Strand Theatre

Strand started life as a single screen.

The Arena was at the corner of Steinway Street and Northern Boulevard.

The Olympia, which started life as the Cameo, was on Steinway diagonally across from the Triboro. It was a lovely, modern space. I suspect the name was changed to the Olympia because of the large Greek population.

Thanks for the map suggestion. It all makes sense.

So based on Rickstar’s comments, if I understood correctly, the theater itself was to the left after entering the lobby? I recently went to The Strand Smokehouse, located three doors to the right of the theater entrance. The bartender was confident that the restaurant space was the theater location. It is a huge space. Great meats by the way. Any comments? Thanks.

You beat me to it Dave.

I wonder how much the theater cost to build in the first place compared to the renovation cost.

Three photos of the renovated Strand Theatre can be seen on this page of the July, 1964, issue of International Projectionist.

A sign for the bowling alley – a vertical sign near the roofline spelling out “BOWL” – was still in evidence, if no longer illuminated, when I took the photos I posted back on May 25th, 2007. The photos themselves were taken in the summer of 2005.

Interesting string to a movie theater that brings back many great memories! I lived on 28th street from 1967 to 70 and went many times to the Strand as a youngster with my dad. As a kid, I was fascinated with motion pictures and wanted to be a projectionist. Here’s what I recall of the Strand: you would enter the theater from behind the ticket booth outside under marquee. Thru the main doors into the lobby on the right were 2 staircases to the balcony with rest rooms in between. Directly in front was the concession stand with the manager’s office to the extreme right. On the left was a long wall with 2 sets of swinging doors to the main level of the theater. Inside the theater up on the walls were 4 large red oval shaped lights, (2 on each side). They had round black dots in the center, which is actually where the red bulbs were, which reflected a dim red in the circle, but were darkened when the feature was running. It was a very original looking light setup. Seeing it, you knew you were in the Strand. I also recall sitting way up in the balcony just below the 4 small windows for the projectors watching the changeovers take place. The beams would instantly jump from left to right and back at each changeover. The booth also had a large window to the extreme left which was large enough for the projectionist to physically lean his head out of. One Saturday, my dad got permission from the Strand’s manager to take me into the projection booth for a tour. I remember seeing what looked like Peerless lamp houses, and I believe the projectionist said the projectors were Super Simplex machines from when the theater first opened in the 40’s. The movie playing at the time of my tour was “The Good, The Bad And The Ugly” with Clint Eastwood. I also remember seeing Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid and Hang Em High at the Strand. Oh, and my first introduction to watching the 3 Stooges on the big screen happened at the Strand. That was incredible! Rickster

I often went to this theater as a child in the late 50’s and early 60’s. I dont recall that it was ever an Xrated theater. That dubious distinction went to the Olympia at the north end of Steinway. the Strand had “B” movies, often double features, and catered to kids.

I don’t remember the Strand turning to XXX films. I remember my last movie there was Cheech and Chongs Next Movie or Peter Sellers Fiendish Plot of Dr Fumanchu. About 10 yrs ago they were using the Strand as a studio to film music videos. My friend worked in the pharmacy and I mett the people.

I grew up a few blocks from this theater but can’t recall a theater being there. My earliest memory of this location is a furniture store. As a kid, I recall running around in the back of the furniture store and finding what looked to be an old theater. The next store I recall being in that location was a Fast Break convenience store, which closed after a year or two and moved across the street. The next store I recall there was the clothing store that is in one of the pics linked to above. Can someone else fill in the gaps as to what other stores were in this location? Does anyone have any pics of this theater from the 1970s or 1980s? I would love to see those. Interestingly, the pharmacy on the corner of Crescent and Broadway is called the Strand Pharmacy:
View link

Thanks for the pics EdSolero, I have seen many similar retail buildings throughout NYC and next time I see one I’ll wonder if it was originally a movie palace.