Strand Theatre

1329 O Street,
Lincoln, NE 68508

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Will Dunklin
Will Dunklin on June 22, 2014 at 10:06 pm

Joe, Well. Theatre owners and the names on their halls. Sometimes all you can do at this point is look heavenward and sigh.

My contribution to this story is the listing in a 1926 advertisement for Reproduco organs that listed the Strand in Lincoln as a satisfied customer.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on March 28, 2014 at 2:56 pm

According to this article by Jim McKee in the Lincoln Journal Star, by 1911 there were two movie houses called the Elite Theatre on O Street; the Elite No. 1 at 1329 and Elite No. 2 directly across the street at 1330. He notes that the Elite No. 1 became the Strand and the Elite no. 2 became the Palace. When the Strand was converted into a grocery store (he doesn’t say what year,) the name Strand was moved to the former Wonderland Theatre at 1308 O Street.

McKee also mentions a few other theaters that operated on O Street in downtown Lincoln over the years. If I’ve followed the article correctly there were eight theaters on O Street, most of which underwent name changes. We currently have the Capitol and the Kiva/State/Bourbon listed, and the Bijou/Orpheum/Rialto/Varsity (but without its aka’s.) Missing are the Colonial/Husker, the Magnet, the Elite no. 2/Palace, the Wonderland/Strand, and a 1905 house called the Lyric which is now one of the auditoriums of the Lincoln Grand multiplex.