Harford County theater permanently closing after halting productions due to code violations

A Harford County theater announced Thursday that it will not reopen after it halted productions due to city code violations earlier in July. 

The State Theater of Havre de Grace said the decision came as "another major gut punch" just after it received support from the community during a city council meeting Tuesday. 

"For reasons beyond our control, the State Theater will not be able to reopen as hoped," the owners said in a Facebook post. "Although this final blow is not even related to the sprinkler system or permits we've been discussing over the last week, what we do know…has only added to our suspicions of how business is really done in this City." 

Halting productions due to code violations 

The State Theater halted all of its upcoming productions and closed its doors on July 1 after the city said the building was not in compliance with certain codes. 

Owner Katie Noe was told that the 110-year-old building needed a sprinkler system when the theater opened. 

According to Noe, the pandemic slowed their progress. She was able to secure a $100,000 grant to help pay for the $137,000 project. 

Noe told WJZ that the theater had been operating without an occupancy permit since January, as they worked to find the money to finish the project. She said the city was aware of this. 

On June 19, she got a letter saying the theater had two weeks to comply with city code before it would be shut down. 

Noe believes city leaders were retaliating against her. 

"My husband and I spoke against some of the financial practices of the city at a public hearing on June 9, and then a week later, we were given the notice that we had 14 days to finish everything," Noe said. 

According to Dr. Christopher Ricci, Havre de Grace's Director of Administration, that couldn't be further from the truth. 

"The reason why we're now enforcing it, or now, at this point I should say, is this city has been working with the State Theater, we've partnered with them, we've helped them get grants, we've tried to help them open and remain open, and the State Theater has still not complied with all the requirements," he said. 

State Theater announces closure, refunds donations 

During a council meeting on Monday, July 7, Noe said she requested a three-month extension to finish the project. Dr. Ricci said that the decision had to be made by the Court of Appeals. 

Noe said the final stages of the project would cost nearly $200,000 and would take about six more weeks. 

In announcing the closure of the State Theater on Thursday, the Noe family said they raised almost $35,000 in less than five days through an online fundraiser. 

The GoFundMe donations will be returned, she said. This process takes about 7 to 10 days. Cash donations will be refunded as credit to a future show. 

According to the post, the Noe family will take August to move out of the building.  

"This is so far from how we wanted things to turn out. Please do not feel like your efforts were wasted, although it's certainly easy to feel that way right now. Trust us: we're feeling it, too," the Noe family said in a post.