Strand Theatre

a renaissance is underway in brooklyn the stand open in 1918 as a veuellhouse and then movies it is now open as a multiuse cultural center next to the majestic theater both owned by the brooklyn academy of music

The Strand was designed by Thomas W. Lamb and was under the same ownership as the famous New York Strand on Broadway at 47th Street. In downtown Brooklyn, the Strand and Keith's Orpheum were the main competition to Loew's Metropolitan until the openings of the Albee, Paramount and Fox. The Orpheum became a sub-run RKO movie house, but the Strand fared better and landed in a "pool" run by Fabian Theatres which also included the Fox and Paramount. The Strand played move-overs from those two theatres and sometimes played first-run on lesser movies that didn't suit the Paramount or Fox. In the late 1930s and 1940s, the Brooklyn Strand also sometimes presented "big band" stage shows, but without much success. After it closed as a movie house, there were several failed attempts to revive it with Hispanic stage shows. It's my understanding that while the exterior of the Strand still exists, the interior has been gutted and re-modeled so many times that restoring it to a theatre again would be extremely costly if not impossible.

When opened this was known as the Mark Strand Theatre. Then Warner Brothers had it and it became the first house in downtown Brooklyn to install W.B.'s Vitaphone sound and where Al Jolson's "The Jazz Singer" opened in the early days of sound photoplays. The Strand, Majestic, Orpheum theatres where prestigious houses relegated to second hand status when counterparts Albee, Paramount and Fox Movie Palaces arrived on the scene in the mid 1920's. During the 1932 "Pool" arrangement Fabian Theatres operated the theatre and then leased it so that he would "compete against himself" because of Strand's location near his Fox Theatre. Fabian had it until the late 1958 and moved hits from the Fox here usually chaning the co-features. In it's last years as a theatre, The Strand featured exploitation films dealing with juvenile delinquents, teenage pregnancy and drugs. I don't include Loew's Metropolitan in the brew since it was in between the old and new theatre districts of downtown and opened in 1916 in a space that was destined to be a department store.

P.S. The above heading should list the Strand as "altered interior", it four walls and facade remain so it was not demolished. The facade is quite stunning for a corner entrance.

Long before its bad days, the Strand even had a "ballet-master" (Sonia Serova). This was around 1918. Ray Bolger appeared at this time as one of the dancers long before his later fame.

Around 1951 I believe, with the Korean War going hot and heavy, a friend and i took the Myrtle Ave El and went to the Strand......The double feature we saw was "two WW2 movies" Gung Ho & Spitfire.......and afterwards the theater was selling more war bonds in the Lobby.......I was 10 years old and remember at the end of both features there were add ons to Buy War Bonds and keep America Free........Joe From Florida, sasheegm.....

In 1931 this theater was advertised as the Brooklyn Strand. I found a nice website with some old movie ads. The Strand is shown in the last two ads on the page:
http://www.missingfilm.com/

Hello Lostmemory: Nice article for somebody like me that collects Classic Films on Video and DVD..........and it hits home when you read about all of the lost films from those Golden Years.........Most of my 500 plus titles are 1930s titles......The others, films i saw at the Theaters we talk about here!..........I wonder sometimes, what would have happened to the Library of films in the Huge MGM library, had Ted Turner not purchased them.........He immediatly set out to restore many of them, and they became the Corner-Stone of his Turner Classic Movie Channel.........One would hope that when he is no longer in the picture, Time_Warner will continue to rejuvenate what still amounts to thousands of titles waiting to be restored......and that someday, MCA/Universal which owns all of the pre-1954 Paramount titles plus Universal, will do the same thing-----They are only marginally involved at this point in Restoration and showing of the Huge Paramount Library----At this point, thousands of titles just sit in their warehouses collecting dust-------Great Article Lost-One-----Joe From Florida---sasheegm

Reduced to secondary importance by downtown Brooklyn's "Big Four," the Strand tried putting on stage shows in 1942, but quickly met with failure due to the high costs involved:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/133-3395_IMG.jpg

Great clip Warren-----I wonder what Misca Auer's stage routine was like?----I have Clyde McCoy's Album, and a Ralph Bellamy Ellery Queen on dvd-----William Gargan replaced Bellamy as Queen at Columbia's B-Unit-----The films seldom ran more then 70 minutes.......Joe From Florida---sasheegm-user id

I recall the Strand Theatre, which was sort of hidden, away from the Fox, RKO Albee, and nearest to the Paramount in downtown Brooklyn.
I believe that's where I saw "Calamity Jane" with Doris Day.
I also remember on the side street of the theatre where the exit fire doors were located, there was wino's unsually hanging around with their bottle of hooch in paper bags, sitting against the wall.
In any event it was a handsome showplace, sadly overshadowed by the other theatre's in the area.

