The Holland Theatre lit its stunning new marquee Saturday evening, July 26, for an enthusiastic crowd, who cheered when donor Tonia Terebuh gave the command, “Q, let’s light up the Holland!” signaling the theater’s technical director Quinten James to hit the switch. The celebratory evening brought together the community, many generous donors and several of the “Save the Holland” former middle school students (now adults) who worked hard in the late 1990s, alongside their teacher Kris Swisher, to pursue their dream of restoring the nation’s only Dutch atmospheric theater. Now about 27 years later, the former classmates said seeing the Holland’s restoration and bringing back the historic marquee was “unbelievable,” like “seeing the photos in the history books we looked when we did our research come to life.” (EXAMINER PHOTOS | MANDY LOEHR)
Visit the Examiner‘s Facebook page for video of the marquee lighting, and see Tuesday’s print edition of the Examiner for a feature story on the marquee celebration.
The theater’s new marquee restores the original look to the building when first it opened in 1931, with modern LED technology. The Holland raised $440,000 in local donations for this project, and pledges were matched by a $220,000 grant from the Jeffris Family Foundation. The original marquee was a striking feature of the theater when it opened. The blade was removed in the 1950s due to city code changes, and the rest of the marquee was removed in the 1960s due to street expansion and traffic.
Tonia Terebuh, right, tries out a Dutch street organ at the marquee celebration, with the help of Netherlands native Stefan Batist, left, and Louis Mandryk.
Pictured are “Save the Holland kids,” now all grown up just prior to the lighting of the marquee, from the left, Alicia Watkins of DeGraff, Ashley James Digby of Athens, Kimberly Wiley, who traveled from Florida to attend the celebration; and Justin Morris of Huntsville.
