Strand Theatre
157 Main Street,
New Britain,
CT
157 Main Street,
New Britain,
CT
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New Britain’s largest theater, the Strand seated over 2000, but has long since been demolished.
Contributed by
Roger Katz
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
An Austin organ Opus 1457 Size 3/13 was installed in the Strand Theater in 1926 at a cost of $14,500.
There’s a picture on page 92 of Images of America: New Britain, Volume I of the staircase to the balcony. The lobby is amazing. “Was as grand as that of any New York Theatre” and was considered one of the largest theatres in New England. In 1972, it was demolished.
There’s another picture on page 124 with an overview of Main Street with the Strand on the right with a 3-sided marquee and the stage house is visible.
Here is a poster from the Strand Theater.
In May, 1921, The Bridgemen’s Magazine reported that bids would soon be taken for a theater to be built on Main Street in New Britain for the William Fox company. The projected cost of the project, designed by architect Thomas Lamb, was “about $500,000.”
Could this have been the theater that became the Strand? The item described the house as being two storeys, and 105x130 feet. A photo of the Strand’s exterior would help. The interior photos in the book shoeshoe cited earlier show that the house was certainly ornate enough to have been a Lamb design, though I don’t know if it would have cost half a million dollars.