Strand Theater

422 Market Street,
Parkersburg, WV 26101

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DavidZornig
DavidZornig on August 28, 2018 at 3:37 pm

Early `40s photo added credit Vintage West Virginia Facebook page.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on April 25, 2015 at 4:22 am

The original Strand, which burned in 1925, was created in 1916 by the combination of two smaller theaters, the Bijou and the Star, as described in this item from the May 20, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World:

“PARKERSBURG. W. VA.— P. W. Barrett, manager of the Star and Bijou theaters, will combine structures and operate as one house; remove partitions; install steel beams and cross-beams resting on pilasters, etc. The stage will measure 38 by 100 feet; heating and ventilating systems; upholstered opera chairs; electric sign: marquis; indirect lighting system: projection machines ordered from Nicholas Powers Company, New York.”
I doubt that the stage was actually 38x100. More likely that was the size of the entire combined theater. The Bijou and the Star had both been in operation as movie theaters by 1912, the Star already being operated by P. W. Barrett.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on October 18, 2014 at 12:36 am

The September 12, 1925, issue of Motion Picture News reported that the Strand Theatre, 422 Main Street in Parkersburg, West Virginia, had been “…practically demolished by fire….” with a loss of $50,000. It took several months to rebuild the theater. The recent opening of the Strand was noted in the February 21, 1926, issue of The Film Daily.

The July 15, 1931, issue of The Film Daily said that Publix had taken over operation of the Strand from P. W. Barrett. Barrett stayed on as manager. The July 17 issue said that the Strand was being remodeled.