HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. — The Havre de Grace community rallied together to save the State—the State Theater, that is.
WATCH: Havre de Grace community advocating to save The State Theater
People lined up at city hall Monday night in support of the theater, the line of people spilling into the hallway.
The city shut the theater down last week, saying the building wasn't up to code.
However, the owner, Jared Noe, and his wife, Katie, claim the real reason they were shut down is because the mayor is retaliating against them.
"We've had a history with the city that every time we've spoken out about, like, the budget's wrong or the way something's being managed, we've had retaliation," Jared said.
I reached out to the mayor for comment on this claim, but he didn't respond.
Katie told WMAR 2 News that there's an argument that they're dragging their feet but says they weren't given enough time to make the proper changes to the building that's been in the community since the early 1900s.
"We were not informed until fall of this past year about the last component that needed to go into that system to make it functional. It wasn't delivered until mid-January 2025, and as part of that, we also learned after the meter came in that there was another $20,000 we'd have to cover because that meter didn't have the proper backflow," she said.
Since announcing the state was closing, community members banded together to raise that $20,000 the theater needed.
Lisa Deboard was one of many who vouched to save the theater, saying it holds special meaning for her.
"On the first great gates event that they had there, my now fiancé proposed to me. And it's such a wonderful venue with such a wonderful vibe; it's so inclusive," Deboard said.
Joshua Berg spoke to the community the theater builds.
"This county lacks a lot of places where people can just feel comfortable and safe with whoever they are, however they appear. And the State Theater is one of those places. It's a place where anyone, no matter your creed or what you believe can show up and be seen as an individual," Berg said.
Joshua and many others spoke their piece on Monday, backing Jared and Katie up as they asked city council members for a three-month extension to get things up to code.
Director of Administration Christopher Ricci responded to the outcry.
"The reason we are at this point today is not because the litany of information, misinformation, and misdirection proffered by the state theater. We are here for one simple reason: because the business owner refuses to hire a plumber and install the water meter into the suppression system," Ricci said.
"I want to be clear: not a single action this administration has taken regarding the state theater has been or will ever be retaliatory for someone exercising the First Amendment."
He went on to say that the only things standing in the way of the state theater receiving a final use in occupancy permit are the replacement of two heat pump units and notifying the officials when it's done and having no meter for the needed sprinklers.