Hello JoeB: I kind of remember it being across from the Brooklyn Fox; but the old memory can play tricks........I only went to the Strand and the Fox 2 or 3 times, as when I went down town with my Father or Mother we would either go to the RKO-Albee or Loews-Metropolitan........The Brooklyn Paramount was the mid 1950s & the Allan Freed R&R shows......I remember seeing "Bambi" & "Three Cabeleros" at the Loews Met....."Them" at the Fox......and I always recall the two War films at the Strand with the Manager selling War Bonds in the lobby----I mentioned the titles of the films up top----joeR

JoeR, my memory ain't in such great shape either. If the Strand Theatre was closer to the Fox, it had to be on the other side of Flatbush Ave., hidden away from the main drag on Fulton St.
I also went to the R&R shows at the Paramount. I recall seeing Mickey & Sylvia singing "Love Is Strange" and The Skyliners doing "Since I Don't Have You", and when the lead Jimmy Beaumont couldn't hit the high notes the audience laughed.
Did you ever hear of The Passions? They came from my neighorhood of Red Hook in Brooklyn.
Those were the days.
JoeB.

I had my own group called "The Kents"...we had a song I wrote out in May 1958 called "The Happy Beat".....and who knows, we might have both been at the Bklyn Paramount that day, as i went to a few in 1957, then appeared in some smaller events....and a big fund raiser on the Lower East Side of NY and a bunch of Proms and High Schools and other R&R shows in NJ.........Back to the theaters-----The Strand was on the other side, and as you said, sort of hidden away from the Fox.....JoeB, I could talk all day about the old days, but I take some heavy duty meds and at this time, I am zonked....so I have to hit the hay......During the daytime or early evenings, I am in much more alert status--So I will say Buona Notte for now-----JoeR from Florida

Brooklyn once had another Strand Theatre which probably pre-dated this one. It was situated in the Prospect Heights neighborhood at the intersection of Lincoln Place and Washington Avenue, near Eastern Parkway. The caption for this 1924 image describes the Strand as a "vaudeville house," and I don't know if it ever showed movies. The theatre looks long closed and has a "For Sale" sign displayed above posters for the National and other theatres in the area:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/bkstrand.jpg

In March of 1923, NYC issued a c/o for interior alterations to an existing building at this address. Owner is given as Stanley Corp of America. Architect as you already know was Thomas W. Lamb. I don't know when this theater closed but in 1959 this building is listed as a bowling alley.

Here's an aerial view from local.live.com showing the Strand and the Majestic (now BAM Harvey) theaters sitting side by side - albeit off center from each other due to the block's trapezoidal shape:

Fulton Street view to North

Close out the white "Welcome" box on the left and maximize the window so you can take in the full image. The Strand is the large theater on the left with the Ionic façade and entrance on the rounded corner of Fulton Avenue and Rockwell Place. I guess the BAM Harvey entrance is through the archway that is adjacent to the right of the Strand. That structure seems barely attached to the auditorium behind it. It looks like there would be an entrance closer to the Harvey auditorium on the side street (Ashland Place) but an alternate angle view of that façade doesn’t show any signs of such an entrance. BAM flies advertising banners between the Strand’s columns – two of which can be seen in the image above. Not being familiar with either theater when I passed by sometime last year, I just assumed that the Strand building was where the Harvey was located. I didn’t realize there was another auditorium that ran parallel along Ashland Place. You can make out how impressive the stage housing is for the Harvey compared to its size – it looks at least the same size as that of the Strand and perhaps even bigger, which probably made it attractive to BAM as a performance space. You can also see how much more lobby and foyer space the Strand appears to have (logically so, given its nearly 3000 seat capacity).

Does anyone know the status of the interior or about its future prospects? Does BAM own this as well? How much damage would have been done in a conversion to a bowling alley? I cringe at the thought, but perhaps its not as invasive as I’m imagining.

EdSolero, your picture is not coming through for me. It's too bad since I wanted to get a look at it, especially since I am familiar with the area.

Thanks,

JoeB.

The link works although I had to click it a few times to get it to load properly.

