Strand Theatre

I remember going to the Strand Twice. Once an older friend took me to see “Emanuelle: The Joys of a Woman” as a way of introducing me to the concept of the birds and the bees although, if the truth be told, I really didn’t need the introduction. I pretty much had the idea anyway. Later another friend and I went there to see a double bill of the original 1954 television production of “Casino Royale” starring Barry Nelson, along with the 1967 film starring David Niven, Woody Allen, Orson Welles et al. I never forgot certain bits of Emanuelle, but on the whole I really would have rather seen it by myself.

http://www.oceanbeachphotos.com/gallery_one/gallery_one.html

Look for Photos 22 and 23.

Actually there wasn’t balcony at the Strand. That was an area to the left of the projection booth where someone had literally cut a hole in the wall and put a piece of thick plexiglass in it and placed a couch in front of it. There were a series of rooms upstairs which had been two small apartments with one bathroom (never could figure that one out). I don’t know when they ceased to be apartments, but they became the manager’s office and store rooms. I really don’t know how that little sitting area worked into the shceme of things, but it was never a balcony. The first time I was ever in the Strand in 1974 (to run the special showing of “Woodstock”) that viewing window wasn’t there, so it had to have been done some time between 1974 and 1982 or ‘83 which is when Walnut took the place over and it became on of my responsibilities.

A 2004 photo I took of the Strand can be seen here:
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The Strand Theater in OB is now a Wings store (http://www.wingsbeachwear.com). For the community, I think the general idea at the time was to get the place renovated as it had experienced years of neglect and disrepair. Heartbreaking to walk inside and see what it has become though — a classic single screen converted to selling beach-themed schlock merchandise….

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To Rufus Quail, re your post on 4-27-05:

Yep, you get the prize. It was the Strand in the background.

Cameron Crowe lived in San Diego for a few years, even attended Clairemont High as a “student.” That eventually produced his first instant classic, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” (In a letter Cameron sent me back in ‘83, he’d indicated just how much fun he had with the composite character of Spicoli. Sean Penn was letter perfect: “Let’s party, dude!”)

But, yeah, the O.B. Strand…Good eye, sir!

I hung around OB in the days of my youth in the early ‘70s. At the request of the manager of the Strand, a lady named Marie Mahre (spelling?), I was the projectionist at a special showing of “Woodstock” in 1974 (I think it was '74; that was so long ago now). At that time I was the day projectionist at the Aztec Theatre which was on the corner of 5th and “G” Streets downtown. I did a lot of shopping at The Black and my favorite restaurant was a mexican place across the street from the Strand called Margarita’s. Ah, those were the days.

The Superba may also have been called the Mirror:

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The theater mentioned above may also have been called the Empress:

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I too have great memories of The Strand. Back in the late 60’s and early 70’s I lived in Ocean Beach and The Strand was the only theater we ever went to. I especially remember seeing the classic surf flick “Endless Summer”. The theater was nothing fancy, but was a definite focal point in the town where the only other indoor entertainment was the bowling alley. I recognized Newport street in the movie “Almost Famous” too. Having been back to OB a few times in recent years, I’m always delighted to find that it has barely changed at all since the hippie/surfer/sailor days of the 1960’s.

I have good memories of the Strand Theater. The Strand was really just your basic neighborhood movie house, nothing fancy. In the late 1970’s it was a “second run” movie house – that is playing fairly recent films that were no longer being shown in the more mainstream theaters for about a quarter of what the “first run” houses charged and also showed some indies that probably wouldn’t have been shown anywhere else. On Friday and Saturday nights, the main event was the “Rocky Horror Picture Show”; I must have seen it at least 12-15 times. The Strand rocked on those nights. The Strand was a cheap way to spend an evening; the theater showed 3-4 different movies each week. I’m sorry to hear it’s no longer open, but after 25 years later I’m not real surprised. The Strand was a real treasure in the Ocean Beach district of San Diego; I’m sure there are many others with fond memories of the place.