Eliot Hall was built in 1832. It was used as a temporary town hall and as a parish building for the First Church. Then in 1878, Eliot Hall became the home of the Footlight Club. The Footlight Club was founded a year earlier in 1877 “to furnish pleasant and useful entertainment by the aid of drama.” It is still going strong and is the oldest community theater/amateur theatrical company in the United States. From the 1920s to the 1960s Miss Souther’s Dancing School was also housed here. Joey McIntyre of the New Kids on the Block (the boy band of the late 1980s) first performed on this stage. After achieving fame, he has given significant contributions to the renovations of the building.