Strand Theatre
3033 NW Seventh Avenue,
Miami,
FL
33127
3033 NW Seventh Avenue,
Miami,
FL
33127
6 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 81 comments
Add the Sun Sun Theatre to the also known as. That name change occurred on July 25, 1975 as the Sun Sun showed chopsocky films. The venue was then added by the operators of the Star Mall Twin and the Miller Road 93 as the Sun-Sun Cinema later in the year. The Sun-Sun sunsunset on July 29, 1976 at the expiry of a year over year sublease with David Chiang in “The Tong Father,” SuperChan - Kung Fu King in “Forced to Fight,” and Michael Wai-Man Chan in “Chinese Mack.” They didn’t go half way at the Sun-Sun.
Wometco architect Robert E. Collins drew the plans for the November 23, 1938 streamline moderne makeover of the Strand Theatre.
It reopened as the Strand-Art on July 2nd, 1968. Grand opening ad uploaded.
Older Strand ad removed, Thanks, Al. I will be making a new entry for that theatre.
That older Strand was on Flagler Street and Miami Avenue.
Reopened on November 23rd, 1938 along with the reopening of the Paramount the next day. Grand opening ad posted. The Strand theatre that opened on September 18th, 1915 and closed in 1923 may have been in another location, but the newspapers did not gave the address.
The Strand theatre opened on September 18th, 1915. Grand opening ad posted.
The idea of putting a brewery in the old theater is to restore the original marquee, screen, and instead of a stage, 100 taps! Then fill the auditorium with tables, and restore the concession stand to sell finger food. Hell you can even play movies on the old screen if you want. I guess a Twist to an old theater, while preserving it’s charm would have been a good idea. LOL!!! Not sure if they took the bite or not, but it was well worth giving it a shot. The Strand is the only place left from the silent film era that is still standing, with the exception of the Olympia, the rest are all either malls, stores, or who knows what. I think the Strand is worth preserving.
Louis of Pompano:
Good work on your part with the brewery. Too bad the look and feel of a places such as the Strand Theater could not be preserved by new business' when they take it over. Or leave it as is if possible. I went for a while to the Essex Theater in Hialeah near Miami Springs as a kid. A few years ago on a business trip to Miami I drove by it and went inside during a Christian service on a Friday night and the interior looked very much the same. I sat down for a few minutes in the back during the service and just enjoyed taking in the sight. It was fun to look over the size and spacing of the room, ceiling, walls and stage, as I was only a kid then and everything seemed bigger. I will continue to see if I can find a source listing the films shown in Miami during that period, I would really enjoy slowly perusing over that list while enjoying a bag of popcorn and soda!
Al,
The Strand was never Teatro Nacional. The name rings a bell, but it’s exact location, I don’t know. I know Teatro Marti was around in those days. A lot of small theatre’s were an on off thing in Miami back in the mid 70’s to early 80’s.
Fermin,
I agree, at least we got something. I had made several attempts prior to the renovation to get some interior pics, but was never able to be in the area when someone was actually there. In spite of the renovation, the church that renovated the place, is no longer there. I am not sure what the status of the actual theatre building is at this time.
Last year I went to a craft beer festival and found that there is a brewery nearby, Wynwood Brewery. I spoke to one of the guys who is either a manager or an owner about the old Strand Theatre and what a great location that would be for a brewery/bar. He showed interest, I guess he was not aware that the theatre was there. Hopefully they may be interested in setting up shop there, as it is not very far from the actual brewery itself.
In the meantime I am still trying to find an old picture of the Strand in it’s glory days, but that hasn’t panned out very well… yet!
Louis of Pompano:
I forgot to say thanks for the picture of the theater. I wish I had seen it with the seats but this is better than nothing. Many thanks.
I just found this website, I hope someone else will be visiting soon. I went to the Strand Theater from 1954-1959 while I attended Buena Vista Elementary just a few blocks east of the theater. It was where I fell in love with movies. I treasure the memories of Saturday matinees, one hour of cartoons before the double feature, 15 cent admission and all the great films I enjoyed. I live in California now but when I visit Miami, sometimes I drive by the old theater. One wish I have is to find a listing of all the movies played at the Strand during that period, that way I can match the movies I remember with the exact date I saw them. I think I can do that one day by sifting through the old Miami Herald papers but that would take a long time. If I ever do, I will forward to this link. All my best to anyone out there that may have shared similar memories at the Strand Theater during that period,
Does anyone know if this was Teatro Nacional in 1976 showing movies?
Added an ad in photos from The Miami News from July 19, 1986 for the Shanghai Theater, located at The Strand address.
Here is a link to a YouTube video it was taken inside the old Strand Theater after the renovations. The orientation of the theater auditorium was, north (back of the theater), and south (screen). The theater did have a stage originally, however it was extended out, and to each side, giving it the church appearance that you will see on the video. There are some pictures that show the old stage, those were taken during the renovation process. The building is close to being 100 years old, so judging by the video and the pictures they have done a really nice job renovating. Given Miami’s history of demolition, it’s nice to see that this old theater has found a new life and purpose.
Here is the link, enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eug_Z4KE_vg
Now all we need is an original picture of the exterior! I have been searching for that for quite some time. Always hoping someone posts one.
Love them!
Just added a couple of new pictures of the interior of the Strand Theater. I will keep updating these as more pictures come available. There is a massive renovation project that the church is doing. Looks very nice. Personally I am very happy that this historic landmark wasn’t demolished, or turned into stores, etc.
They could have used the old marquee, that would make perfect sense, because I saw that marquee on several occasions. I am very sure of it being west of 95. My uncle used to deliver beer to a store that was on the corner, and each time we went I was always looking up to see if a car would come off the highway, back in those days, you could hear cars & trucks buzzing by, used to freak me out, so the memory is pretty vivid! It may have very well been 14th St. The street is vague, somehow it felt further south, but maybe not.
I went to WTVJ channel 4 on a few occasions, last time was right after Andrew. If the original Capitol was there, they built all the way around it. Every time I went to channel 4, it was always around the rear entrance. I was involved with a couple of TV news spots over the years. The last one we did was a comparison of blood pressures and heart rates after driving from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami. It was an interesting piece! On the last visit I saw “the bunker” where they broadcasted throughout hurricane Andrew. That was an awesome visit, and my last one.
I wonder if Wometco used the old marquee when the Harlem became the Capitol in 1972 and it is the Harlem you are actually remembering.
I always felt 1-95 should have been located further west to provide better access in and out of the Orange Bowl. The airport access on the other two made more sense although they did indeed help kill the inland Miami River.
Al, I may have it confused, but I could swear that the Capitol theater was west of 95. I thought the old building was still there, but did a Google scan and the building I remember is gone, all new apt. buildings are in those areas. I want to say that the Capital was somewhere between NW 8th Street & NW 4th Street off 3rd Ct. which is the street that runs parallel to I-95 on the west side. As a kid I was there, just never went in the theater, but I remember it. It was already dilapidated when I saw it, maybe even closed. What sticks out in my mind is the marquee, which is the same one I see every time I see a picture of the Capitol.
As far as the I-95 project goes, I think they did not plan any of these expressways right. 836 ran right through some of the most valuable properties in Miami. A good portion of the homes that were there had canals & docks that would allow you to have a boat, access the river as well as ocean access. All of those canals had to be diverted or cut in half and filled. Pretty much ruined that entire area. With regards to 95, I don’t think they had too many options, given the downtown area. I assume that both 836 and 112 were put there to allow airport access because each of those arteries borders the airport, same as the Palmetto. Seems like their goal was access to the airport more so than anything else. I-95 on the other hand, appears to be an alternative to US-1 and 441, which were the roads traveled to go north to Ft. Lauderdale, or south to the Keys. The Palmetto & turnpike came much later than 441 & US-1.
I think around 1966. Is this the original Capitol (WTVJ) you are referring to?
I-95 killed the black community in Downtown Miami and I believe it was by design.
Al, any idea what year they renamed it? Interestingly, the building where the Capitol was is still there. My uncle used to sell “Schlitz Beer”, he used to deliver to a little market that was on the corner to the east of the theater. At the time I was maybe 10 or 11 yrs old, and the area was going down. That whole area where I-95 went through, deteriorated exponentially.
The Carver was the renamed Center, Louis.