The Garde Arts Center, New London: A Complete Guide
The Garde Arts Center is southeastern Connecticut's grand stage — a spectacularly restored 1926 movie palace in downtown New London that now brings national Broadway tours, headliner concerts, dance and film to the shoreline. It's one of the most distinctive rooms in the state, and in 2026 it's celebrating its 100th anniversary.
A Moroccan movie palace
The Garde opened on September 22, 1926, and its auditorium is unlike anything else in Connecticut: a richly themed Moroccan fantasy, with desert-caravan murals along the side walls, stenciled ceilings, and the feel of an exotic courtyard. (It's a movie-palace fantasy, not Art Deco — that's part of what makes it special.) The League of Historic American Theatres named it the Outstanding Historic American Theatre in 2022, and the main theater seats 1,420.
Saved, and restored
The Garde closed in the late 1970s and came close to demolition before a nonprofit, the Garde Arts Center, formed in 1985 to save it and bought the building. A multi-year restoration — new lobbies, a renewed auditorium — brought the palace back to life around the turn of the millennium, and it's been the cultural anchor of the region ever since.
Never miss a Garde show
See every upcoming concert and Broadway tour at the Garde Arts Center — and 40+ other Connecticut venues — in the free CT Concert Center app.
Download on theApp StoreWhat plays there
The Garde presents national Broadway musical tours, headliner concerts, dance and opera, family programming, author talks, and first-run and classic film in its cinema. It's also the longtime home of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and several other resident companies, so its calendar mixes big touring nights with a steady stream of regional performance. For the touring-theater angle, see our guide to Broadway shows in Connecticut.
Getting there
The Garde is at 325 State Street in downtown New London, a short walk from the train station and the waterfront, with municipal lots and street parking nearby. It pairs naturally with a night out in a walkable shoreline downtown — and with the rest of the region's scene.
Around southeastern CT
The Garde is the big room in the southeast — see what else is on in our guide to concert venues in New London, and our nearby guide to live music in Mystic. It's also one of the state's great historic theaters.
Every Garde show lands in the CT Concert Center app, alongside every other venue across the state.