Project Updates
Healey campaigns in Western Mass...
By Kate Selig Globe Correspondent, BostonGlobe.com
June 22, 2022, 8:27 p.m.
HOLYOKE - Attorney General Maura Healey took her campaign for governor to Western Massachusetts on Wednesday, picking up endorsements from local officials and emphasizing her commitment to economic development across the state.
“Every region is deserving of its own particular support and amplification, and I look forward to having the opportunity to serve the people of Western Massachusetts,” said Healey, a Democrat and the front-runner in the gubernatorial race.
She spoke at the historic Victory Theatre, located in the city’s downtown. The 1,600-seat Broadway-style theater was first built in 1920 and has been vacant since 1979. City officials are now looking to the theater, with a restoration cost in the tens of millions, as a potential source of economic revitalization for Holyoke and the region...READ MORE
Holyoke’s Victory Theater using ARPA grant to switch to electric heat
Jun. 21, 2022, 5:03 a.m.
By Dennis Hohenberger | Special to The Republican | Masslive.com
HOLYOKE — The Victory Theater will use COVID relief funds to switch from natural gas to electric heating.
Donald Sanders, artistic director of the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts, which owns the historic building, updated the City Council’s Public Service Committee on the restoration project Thursday...READ MORE
ARTS, CULTURAL LEADERS CAMPAIGN FOR CREATIVE SECTOR IN GOVERNOR’S RACE
INBOX: ARTS, CULTURAL LEADERS CAMPAIGN FOR CREATIVE SECTOR IN GOVERNOR’S RACE
WRITTEN BY DIG STAFF, DigBoston.com
JUNE 14, 2022, FILED UNDER: NEWS, NEWS TO US, NEWS+OPINIONS
Yes, there’s a governor’s race underway. And yes, it affects you. No matter who you are or what you do (as long as you’re in or around Mass, of course, which we kind of assume is the case if you’re reading this)...READ MORE
“The next governor of Massachusetts will exercise critical leadership during this time of unprecedented need related to the health and well-being of our residents, families, students, and businesses of all sizes,” said Linda Matys O’Connell, Government and Community Relations Coordinator at the MIFA Victory Theatre in Holyoke and CTVMA Coalition member. “The arts, culture, and creative sector is vital to addressing these needs with its power to drive community connection and economic growth and opportunity.”
ABANDONED AMERICA
The Victory Theatre
Updated April 20, 2022
By Matthew Christopher
Envisioned in 1912 to accommodate 1,600 patrons, the Victory Theatre was designed by architects Mowell & Brown for the Goldstein Brothers Amusement Company. It opened its doors to the public on December 30, 1920 with a gala event featuring singing vaudeville acts and the “Super-Photoplay ‘The Furnace’” directed by William Desmond Taylor. All proceeds from the day were donated to the city hospital and House of Providence Hospital. The Goldsteins had made their fortune through nickelodeons, which were small neighborhood theaters showing films in storefronts, and the Victory Theatre was their entry into the big leagues. Named after the recent Allied victory in World War I, not only was the Victory the last theater built in Holyoke, it was also one of the finest. READ MORE & View Slideshow
The Victory Theatre is a chapter in my book, Abandoned America: Dismantling the Dream. Buy a signed copy via this link or get it on Amazon
"Oh, what fun it is" . . .
Holyoke Victory Theater renovation awarded $250K in American Rescue Plan Act funding
Published: Dec. 16, 2021, 6:02 p.m.
By Dennis Hohenberger | Special to The Republican
HOLYOKE — The Victory Theater renovation project has gotten a $250,000 boost thanks to a new state law allocating federal COVID-19 relief funds... READ MORE
Donald Sanders, Massachusetts Festival of the Arts artistic director, stands in the balcony of the Victory Theater in Holyoke on March 31. Efforts to renovate the theater are moving forward. (Don Treeger / The Republican file photo)
MIFA continues to move forward on Victory Theater restoration
Nov. 16, 2021 | Carolyn Noel, The Reminder
HOLYOKE – In 2009, the Holyoke City Council handed over ownership of the historic Victory Theater to the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts (MIFA). Since then, MIFA has been making steady progress to turn the theater into a 21st-century performance center...
SVOG Spotlight: Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts,
September 20, 2021 - SVOG Spotlight: Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts, SBA.gov, Local Assistance, District Office List, Massachusetts District Office, Success Stories
"Executive Artistic Director Don Sanders leads MIFA, which has been a catalyst in providing an outlet to young people interested getting involved in the arts."
GAZETTENET.COM - Downing touts Holyoke’s Victory Theatre renovation
By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN, Staff Writer, Daily Hampshire Gazette
Published: 8/11/2021 4:46:39 PM
STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN GUTTING
HOLYOKE — Stepping into the shadowy lobby of the historic Victory Theatre...READ MORE
