Thursday marked a milestone for one of the grandest theatres in the Maritimes. The Imperial Theatre in Saint John opened its doors for the first time a century ago.

A concert, similar to the one that opened the iconic theatre 100 years ago, will be held Thursday evening to mark the anniversary. Admission price in 1913 was $1.

“When the theatre opened originally, the first thing they did on opening night, they decided they would have a concert of local talent. So, we decided to have a concert of local talent,” says Lee Bolton, the theatre’s executive director.

The theatre has provided a major venue for local and international talent for the past century, including dozens of Saint John Theatre Company productions.

“I’ve watched a huge growth in the audience capacity in Saint John over the past 25 years,” says Stephen Tobias of the Saint John Theatre Company. “People seeing new works, new kind of works, expanding their horizons, wouldn’t be there but for that theatre.”

Despite its prestige, the building came dangerously close to being demolished and turned into another parking lot in Saint John’s uptown.

At one point, the building fell into disrepair while owned by a church group. The theatre was gutted down to bare walls and dirt floor and then, money ran out.

“I was living in the south end at the time and I used to drive past the empty shell of the Imperial Theatre,” says Tobias. “It was a real debate and I think there was a huge movement within the community to say just tear the damned thing down, get rid of it, what’s the point? I mean, the community was a lot less cultured at the time than it is now.”

A combination of government funds and money raised in the community saved the building from the wrecking ball and restored the Imperial Theatre to its original glory as Saint John found a place on the performing arts circuit in the Maritimes.

“People who perform here, the professionals who come here, love the place,” says Bolton. “They love the beauty of the building, the feeling of the building, the acoustics, technically it is a very adept building, but there’s just a sense that it really is at the heart of the community.”

With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron