HOULTON, Maine — It is back to the drawing board for Temple Theatre owner Mike Hurley after an effort to give the iconic movie house away in an essay contest proved unsuccessful.
Hurley hoped the essay contest, which required a $100 entry fee, would result in the theatre being turned over to a new owner. But that contest failed to bring in the minimum number of 3,500 entries Hurley sought.
“We never got to the point where I felt comfortable making the decision to go forward with selecting a winner,” Hurley said. “Why didn’t it happen? I don’t know.”
Hurley declined to say exactly how many essays he received, but did say there were several hundred entries.
“The many hundreds of essays we received are truly phenomenal: powerful, passionate, honest, brave, hopeful, truthful, and aspirational,” he said. “They have been a joy to read. It’s been a long process. We started on this in August and have worked on it tirelessly for six months.
The contest drew entries from nearly every state in the nation, as well as six countries.
“We are still processing the entries and will be getting out refunds within 10 days,” Hurley said. “We’re truly sorry that at least one dream won’t be answered and awarded the theatre. We deeply thank you all who entered. We cannot tell you how much your entry was appreciated, read, loved, and treated with respect. And we also thank all of you who helped share and promote the dream, followed along, and cheered everyone on.”
The extensive national media coverage the essay contest received did have one positive side effect.
“I think the cool thing is more people worldwide were reading about and researching Houlton, ME than ever before,” Hurley said.
Although he has yet to officially list the property with a realtor, Hurley did say the business was going back on the market. Some of those who sent essays also expressed an interest in purchasing the property, he said. Hurley stated the Temple Theatre would not close.
“I’m optimistic that we can find a buyer,” he said. “I’m 65 years old and it’s time. I want to pass the baton to the next generation of movie owners.”
Temple History
The theater business has operated since 1918 and there have been many owners and operators during that timeframe. In 1919, The Temple Theatre was opened in the Masonic building on Market Square.
Nearly 100 people were present for the April 29th Monday evening grand opening. The first nitrate celluloid hand cranked through the projector at The Temple starred Madge Kennedy in “A Perfect Lady”. The front of the theatre was equipped with an orchestra pit as in the days of yore, the flicks were silent. Bryson’s eight piece orchestra provided the melodic backdrop for cinematic entertainment.
In 2002, after years of neglect, The Temple was leased by Therese Bagnardi and Michael Hurley. Although the theatre had been modernized with new cinema seating, sound systems, carpeting, paint and paper; every opportunity to save original fixtures was taken. This is evident in the lobby lighting fixtures, interior stained glass and wood work. After many months of renovation, the Temple reopened on Nov. 1, 2002, once again rolling film in the style of grandeur for which it was originally intended. In 2004 the Temple Theatre purchased the Temple building and the parking lot formerly known as the “Key Bank parking lot.”
The biggest change came in 2014 when the theatre switched from 35mm film to digital projection and state of the art digital sound with all new speakers, sound.
Editor’s note: The Temple Theatre history originates from the businesses website www.templemovies.com.
