The Sorg 1891 Guild

The Sorg - Middletown’s Treasured Landmark

“Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.”
Architect Frank Gehry
Sorg’s Opera House is arguably Middletown’s most historic building. Though not our oldest community structure, it has served for 131 years as a cultural center, a theater for live shows, and a movie house.

This historic building to which Paul J. Sorg proudly attached his name still strives today for that timelessness, to continue to speak for generations past to those today about the importance of landmarks to the cultural value of our community.

The building we now call The Sorg has faced some challenges in its recent past, but through the loving care and commitment of the Sorg Revitalization Group, The Sorg is again filled with music and laughter, reminiscent of the gaiety of long ago audiences.

But the work continues with a new challenge – the termination of a mortgage.

In 2015 the non-profit Sorg Opera Revitalization Group purchased the Sorg from the owners for $165,000 with a balloon mortgage. Struggling to raise funds for improvements to the theater meant there was little left to pay toward the loan. And now the mortgage will reach maturity on June 11, 2023 with a balance of $160,000 due.

With this deadline looming, the Sorg Revitalization Group board has initiated a special fundraising effort called the 1891 Guild, with the goal of paying off the loan through various membership levels and benefits.

It is critical that this loan be terminated by the June 11, 2023 deadline to have the Sorg under the ownership of the Sorg Revitalization Group and not privately owned. The Group has done so much toward the preservation of this historic Middletown treasure and to lose its ownership would be tragic loss for Middletown.

The time for action is NOW! Please consider one of the several 1891 Guild membership levels and help this new preservation effort to keep The Sorg locally-owned.