Cheney Hall, built by the same immigrant labor who worked the historic Cheney Mills 150 years ago, was always meant to be a cultural arts center. The Cheney Brothers wanted a place where their employees could gather to hear great orators, poets, dramatists and musicians of the time. And so they did . . .Susan B. Anthony, Henry Ward Beecher, Presidents Grover Cleveland and William H. Taft graced the hall. In more recent days, the noted names have been Janis Ian, Ritchie Havens, John McEwen, Jonathan Edwards, Nils Lofgren and Kenny Rankin.
For over six decades the Hall served as a library, armory (during the Spanish American War), banquet hall, hospital, school, church and tea room. With social and political changes, the silk industry (for which the Cheney’s were famous along with velvet and yarn) and use of Cheney Hall declined. It ironically became a fabric showroom in 1925 and finally closed its doors in 1976.
Johnson Hall is a brick, Italianate building built in 1864 in downtown Gardiner to provide a place for large gatherings and entertainments. It's the oldest theater in Maine. Until 1929, the 3rd-floor theater hosted live plays, music, vaudeville, and burlesque (suitable for ladies!), and the hall held banquets and social events. From 1930 to the 1950s, it operated as a movie theater, and the first floor housed retail stores. The movie theater closed in 1959 and is now dark. In 1989, five people bought the building, and started a 501(c) (3) nonprofit, Johnson Hall, Inc. In 1990-92, the first floor was renovated into an accessible 110-seat performance space, with a small lobby, office, and restrooms. Johnson Hall Performing Arts Center has operated arts programs here since then. Current programs are available at 
Ever since I was a small child, I would lose myself in an imaginary world captured by the ongoing lives of strangers. Driving home from a day at the lake, I’d hang, chin on fore arm, out the window, inhaling bugs and staring into the windows of the homes along the way. Often seeing the blue glare of a TV screen or the fluorescent gleam of a kitchen light, I’d think …what are these people doing now? Are they happy or sad? Young or old? Do they have children? Grandchildren, maybe? Quickly, I’d scope yards and driveways looking for any clues that might give me further insight into their lives. And, in a flash, it would all be gone. Perhaps this is why I am so fascinated today by the many New England mansions, castles, and historic homes that we are fortunate to have in our region. Thanks to various historical societies and preservation organizations, many of these landmarks have been beautifully preserved, restored, and continue to be maintained throughout the years. One such home that stands out to me, is the Thomas Plant house, formally called Lucknow, but currently know now as Castle in The Clouds. Besides spectacular vistas of Lake Winnipesaukee, its notable Arts & Crafts architecture and design, and technology that was way ahead of its time, more intriguing to me than the house, is the life of the man who once lived here.
The waters around Cape Cod in Massachusetts are a graveyard for ships and many lighthouses were built in the nineteenth century to stem the loss of life. Today there are about 13 lighthouses that can be viewed from a distance or visited. Cape Cod lighthouses hold a fascination for visitors to the region and many, though long ago decommissioned, have survived as private homes, Inns, or museums. To understand why lighthouses are so important and prevalent to the area we need to go back to the last glacier era. Cape Cod is the most easterly peninsular in the U.S. and was formed during the last great glacier age over 20,000 years ago. Cape Cod and the Islands were at the southernmost extreme of the glaciers and were formed from the debris and silt left behind when the last of the glaciers retreated. In addition to laying down the foundation for the peninsular, this period also saw Georges Bank and Stellwagen Bank form. At one time these were both above sea level but with the glaciers receding, and the water level rising, these became submerged and are now some of the most productive fishing grounds in the world. A fact not lost on the whales who return to these feeding grounds each spring. 
Covered Bridges in New England first appeared in the early 19th century, but the history of these monuments to another age date back thousands of years to China. Today there are hundreds of many fine specimens still surviving in the Chinese provinces of Guizhou and Zhejiang. Covered bridges had also existed in Europe since medieval times and there were once hundreds of them in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Other notable surviving examples worldwide include the Japanese Covered Bridge in Hoi An, Vietnam completed in 1595, the 650’ long Kappellbrucke Bridge built in 1333 near Lucerne, Switzerland. A more recent example is the Lovech Bridge in Bulgaria. But it’s here in the Northeastern U.S., where wooden covered bridge design and construction reached its pinnacle in the nineteenth century. A combination of pressing need, plentiful old growth northern forests, and sheer Yankee ingenuity, advanced the development of wooden covered bridges to a rare combination of marvelous engineering feats that were also pleasing to the eye.