Ed....Is this building the Dollar Dreams store in the aerial photo? NYC claims that the second and third floors were used as a bowling alley and the first floor was some sort of "printing plant". In the 1970's the bowling alley is gone and replaced by office space. The "printing plant" is still there at that time. I'm trying to figure out what the building is used for today. It seems to have multiple functions. One occupant that I found is:

Urban Glass
647 Fulton Street
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718-625-3685 (v) / 718-625-3889 (f)
Robert Lehman Gallery hours: Daily, noon-5pm
Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins Street; M, N, R, Q to DeKalb Avenue
First & largest non-profit international center for the creation of new art
made from glass; Robert Lehman Gallery features glass exhibits; visit their gallery & gift shop.

At the very least, the function should be Retail.

In addition to the other businesses, there is still some sort of a theater located in this building called BRIC studio. This is from their website "Our intimate, cabaret-style black-box theater is housed in the former Strand Theater building - in the heart of Brooklyn's cultural district in Fort Greene". The entrance is on Rockwell Place. This is their website.

No. The building is across the street to the right from the Dollar Dreams store. The image should show you the north side of Fulton Street; the Dollar Dreams store is on the northwest corner of Fulton and Rockwell Place while the Strand entrance is on the northeast corner. Compare the photo at the top of this page (note the Ionic columns) with the corner facade of the building on the northeast corner. If you follow the building roof line up Rockwell Place, you will see where it increases in height for what must have been a grand foyer and you can also see the peak to the roof as well as the rectangular shape of the stage loft housing at the north end of the property. The BAM Harvey is a smaller building to the right of the Strand, with a lower profile but much more pronounced roof peak and stage loft.

Did that help you get your bearings?

Lovetheoldtheaters... If you have a Macintosh, the local.live site will not work. It is powered by Windows and only works on that system. Of course, if you have one of those awesome new dual-platform Macs, you should be in business if you switch over to the Windows side to view the site.

Just for you JoeB... I grabbed a snapshot of the webpage:

North side of Fulton between Rockwell and Ashland Places

The highlighter is a little something special for you, Lost. The entrance for BRIC studios must be that doorway you can see about halfway up the block near the sidewalk grating. Looks like one enters through one of the former rear orchestra exit doors.

EdSolero, thanks a heap. It was most interesting, and nice to know that the building where the Strand Theatre was located in all it's glory wasn't destroyed. One of the films I saw there was "Calamity Jane" with Doris Day.
The Dollar Dreams store is a hoot and seems out of place there. Is it a store where everything is a dollar?

Thanks again,

JoeB.

Thanks for the picture with the yellow crayon mark Mr Ed. It looks alot like the space shuttle without wings. Could you use a blue crayon next time. Its my favorite color. LOL

Damn, I have to brush up on my html... But I'll definitely keep that in mind, Lost!

Here's a photo of the Strand from just before they tore down the old Fulton St Elevated. Ed, perhaps you should post your aerial photo here too....

http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?52097

It's already here, Bway... posted on July 19th at 2:13pm - and dutifully poked fun at by Lost Memory by 4:53!

Thanks Bway, Ed, Lostmemory, Warren and all the regulars for the Photos and the memories.......The Co-Feature, by the way, is "Murder On The Yukon" and old 1940 Renfrew of the Royal Mounted film by Monogram-------available at Ebay if you are lucky enough to hit it right.........Regards from Joe From Florida

This 1928 photo shows signage for the Strand, the Majestic and the Orpheum:
http://tinyurl.com/qkuxr

According to the THS's list of largest movie palaces, the Strand has been converted to offices; presumably gutted.

In the 1928? photo of a church, where is the signage for the three theaters mentioned?

The link to the 1928 photo was incorrect. Here's the photo that shows the signage:
http://catalog.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/search/XStrand&m=k&SORT=R/XStrand&m=k&SORT=R&SUBKEY=Strand/1,2,2,B/l962&FF=XStrand&SORT=R&1,1,,0,0

In the 1928 photo, signage for the Majestic and Strand can be seen at upper left, and Orpheum at upper right.

I took these shots of the Strand building while strolling downtown Brooklyn this past weekend:

Strand & Majestic from Flatbush Ave
Facade full shot
25 cent parking
Sidewall view
Carpe Diem
Ars Longa

I'd say the numerous windows along the sidewall would confirm that the old auditorium has been gutted and converted to office/commercial space. The entrance to the BAM Harvey can be seen adjacent to the Strand's corner entrance.

