The State Theater of Havre de Grace had its final act last week as the city ordered the historic venue to close due to code violations.

The theater, at 325 St. John St., is one of three entertainment venues in the city, and had been hosting a variety of shows and events without a permit since a temporary operating permit expired at the end of January.

Now, against the backdrop of the town’s First Friday event, Fourth of July parade and fireworks, the theater sat empty with dozens of fliers across its St. John Street entrance with a QR code under the phrase “#SaveTheState.”

The July 1 closure stems from a June 17 notice the city sent to the owner, Jared Noe, advising him that he had two weeks to complete HVAC repairs and connect his sprinkler system to city water to get the building up to code, or the theater would be shut down.

Noe said he plans to file an appeal requesting a three-month extension on the closure so he can raise the $32,000 needed to cover the cost of the meter installation and outstanding repairs. A GoFundMe for the theater has raised more than $19,000 following an outpouring of support from the community.

Despite the support and effort to get the building up to code, Noe said he thinks there is more to the closure than code violations.

The theater published a 4-page letter on social media claiming that the closure is retaliation by Havre de Grace Mayor Bill Martin, since Noe had been critical of the mayor’s administration at a City Council meeting, days before the two-week notice was given.

“They literally shut down the loudest building,” Noe said.

The letter cited Noe’s grievances with the city-run STAR Centre entertainment venue that opened in 2022. Noe had been critical of the venue since the mayor passed up Noe’s bid to manage the facility.

Noe challenged the financial decisions and leadership of the STAR Centre and expressed irritation with the city’s decision to remove the State Theater’s events from its website following Noe’s criticism of the STAR Centre’s funding.

“I set up a whole framework for them on how they were going to manage it, how they were going to run it and then they hired someone else and have wasted millions of dollars now,” Noe said.

He noted that in 2023, he was banned from volunteering at the STAR Centre and the city’s Opera House.

The city’s Director of Administration, Chris Ricci, said the State Theater’s closure is not personal; it stems directly from “inaction” by Noe to get the State Theater up to code since it opened in 2020.

“The city could very well have shut the business down in February, but the administration is trying to work with the business owner,” Ricci said. “It has been the inaction of the business owner that has caused us to be here today … We have been trying to work with him but the ball is entirely in his court.”

Ricci noted that a 2020 inspection of the State Theater by the state fire marshal tasked Noe with implementing a sprinkler system and gave him a 12-month deadline to do so. Noe was granted a temporary use and occupancy permit that expired Jan. 31, 2025.

Through working with the city, Noe applied for a state grant that was used to cover the costs of much of the outstanding work, as well as the purchase of a water meter that was delivered to the city in December.

Ricci said the city has urged Noe to hire a plumber to install the meter. Noe explained that since he does not own the State Theater’s building, he had to consult with the property owner, which resulted in a miscommunication and a delay in contracting a plumber.

The State Theater’s events were taken off of the city’s website since, Ricci said, the city could not “in good conscience” direct people to attend events in a facility that is out of code.

Once the State Theater of Havre de Grace is up to code, Ricci said the city will grant it a permanent Use and Occupancy Permit.

Noe maintains that the closure is retaliation against him and said he and his supporters intend to attend a City Council meeting Monday night. The theater’s closure is not on the city’s meeting agenda.

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