Comments about Strand Theatre in Dorchester, MA

kencmcintyre on March 4, 2006 at 11:38 am

Theater in the news:
http://tinyurl.com/jaev6

rsalters (Ron Salters) on December 12, 2005 at 10:33 am

The Strand in Uphams Corner was one of the largest of the dozen or so Nabes in various sections of Dorchester. It had 1819 seats, was designed by Funk & Wilcox, and opened Nov. 11, 1918. Opening attractions were “Queen of the Sea” and “Out of a Clear Sky” on screen and a singer on stage. Supposedly, it had the first Wurlitzer organ installed in Boston, and also supposedly, it’s still there in the theatre. It was run by various Paramount affiliates. The rear half of the orchestra floor is stadium-style, with a large balcony above and an inner foyer below. I’m not certain, but I think it was still operating in the early 1960s. I was inside it shortly after it reopened and it was not in too bad condition; I’ve seen much worse.One neat thing that they did in the 1980s was to restore the large painted sign on the rear of the stagehouse. It’s unfortunate that the theatre is nowhere near a subway station. Most people in the greater Boston area probably don’t have a clue about where it is or how to get to it.

Ron Newman on May 28, 2005 at 9:46 am

A timeline of Strand Theatre history.

The Strand seems to be in a state of limbo. The city did not renew the 25-year lease of the McCormack Center for the Arts when that lease expired last year. The city then put out bids for a new lessor, but either didn’t get any, or didn’t like the ones it received. Occasional events still occur here, but the programming falls far short of the venue’s potential.

Here’s a report of a city task force on the Strand, issued last July.

The state plans to upgrade and expand service on the Fairmount commuter rail line, which stops in Uphams Corner. That could help the Strand, but the theatre is several blocks away from the railroad stop, and not visible from there.

Ken Roe on May 5, 2005 at 7:17 pm

The Strand Theatre opened on 11th November 1918.

Ron Newman on April 8, 2005 at 7:32 pm

The ‘Dorchester Athenaeum’ web site has a detailed page about the Strand, including a 1950s photo (unfortunately identified only as “Photo taken from the internet, September 2003”)

snorwood on February 22, 2005 at 10:29 am

“Gloriously restored” isn’t the phrase that I would use for this theatre. The seats and stage are serviceable, a new fly system was installed in the 1970s, and they have fairly current stage lighting facilities. The general condition of the building, however, is fair at best and much of the plaster work needs to be redone. They also do not currently have film projection capability (a pair of very rusted and completely unusable Simplex E-7s with Peerless lamps and mag penthouses remains in the booth).

Ron Newman on November 19, 2004 at 6:20 pm

The Strand’s official web site seems to have disappeared. Instead, try http://www.cityofboston.gov/arts/strand.asp .

Ron Newman on November 8, 2004 at 3:25 pm

I doubt it, because this is not in South Boston, it’s in Uphams Corner, Dorchester.

David Wodeyla on September 24, 2004 at 5:03 pm

Is this the same Strand Theatre of South Boston, listed in the Film Daily Yearbook of 1934 as being owned by Phil Smith’s Theatrical Enterpises?

KateH123 on August 23, 2004 at 12:44 pm

so the strand in dorchester was built in 1918 and is a 1400 seat house, the stage was used mostly for vaudevulle untill it was closed in the 1950s, it sat closed filling with squaters and pigoens for almost 20 years. The space was partially renovated in the 70s, poorly unfortunatly losing many of the tresurse that were inside it including the massive chandaliers. The building is still in poor condition and having just lost it managing company, is being run by the city. The building is beautifull and if it were to be lifted out of hte ground and redeposited down town it would be a premier space in this city. Alas there is no money to renovate the space properly.