PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The Rhode Island Historical Society has preserved a rare, 210-year-old theater curtain depicting a sweeping view of Providence. The organization was celebrating the completion of the conservation work on Wednesday for their 198th annual meeting. The society said it knows of no other older surviving piece of American theater scenery. Executive Director Morgan Grefe said it’s amazing that a fabric curtain survived more than two centuries to tell the story of Providence.

“Here we are in 2019, still talking about it and being surprised by what it has to tell us,” she said.

Painted in 1809 by John Worrall, the curtain measures 24 feet wide and 15 feet tall. The drop scene was used in the city’s only theater in the early 1800s to entertain audiences between shows in the early days of stage performances in New England. The historical society took possession in 1833 when the theater closed.

“It was seen as a spectacle and something that needed to be saved. We were the folks in town that saved things,” Grefe said.

The panorama of the city is displayed in the organization’s ballroom in Providence, serving as a backdrop for many public programs. Conservators recently removed decades of dust, painted worn sections along the seams and repaired small tears.