Text by Gabe and Chance, two students at Presque Isle Middle School
Images from
The Perry Opera House was built between 1884 and 1890. The original building was three stories tall and built from wood. In 1900, the building burned down for the first time. In 1903, it was re-built, this time from brick. Again, it was three stories tall, with the ground floor being stores. It was renamed the Perry Theatre, and had a sixty foot semicircular stage. In 1930, the building was purchased by Northern National Bank, and named the State Theater. It burned down again in 1946, and was reconstructed as the W.T. Grant Law Offices in 1953. It is still this way today.
Sources:
Presque Isle Historical Society. A Self-Guided Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Presque Isle, Maine. Brochure. Presque Isle: Author, 2007.
Graves, Richard A. Forgotten Times: A Walk through History. Presque Isle, 2006.