On Wednesday, Nov. 7, nonprofit Maine Preservation announced winners of the 2018 Honor Awards, celebrating outstanding examples of historic preservation and revitalization statewide and recognizing the owners, professionals, preservationists and partners who make them possible.

The 2018 Honor Awards, held at the Portland Country Club in Falmouth, recognized 13 projects and one family nominated earlier this year. “Taking vacant and underutilized historic buildings and adaptively using and updating them is an essential ingredient for community revitalization and vitality,” said Maine Preservation Executive Director Greg Paxton. “When completed these buildings lift the economics of the areas around them and the spirits of the citizens benefitting from them.

These projects recall the history of their surrounds and our predecessors that built and used them, while filling current needs. And these well-built buildings can be feasibly rehabilitated, economically operated and energy efficient. Maine Preservation is pleased to recognize these people and projects and the many benefits to Maine they provide.”

Awardees include Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta. On Jan. 26, 1876, an extravagant gala was held to celebrate the brand new Lincoln Hall. This two-story Italianate brick theater quickly became the social center of the Damariscotta community, hosting dances, graduations, community meetings, conventions and live performances. The theater’s wooden floor was laid in a circular pattern to facilitate roller skating, and the two small dressing rooms still flanking the stage are filled with signatures and graffiti that tell the story of company productions as far back as 1902.

By the 1920s, the theater was outfitted to play moving pictures and silent films, eventually transitioning to film as we know it today.

The last 10 years have been a time of growth for Lincoln Theater. Renovations added office space, an elevator, and handicap accessible bathrooms. New seats and a Main Street marquee were added followed by air-conditioning, a ceiling and roof renovation, and an upgraded digital movie system.

In 2014, the Maine Development Foundation, in partnership with the Maine Community Foundation, awarded the Lincoln Theater funding through the Grants to Green program, leading to a complete energy audit. As a result, the large windows became the main focus of repairs needed for the theater to achieve a higher level of energy efficiency. With support from the Davis Family Foundation and community members, the window restoration project was set in motion, and Bagala Window Works restored the windows to increase energy efficiency and recapture the beauty of the original design.

The landmark is the only Lincoln County one among this year's awardees.