Cumston Hall is one of the crown jewels of Maine. To the chance passerby it comes as a startling surprise, towering dramatically over Main Street. Its exquisite stained glass windows and asymmetrical design capture the imagination. Theatre enthusiasts from all over New England know the hall as the home to Theater at Monmouth, Maine’s Shakespearean Theatre. But for Monmouth’s residents, regular visitors and longtime friends, Cumston Hall is more than a remarkable building or intimate theatre—it represents the heart and center of the Town of Monmouth.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings since 1976, Cumston Hall is a valued architectural gem. While Dr. Charles M. Cumston donated the funds for the building to the Town of Monmouth in 1899, it has always been a gift shared with the community at large.
Dr. Cumston commissioned Harry Cochrane, an accomplished painter, writer, composer, and musician, to design the building. Cochrane’s design transformed Cumston’s vision for a town hall into a grand building, with an opera hall, library, caucus room, and town office all in one. Cumston Hall was built in just one year at a cost of $20,000! Well ahead of its time in amenities, the building boasted indoor plumbing and, at Dr. Cumston’s insistence, was lighted by electricity—the first building in Monmouth with this convenience.
The building’s architecture is a mix of a Romanesque style of asymmetrical columns and towers and varying external textures of the Queen Anne period. The building is decorated throughout with plaster ornamentation, beautifully crafted exterior and interior wood trim, and hand stenciled ceilings. The 250-seat opera hall features elaborate plaster carvings, and a fresco mural ceiling. More than 100 stained glass windows adorn the Hall.
In addition to being the home of Theater at Monmouth, Cumston Hall houses the Cumston Public Library and serves as the performance space for Monmouth Academy Drama, Monmouth Community Players, Friends of Cumston Hall, and the Monmouth school system.
For information on Cumston Hall User groups please visit:
Cumston Hall Public Library or call 207.933.4788
Monmouth Community Players
Friends of Cumston Hall or email thefriendsofcumstonhall@gmail.com
Monmouth Academy Drama or call 207.933.4416
For information about renting Cumston Hall for events contact Dennis Price, Facilities Manager, at 207.481.9404 or email dprice@monmouthmaine.gov.