GARDE ARTS CENTER

The Garde Arts Center is a 1,420-seat restored historic theater located at 325 State Street at the corner of Huntington Street in New London, Connecticut. The complex also includes the Oasis Room, a 120-seat music performance space, plus the Garde Office Building and Mercer Building. The theater is operated as a nonprofit performing arts center serving southeastern Connecticut.

The Garde Arts Center presents a diverse season of concerts, theater, comedy, dance, cinema screenings, and community events. The venue hosts the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and runs a Breezeline Winter Cinema Series showing films on the big screen. Programming ranges from national touring acts to local community productions. The Oasis Room provides an intimate setting for smaller comedy and music shows.

The Garde was built in 1926 and designed by architect Arland W. Johnson as a vaudeville house and movie theater. It was named after Walter Garde, a Hartford and New London businessman, and opened on September 22, 1926. The theater was later restored and converted into a nonprofit performing arts center. Its Moorish Revival interior features ornate plasterwork and decorative elements that have been carefully preserved through multiple restoration efforts.