An Austin theater organ opus 819 size 3/22 was installed in the Strand Theater in 1919 at a cost of $10,000.

Ed, those are some great shots of the site where the Strand and Majestic Theaters once flourished.
I recall going to the Strand Theater in my youth. I believe I saw "Calamity Jane" there wih Doris Day, in the 1950s.
Thanks for sharing.

Joe B.

I'm attempting to post a newspaper ad of the Strand Theater featuring the movie "Dillinger" (1945) with Lawrence Tierney.
If it does not post, I will continue to go for it.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh90/pullis_2008/theStrand.jpg

Joe B.

Hi Joe: It came through fine.......The Co-Feature, Ten Cents A Dance--1945 was also a film-noir starring Jane Frazee------The Strand always seemed to book two films in the same genre------Haven't seen you at BB lately-------JoeR

Thanks JoeR. Now that I can post, I will go through my old newspapers for ads from various theaters, from New York of course.
The rest of the ad was cut off at the bottom of "Ten Cents a Dance" which included the names Jane Frazee and Jimmy Lloyd.
I check in on BB every so often and read some of the interesting posts, and look at the pictures. It's a great site.

Joe B.

Hey Joe: Ilook foward to seeing some of your clippings-----I enjoy seeing the old ads & photos...............and I'll probably be posting some items at BB soon.......Take Care and thanks for sharing the old Strand with all of us here------JoeR---aka Joe From Florida

Hi JoeR. Glad you are enjoying the old ads. I have another one coming for the Strand.

Joe B.

This is a newspaper ad for "The Song of Bernadette" at the Strand Theater. Note the admission price.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh90/pullis_2008/thesongofbernadette.jpg

Joe B.

There is big news about the Strand! The Brooklyn Academy of Music is investing $17.3MM for a renovation of this theater:

The following is a posting from Curbed.com which is a real estate blog in New York City:

It's been a month or so since there was any news out of the BAM Cultural District, but today there is an announcement that the old Strand Theater in Fort Greene is going to be getting a $17.3 million expansion and makeover. The space, which was a vaudeville theater in the old days, will house BRIC Arts | Media | Bklyn and UrbanGlass. The BRIC group, which produces Celebrate Brooklyn among other things, will get 20,000 square feet. Brooklyn Community Access Television will get a media screening room and a new TV studio. UrbanGlass will get a big new space too. Design work will happen this year with construction in 2009 and completion in 2010. The space, which dates to 1918 and also was a bowling alley for a while, is next to BAM's Harvey Theater on Fulton Street.

More information is here.

There's no mention of a "restoration" of the theater; only expansion and makeover. Warren has posted above that it is highly unlikely that any of the original ornamentation exists which is a shame, but I am curious if the makeover would try to harken back to it's illustrious past or if it would just be a modern box.

Back on October 23, 2007, I posted some photos I had taken of the old Strand just a few days earlier. One shot of what I believe to be the former auditorium side wall, reveals a number of windows that would seem to indicate the interior may have been converted to office space of some sort.

Of course, I'm hoping that I'm wrong with that assumption.

I should have read the article Lost Memory linked to above... A passage reads as follows:

<<Originally constructed in 1918 as a vaudeville theater, the 4,000-seat Strand was later converted into a movie palace, then, in the 1950s, a bowling alley, which was followed by a conversion to three floors of manufacturing space. Construction on its latest incarnation is scheduled to begin in 2009 and be completed in 2010.>>

Three floors of manufacturing space. And I'm sure the bowling alley conversion wasn't so kind to the original interior elements either.

Here is another article with a picture of the Strand.

I did read that passage and that is why I asked if any attempt would be made to harken back to the original details of the theater. I have no expectation that much of the original decoration remains, but certeinly there are photos and something creative can be acheived instead of just a black box.

Indeed this was the Strand Bowling Alley in the 1950's through 1960's. My recollection of the bowling facility is little if anything remained of the former theatre. Perhaps some remnants remain behind walls but nothing was visible to the naked eye. One floor is currently used for retail purposes.
George

By Lost's Oct 27th article (which is from July), does that mean that the status should be made to say "open", since it's being used as a theater again? Or is it only "open" when it is open as a movie theater?

Yes indeedy George, this was a bowling alley. I think the name was Strand Lanes.

Bway....If this building is used as a live theater the status can be set to open after the renovation is completed.

This theater is being used for live performance.