When Dorothy Duffy was growing up near Lakeport Square, she cashed in soda bottles to pay for a seat at the Opera House theater. A ticket cost 10 cents, plus 2 cents tax. She told The Laconia Daily Sun that most of the films were B movies. Pat Tierney added that big pictures like "Gone With the Wind" played there too.
On Thursday, October 29, the screen comes back. The Lakeport Opera House is showing "Hocus Pocus" in the afternoon and "Beetlejuice" that evening. The venue calls them its first movies in nearly six decades. Tickets for the afternoon show start at $6. Since reopening, the building has mostly booked concerts. These screenings take it back to its first public job, a neighborhood movie house you can reach on foot from Union Avenue.
What the second floor was for
For most of its life, the building was where Lakeport ran its errands. The theater was only one part of it. Here is the timeline as the Daily Sun pieced it together:
| Period | What the building held |
|---|---|
| Est. 1882 | First known as Moore's Opera House; the facade still reads "Opera house, Est. 1882" |
| Heyday | Lakeport post office branch, a drug store and a grocery on the ground floor; a barbershop and a theater on the second floor; Odd Fellows Chocorua Lodge rooms on the third |
| By 1960 | Theater no longer in regular use |
| 1964 to 1969 | Pharmacist Jerry Horn runs the drug store from 1964; by 1969, when the Odd Fellows leave, he owns the building |
| 1977 to 2015 | Horn sells the drug store but keeps the building, which he covers in vinyl siding; the storefronts go to secondhand and consignment shops |
| After 2015 | Scott Everett buys the 13,800-square-foot building and restores it, at an estimated cost of about $450,000 according to city records |
Some film history survived the restoration. Before Ginger Ryan was born, her grandmother, Lydia Tefft, played piano for silent movies in that room. When Duffy toured the empty theater during the renovation, the seats were gone. The balcony trim, the embossed tin ceiling, and the hanging glass globe lights were still there. A later Daily Sun story covering its second season reported that the building had added equipment for possible livestreamed events.
October 29, by the clock
The afternoon show is set up for families, starting with a costume parade across the stage. The NHPR community calendar listing lays out the timing:
- 3:30 p.m. Doors and concessions open.
- 4:15 p.m. Costume parade across the Opera House stage. All ages are invited, and costumes are encouraged.
- 4:30 p.m. "Hocus Pocus" starts.
- 7:45 p.m. "Beetlejuice" screens as a separate evening movie night.
On the Etix event page, all-in prices for the afternoon show run from $6 to $40. Lakes Region Tourism included both screenings in its September 16 Halloween roundup. Book early if your household has a costume that needs an audience.
The next night, Friday, October 30, the building goes back to adult programming. DJ Shamar hosts a Wicked Dance Party at 8 p.m. If you want to make a week of it, the Laconia Pumpkin Festival comes first, on October 23 and 24.
A Thursday afternoon slot on a calendar built for Saturday night
The rest of the fall schedule shows how unusual a 4:30 p.m. Thursday family show is for this building. In November the calendar has Meet Loaf, a Meat Loaf tribute, on November 19. Northern Cross, a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tribute, plays November 21. Aquanett brings 80s rock and metal on November 28, with an 8 p.m. start. Those are evening shows for grown-ups.
A cheap afternoon movie with a parade beforehand looks a lot more like the Opera House Duffy remembered, a place a kid could get into with pocket change and walk home from. Tierney put the building's old role simply when he spoke to the Daily Sun: "It was the only place to go if you didn't have a car."
Where the evening goes before and after
Walking still works in Lakeport Square because dinner is right next door. Fratello's Italian Grille is a few doors down at 799 Union Avenue. Its posted non-summer hours run 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Those hours matter on a Thursday. If you're going to the 7:45 "Beetlejuice" show, plan to eat before the movie, because Fratello's posted closing time comes first. Families at the afternoon show have more room. They can come out of "Hocus Pocus" and walk to an early dinner while the kitchen is still open.
Wayfarer lists a Lakeport Cafe on its website, and the online ordering link uses 781 Union Avenue, the same address as the Opera House. We couldn't confirm the cafe's hours, so check before you count on a coffee at 3:30.
The square is being rebuilt around the same idea
The Opera House was the first step in a larger plan. According to the Daily Sun, Everett's Lakeport work also includes a mixed-use commercial and residential building at 41 Elm Street. He has called the whole effort a 10- to 15-year plan to renew the village.
The newest piece makes walking easier. The Daily Sun reported on a Lakeport promenade with new green space next to Lake Opechee Inn and Spa. It includes a Lakeport Connector that links the Opechee Loop to the WOW Trail. Everett credited the inn's owner, Michelle Boissoneau-Dupont, with donating the land. He also thanked Erica Blizzard of Lakeport Landing Marina and Fratello's owner Chris McDonough for supporting the project.
The work also fixes drainage toward Lake Opechee. Everett told the paper that area "was a mess." A delay on a custom concrete culvert box stopped work for a while. The plan also lets trail users enter or leave at Doris Ray Court, with a paved path connecting to the existing trail. A crosswalk near the Doris Ray entrance is planned to lead across to Elm Street. In its August 2026 project update, the City of Laconia said the connector should be substantially complete by the end of summer. We haven't seen a public update confirming it's finished, so check the trail yourself before planning to arrive at the Opera House by bike.
The next time the projector runs
The December calendar has one more film. Warren Miller's "Days Off" plays three times on Tuesday, December 29, starting at noon and 3:30 p.m., with an evening show that the Warren Miller site lists at 7:30 p.m. An independent promoter is hosting it. The evening start time differs between the two listings, so check your ticket before you leave home.
The holiday concerts come before it. Jingle Bell Jive plays December 4. Clay Cook, who tours with Zac Brown Band and lives in the Lakes Region, plays two holiday shows on December 19, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Downtown, the Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative stages "A Christmas Carol" at the Colonial Theatre December 10 through 13.
Questions about Lakeport, the WOW Trail, or the blocks around Lakeport Square are always welcome. Meredith Connor is happy to talk through what's changing in the village and which streets keep the Opera House, Fratello's and the lake within walking distance. Let's Connect: Find Your Lake Life.
