Friends of Centennial Hall Inc

Centennial Hall brings people of all ages together to share in the arts, boost the creative economy and enhance the social and learning opportunities in the community. 

Since 1997 the Friends of Centennial Hall (FOCH) has been dedicated to renovating and maintaining this unique 1876 structure, originally built as a combination schoolhouse and public venue, for use by the public and private citizens. After a complete building assessment was conducted in 2018, FOCH launched the most ambitious effort in our history, a $2.6 million revitalization proceeding along two tracks. Rehabilitation and Access Improvement. The priority goal at the center of this project is to restore access to the Grand Ballroom, which will allow us and our tenants to greatly expand performing arts programming and provide perfectly size space for functions and events. A fully functioning event space will bring the benefits of the creative economy to North Hampton, drawing arts and culture consumers with their dining and shopping dollars to our town.

In 2018 our Open the Ballroom campaign received an LCHIP grant of $200,000, one of the largest grants given in a very competitive cycle. That grant was matched in three months and work on phase 1 of restoration began apace last summer. The recent imprimaturs of our National Registry Listing and LCHIP funding have at last positioned us to do the major rehabilitation and access work we have dreamed of for decades: replacement of the slate roof, rebuilding of the chimney and flue, restoration to 44 windows original to the building, clapboard repair, repaint and upgrades to the Heating system. among other infrastructure.

In 1998, FOCH purchased Centennial Hall and ten years later publicly burned the mortgage and assumed debt free ownership of the magnificent town resource. The same all-volunteer non-profit governs and manages the building to this day.

#ThisPlaceMatters