On the Friday night the Peerless Theatre was officially reopened, Dec. 25, 1998, a line stretched down the block. People were eager to see “The Prince of Egypt,” but they were probably even more eager to see how the theater had turned out. Two shows sold out that Christmas Day, and 60 people who had hoped to see the first showing had to return for the second. — The Holyoke Enterprise file photo
Reopening the theater was always meant, in part, to preserve a piece of Holyoke history. Though the building had seen better days, care was taken to preserve much of the original brick to be reused. Now 75 percent of the facade is made up of original brick, and the building looks strikingly similar to what it looked like nearly 100 years ago. — The Holyoke Enterprise file photo
20 years later, Peerless keeps weathering ups and downs
Christmas means something different to everyone. On Dec. 25, 1998, it marked the culmination of years dedicated to saving the Peerless and reopening the historic theater.
