History exhibit remembers last elephant at Colonial

“The Magician’s Elephant” kicked off its final production week with a brief downtown parade and a nod to history, and in April, the Laconia Historical & Museum Society will offer an exhibit with ties to the performance.

Local lore has it — and the historical society believes it to be true — that sometime after the Colonial Theatre was built in 1914, a circus came to town, and the elephant was brought into the building and onto the stage through the oversized loading doors on Canal Street.

Those doors became known as the “Elephant Doors,” and to kick off tech week, when technical aspects of “The Magician’s Elephant” would become a focus, Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative walked Canal Street on Sunday, with the show’s performers and its elephant puppet.

The idea was to, once again, bring an elephant into the theater through the Elephant Doors.

Throughout April, the society’s exhibit adds to the historical theme. Through vintage photographs, programs, artifacts and stories, viewers can explore the carnivals, agricultural fairs, parades and live theater that brought neighbors together.

For more, visit laconiahistory.com.

— Janice Beetle