private, and business sources put restoration efforts into full motion.