Strand Theatre

712 Main Street,
Jewell, IA 50130

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Additional Info

Previous Names: Lyric Theatre, Jewell Theatre, Grand Theatre

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Strand Theatre

The 200-seat Lyric Theatre was opened on January 1, 1917 with “The Girl He Couldn’t Buy”. In October 1925 it was renamed Strand Theatre. In 1931 a 200-seat Jewell Theatre was listed. In the Film Daily Yearbook of 1933 it is listed as the Grand Theatre as (Closed) with 200 seats. In 1936 it was the Strand Theatre, open, still with 200 seats. By 1940 the Strand Theatre had 350 seats. By 1950 it had 372-seats and the Strand Theatre was closed in 1970.

Contributed by Anthony L. Vazquez-Hernanddz

Recent comments (view all 3 comments)

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on January 13, 2016 at 4:08 pm

The town of Jewell spells its name with a double “l” at the end. In early publications it is sometimes referred to as Jewell Junction.

Here is evidence of an earlier theater in Jewell, which might or might not have become the Strand: the October 14, 1916, issue of Motography mentions the Isis Theatre, which had just been purchased by George Peterson, manager of the Grand Theatre at Story City. An item in the December 9 issue of the same publication said that Peterson had bought a lot where he intended to erect a new building for the Isis.

The Strand was almost certainly located on the two block stretch of Main Street between Carmichael Street and Edwards Street that contains virtually all of Jewell’s old business district. Of all the buildings on the street, the one that looks most like it might have been a theater at one time is the one at 712 Main, which houses the Axis Lanes bowling alley. This building housed a bowling alley by the 1960s, and though later long abandoned it was renovated and reopened a few years ago. The building looks to date from the 1910s, which is when the Strand would have been built if it was originally the Isis Theatre.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on January 29, 2024 at 8:35 am

The Lyric Theatre opened its doors on January 1, 1917 with “The Girl He Couldn’t Buy”, and was renamed the Strand Theatre in October 1925.

During its final years of operation, the theater had several ups-and-downs until the Strand closed for the final time in 1970.

SethG
SethG on March 21, 2024 at 7:37 pm

I’m not sure we have the ID right. A 200 seat theater would have fit just about anywhere. There are a lot of buildings missing. The bowling alley looks more like an old dealership or garage, and is really big to only have fit 200 people. 350-375 seems like a different building from a 200 seater. That larger capacity makes a little more sense for the bowling alley. Frustratingly, there do not seem to have been any Sanborns made of Jewell, even though it was close to 1,000 people by 1900.

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