Strand Theatre
761 King Street E,
Hamilton,
ON
L8M
761 King Street E,
Hamilton,
ON
L8M
1 person
favorited this theater
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Closed by Famous Players in 1971.
Reopened on June 28th, 1968. Ad posted.
Opened December 4th, 1915. Grand opening ad posted.
To add to all the other early mentions of the Strand Theatre noted in earlier comments, the house (and owner Fred Guest) were mentioned in the October 14, 1916 issue of Moving Picture World. The item also mentioned Guest’s Empire Theatre.
Hamilton United another operating partner of Famous Players Canadian Corporation, owned by Bernie Braydon and the Braydon family ended up with this theatre eventually!
The Strand Theatre in Hamilton was originally a little independent squeezed into joining Famous Players Canadian Corporation as an operating partner. He was so desperate to be able to get movies that he signed an absolutely AWFUL agreement with Famous Players about 1930. The deal was this: get behind more than two months in paying for advertising or film and Famous had the right to seize the rest of the outstanding shares from the little partner at NO EXPENSE to Famous. One of the most awful operating agreements for the little guy that Famous Players ever wrote!! Naturally, they (Famous) do NOT guarantee any profits!! LOL!!
I have a postcard or advertising card for an attraction (a movie, I think) at a Strand Theatre on King Street. The address is not 761, and this may not be the Strand in Hamilton (I don’t have the card handy). It is possible an earlier Strand did burn down and another was built at 761 King Street. Anything is possible and more research will tell.
I have a Hamilton Spectator dated October 13, 1916 which has an ad for the New Strand. A film was shown and a baritone appeared live. There are ads for the Strand in Spectators dated 1919 and 1921. There is no address in any of the ads.
In the 1944 Vernon’s Hamilton Directory: (alphabetically under Strand) Theatre John Trotter mgr 761 King e; (alphabetically under Trotter) “ John mgr Strand Theatre 461 Main e.
Great photo of the Strand. This is the first time I’ve seen one. I don’t remember that it looked like this…could be just my memory…I remember a larger marquee/canopy. I saw “Born Free” here in 1966 and I think I saw “Mary Poppins” here, as well.
Does anyone remember what the signs looked like after the last renovation in the late l960’s? I remember the name STRAND in stylized lettering. This same style/font was used as the theater signature in the newspaper ads. I recall that under the theater name was a rectangular sign board that usually had an “ad/graphic” instead of the standard letters. This may have been an early version of the way ads and billboards are done now: printed on canvas or plastic and back-lit. I recall the “Rosemary’s Baby” graphic of Mia Farrow’s profile and the baby buggy on the peak and the film title below. And “On A Clear Day…” had Streisand’s face on the flower pot and the film title, like in the ads or posters. Am I remembering correctly? There has to be some pictures out there somewhere…
So it didn’t burn down eh?
I used to regularly go to shows here as a kid. We really missed it when it closed. In 1974 when I worked at the Century, which was a 20th Century Theatre at the time, Much of the junk from the Strand was still backstage. This leads me to believe that 20th Cent. ran the Strand up until it closed. Also it did not burn down, it just closed.
The Canada page of world-theatres.com says this about the Strand in Hamilton: “HAMILTON, ON – Strand Theatre – 761 King St. E – film theatre – 1930 – 558 seats – closed 1970”
The opening year appears to be wrong, though. The Strand Theatre is already listed at 761 King Street East in the 1922 Hamilton City Directory. Perhaps the house was rebuilt in 1929-1930?
That is correct TivFan, I have old movie pages from the late 60s and the Strand was a major downtown theatre playing first run attractions. So it couldn’t have burned down in the 50s. I do remember driving by and yes, had a large marquee.
There is not much information about the Strand. It was a major first-run movie theater for a number of years. I remember seeing “Born Free” (‘66) here, and I recall it being an older theater and having a large marquee.
I recall it being renovated in the late 1960’s, with new signs on the facade. I remember “Rosemary’s Baby” ('68) playing there and “On A Clear Day…” ('70). I seem to remember it closed in the early 1970’s.
This information is incorrect. The Strand Theatre burned down in the late 1950’s. The site is now a parking lot next to the Rivera Banquet Hall and the Budget Motor Inn.
The Theatre that became a (CHCH) TV studio (the Kenmore if I recall), is on King Street West just before Locke. Currently it is the Westside Concert Theatre.