Strand Theatre

Minneapolis, MN

36 S. Seventh Street

, Minneapolis, MN, United States

(map)

Status:	Closed
Screens:	Single Screen
Style:	Art Deco, Spanish Renaissance

Function:	Restaurant
Seats:	1600
Chain:	Unknown

Architect:	Unknown
Firm:	Unknown

Built for John E. Saxe as the first theater in Minneapolis specifically as a movie house, the Saxe, which opened in 1914, and was also one of the most luxurious and ornate theaters built in the city at that time, built for over $150,000.

Seating about 1600, the Saxe was designed in Spanish Renaissance style, when most theaters were still being built to resemble late 19th century opera houses. The exterior was faced in highly elaborate terra-cotta decoration, with a theme of the four seasons.

Inside, the theater resembled a Spanish royal palace, with mahogany and ivory lining the walls, etched glass doors in the lobby, red terra cotta tile floors, and a grand marble staircase leading to the mezzanine level. In the auditorium, the seats in both the orchestra and balcony were lined with leather, and its pipe organ, costing $10,000, was said to be the most expensive ever installed at the time west of the Mississippi.

Less than three months after opening, the Saxe was renamed the Strand, and quickly became the premier movie house in Minneapolis of the day.

By the late 20s, however, its days were numbered. When most movie theaters were rapidly being wired for sound, the Strand was not, and was shuttered in 1928.

However, its second life was only beginning, for which it would become much better known, when it was converted into the Forum Cafeteria. Though the ornate facade was left mostly untouched, the interior was completely rebuilt in 1929-30 in spectacularly glitzy Art Deco style.

The Forum was razed in 1979 to make way for the City Center Shopping Mall, but the marvelous interior of the cafeteria was saved, and re-installed inside the new mall. Now once again restored to its former glory, the former Forum now houses the fine dining establishment, Goodfellow's.

Related Websites

Goodfellow's (Official)

Contributed by Bryan Krefft

YOUR COMMENTS

A picture looking towards Nicollet. Next door was the Century

http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=113062&Page=55&Digital=Yes&Keywords=theater&SearchType=Basic

posted by Sean Ryan on Feb 19, 2004 at 9:56am

Here is a photo of the Forum. Click "next" at the bottom of the page for additional photos.

posted by Lost Memory on Dec 6, 2005 at 3:53am

Here is a photo of the Strand, circa 1920:
http://tinyurl.com/jntyr

posted by ken mc on Aug 18, 2006 at 3:20pm

Here are photos from 1916 and 1918, respectively:
http://tinyurl.com/ncob5
http://tinyurl.com/mv4tl

posted by ken mc on Aug 29, 2006 at 5:02pm

posted by ken mc on Jun 28, 2007 at 5:16pm

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