SANFORD — It has been talked about before, but the desire to bring the old City Hall auditorium back to life always remained out of reach due to a lack of money.

These days, there’s desire and determination ”“ and a view to finding the funds that would allow for renovations.

Mary Stair and Jody Shellane, both of Sanford Maine Stage theater company, are at the forefront of the campaign. It is in its fledgling stages ”“ city grant writer Lee Burnett said a committee has yet to be formed to begin tackling the project ”“ but it is moving forward.

“When I saw this place for the first time, I fell in love,” said Shellane, who spent time with his grandparents in Sanford as a child and moved here three years ago, upon retirement.

Shellane and Stair envision a transformed auditorium where plays could be staged, speakers could provide food for thought, poetry could be read or movies screened.

The auditorium was recently used as a venue for screening horror movies for the Sanford Film Festival. Shellane and Stair volunteered at that event, and the potential struck them.

Stair had seen the potential before, as she’s known about the auditorium for years. She knows bringing the theater back to life will be a major community endeavor.

Involved in theater for years, she peered at the stage Wednesday and to the dressing rooms above.

The auditorium, sporting a fresh coat of paint applied for the film festival, needs lots of work ”“ and the renovation campaign is so new that just what needs to be done hasn’t been fully determined. The floor is scuffed and needs refinishing, the stage and dressing rooms need work, as does the stage. The auditorium could use some soundproofing, a box office would have to be built, and most importantly restroom facilities will have to be installed. At present, the nearest restrooms are one floor up, on the third floor of City Hall.

What would it all cost? Some have thrown out a figure of $500,000, others $1 million ”“ but all that will have to be determined.

Shellane said he and others plan to tap every potential avenue to raise funds, including approaching the Maine Arts Commission, and television programs like “This Old House” and “Extreme Makeover,” both of which have aided community projects elsewhere.

Burnett said grants could help the effort, but they’d be supplemental to a fundraising campaign. He said an initial step is to form a nonprofit corporation and go from there.

“There’s a lot of good will for this project,” Burnett said, cautioning it will be a major undertaking.

The auditorium used to be the centerpiece of City Hall, which was the town hall until this year. When the town hall opened Aug. 27, 1908 for the first time, Salem Cadet Orchestra played in the magnificent second-floor auditorium, and satirist and author John Kendrick Bangs was the keynote speaker. The following evening, the National Guard held a concert in the auditorium, according to accounts in the Springvale Advocate the following day.

Man of the Hour was featured on Nov. 9, 1908 and on April 14, 1909, Painchaud’s Band of Biddeford performed, according to programs donated to the Sanford-Springvale Historical Museum. There was a May Ball, an Easter Ball, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin was performed in 1911.

A fire in 1924 gutted town hall, but it was rebuilt the next year, along with the auditorium.

Four years ago, City Councilors Anne-Marie Mastraccio, now a state representative, and Alan Walsh toured the facility with public property director Marcel Blouin and others. Mastraccio on Wednesday said the desire was strong to renovate the auditorium then, but in 2010, the city was in the throes of the recession.

The auditorium was used through the 1960s and beyond, though its use was somewhat sporadic in later years. Blouin, during the 2010 tour, said he remembered when the Maine Arts Commission held an event in the space featuring a number of French fiddlers, including Sanford’s own Ben Guillemette.

He said perhaps the last production in the auditorium was a Miss York County pageant in the 1990s.

Back in the day, the auditorium’s main floor and balcony would have held 400. In latter years, as the town hall interior was altered to make more room for office space, an exit from the balcony and the second sweeping staircase leading from the town hall’s main lobby were removed. The balcony was closed and occupancy reduced to 225 on the main floor at that time. These days, the offices are vacant ”“ they’ve been moved to the first floor ”“ and occupancy for the auditorium has been set at 100. The balcony is off limits.

Some work has been done already, in conjunction with general repairs to City Hall. There’s a new roof, new windows were installed in the building, including in the auditorium, some time ago, and the electrical system has been upgraded, among other repairs.

Stair and Shellane hope to hold a Christmas production to kick off fundraising.

“There’s a silent campaign” to renovate the auditorium, Shellane said. “It’s really ignited.”

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].