Strand Theater
93 Main Street,
Brockport,
NY
14420
93 Main Street,
Brockport,
NY
14420
2 people
favorited this theater
Built in 1907, since 1916 the building has housed the Strand Theater which had 500 seats.
Operated by Kallet Theatres in 1946, the facade was remodeled in an Art Moderne style by architect Michael J. DeAngelis, who added the black Carrara glass frontage. The plans also included enlarging the Strand Theater to seat 750, all on a single floor.
Contributed by
Eric Lenhardt
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 28 comments)
And SchineHistorian would know as she is the expert on Schine theatres!
Another note found in the June 18, 1914, edition of the same paper stated that Fred B. Whiting, the former manager of the Lyric Theatre, was to “erect an open air moving picture theater” in the village that would have an expected seating capacity of about seven or eight hundred. Seems similar enterprises were routinely popping up in vacant lots all across the country during these early years of motion picture exhibition, before air-cooling systems were perfected.
Curiously, this item appeared in the January 11, 1917, edition of the Holley Standard:
“The Lyric theater in Brockport is to pass out of existence. The E Harrison Company have leased the building and expect to remove their clothing business to that location.”
Perhaps SchineHistorian (apologies for identifying the wrong gender for her in a previous comment) would know if there was an different Lyric that had operated in town once the changeover was made to the Strand name – or perhaps this was a planned relocation for E Harrison that never happened. Amazing how side-tracked one can become when burying themselves in old newspaper editions! I’m researching a couple of theaters in Holley, NY, and just keep stumbling upon tangential tidbits like this.
Always enjoy reading about this DeAngelis designed theatre and seeing its original art deco interior which is so much like my former theatre, the Grand Theatre in Westfield NY. I hope to visit this theatre this summer.
Kallet Theatres of Oneida, NY owned the theatre until 1989 when it was sold to SJM Entertainment of Syracuse who bought both the Strand and Studio Theatre in Brockport. SJM converted the Strand to a triplex in 1989 utilizing equipment from both buildings to achieve the conversion. Note: Kallet leased the theatres to CinemaNational Theatres (a division of Carrols Development Corp) who operated the theatres from 1974 until 1989. CinemaNational merged with USA Theatres of Boston and later with Loews Theatres of NY before the sale to SJM Entertainment.
I guess Carrara Glass is similar to Vitrolite.
Do wish the photo with this theatre featured the Carrara glass exterior on a bright sunny day without the highway barrels.
Nice to know it is still intact since it is the original design by DeAngelis.
Ed: The Winslow Block was originally a multistory building with multiple storefronts. In April 1908 the Happy Hour Theatre opened on the second floor. Four months later in August 1908 the Lyric Theatre opened in a storefront on the ground floor. In 1916 the Lyric moved upstairs taking over the former Happy Hour space and changed it name to the Strand Theatre. Therefore the Lyric that passed out of existence and was replaced by E Harrison Company was the space on the first floor of the building. In 1946 the building was remodeled and the Strand took over the entire building. If you look at the Google Street View of the State Street side of the Strand building you can see all the bricked-over windows and doors of those original first floor retail spaces.
Great to see a recent post on this theatre designed by Michael DeAngelis. What a pleasure it was to meet the grandson, Mark in 2014!