Peerless Theatre
115 N. Chestnut Street,
Kewanee,
IL
61443
115 N. Chestnut Street,
Kewanee,
IL
61443
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An article about the Peerless Theatre appeared in the December 31, 1921 issue of Exhibitors Herald. No photos, alas, but the descriptions are quite effusive.
The September 10, 1955 Boxoffice said that the Peerless Theatre would not be reopened. The item did not say how long the house had been closed, but it had been struggling for years. Boxoffice of March 22, 1952 had announced that the Peerless had been shut down after having been on a four-day-a-week schedule for some months, and that plans for the building’s future were indefinite.
It’s possible that the theater never reopened after that, though the 1955 item said that it had been under lease to Rod Lorenz Theatres, operators of the Wanee Theatre and Wanee Drive-In. The building was still owned by the heirs of the theater’s long-time operator, the late William T. Pierce. In any case, whether it ran its last show in 1952 or as late as 1955, it is likely that the Peerless was one of the many old theaters that was never retrofitted for wide-screen movies.
The March 9, 1921, issue of The American Contractor said that the general contract had been let for the Peerless Theatre in Kewanee. The 68x150 foot building was to cost $150,000, and had been designed by Chicago architect Ralph C. Harris.
It’s too bad that this theatre was demolished long ago.
According to ‘The Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ", volume 2, by Mr. David Junchen, (pg 629), the “Peerless Th.” in Kewanee, Illinois, originally had a two-manual, ten-rank Seeburg – Smith theatre pipe organ, installed in 1921.
Ten ranks was quite large for a Smith organ, as most organs built by this succession of firms were between four and nine ranks; very few organs over 9 ranks were ever built by them.
The organ had a Kinetic blower, serial number J132, which had a 2 horsepower # and delivered wind at 10" static pressure.
Does anybody know what happened to this organ, and where it, or its parts, are today? Thanks!
The Peerless Theatre was mentioned in the July 1, 1927, issue of Motion Picture News. The owners had just opened a second house in Kewanee:
I don’t know if the Plaza is missing from our listings or if it is a missing aka for the Kee Theatre.By 1937, the Peerless Theatre was being operated by the Great States circuit. The July 17 issue of The Film Daily reported that the Peerless was one of six Great States houses in Illinois that would soon be equipped with new cooling systems.
Neville Brand grew up in Kewanee and must have attended this theater in the 30s before heading off to war