North Hampton's Centennial Hall Starts Final Accessibility Restoration Phase

NORTH HAMPTON, NH — North Hampton's Centennial Hall is entering what The Friends of Centennial Hall calls the final phase of its long restoration effort, with plans for a three-story addition designed to make all three active floors accessible for the first time in the building's history.

The addition would include a three-stop elevator serving the basement, first and second floors, along with ADA-compliant bathrooms on the first and second floors. The project would replace an existing addition scheduled for demolition. Until that work is completed, the second-floor ballroom and the basement remain reachable only by stairs.

The nonprofit said the project follows a March 2026 town vote in which North Hampton residents approved a $50,000 warrant article for accessibility upgrades at Centennial Hall by a margin of more than two to one. The full addition is estimated at about $3 million, including about $350,000 for the elevator itself.

“We spent 28 years making sure this building would still be standing,” Marcy McCann, president of the board of Directors, said. “Then we opened the ballroom in 2024 and watched people stand at the bottom of that staircase who could not come up. This is the last thing standing between Centennial Hall and the whole community it was built for. Everyone should get to the top.”

The remaining project cost covers demolition of the existing addition, site work and excavation, foundation and masonry, framing, roof, windows and doors, ADA-compliant bathrooms, insulation, drywall, flooring and paint, and plumbing, HVAC, fire protection, electrical, and fire alarm systems. The figures were developed by Dennis Mires P.A. Architects, which produced conceptual drawings, and Milestone Construction, which created the project budget based on typical 2026 commercial construction costs.

“An elevator cannot be dropped into a building like this,” she said. “It needs a shaft, a foundation, a roof, and three floors to stop at. None of those exist at Centennial Hall today. What we are building is the structure that makes the elevator possible, and the accessible bathrooms that make the rest of the building usable by everyone who comes through the door.”

Centennial Hall has served North Hampton continuously since 1876, hosting more than 90 uses during that time. The Friends of Centennial Hall bought the building in 1998 after community opposition to demolition, and restoration work has included a new copper and slate roof, restoration of 44 original windows, a full sprinkler system and the reopening of the second-floor ballroom in June 2024.

The organization said it is now seeking donations, named giving commitments, and grant partnerships to fund the addition.

“If there is something here you stopped coming to, or never got to, we would like to hear about it,” McCann said. “Those stories make this case better than we can.”

For more information or to donate in support of Centennial Hall preservation efforts or to rent the Hall for your own upcoming event, please contact FOCH at info@centennialhall.org or visit their website at centennialhall.org.