Colonial Theatre

222 Main Street,
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Paramount Pictures Inc.

Previous Names: Strand Theatre, State Theatre

Nearby Theaters

Colonial Theatre

The Strand Theatre was opened May 3, 1927. The Strand Theatre was closed by the 1930’s. It was reopened by Paramount Pictures Inc. as the Colonial Theatre on August 30, 1949 with Bing Crosby in “Top ‘O’ the Morning”. It was closed on June 15, 1970 with Lee J. Cobb in “The Liberation of L.B. Jones”. It was demolished in 1971.

Contributed by Bob Klein

Recent comments (view all 3 comments)

rivest266
rivest266 on March 12, 2016 at 4:45 pm

This opened on May 3rd, 1927. Grand opening ad in photo section

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on September 15, 2021 at 9:04 pm

This rather puzzling post at Facebook has some history of the Strand Theatre in it. As near as I can glean from the confusing text, the Strand was built in 1921, and might, or might not, have been called the State Theatre originally. In 1949 it was taken over by Paramount and was remodeled and renamed the Colonial Theatre. Another renovation took place in 1968, after which it might, or might not, have been renamed the State Theatre. The building was demolished in 1971 to make way for one of the highways which eviscerated Poughkeepsie and sent it into unremitting decline.

The article features a gallery of 20+ photos but most do not depict the Strand/Colonial. It says that the house changed hands and was opened and closed multiple times over its history. It’s clear that State Theatre was an aka at some point, but whether at the beginning or the end of its history, or both, is ambiguous. What is certain is that at the beginning of 1949 it was operating as the Strand, (and apparently had been, perhaps off and on, since at least 1927, since we have that grand opening ad from that year in our photo section) and at the end of 1949 it was operating as the Colonial.

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on May 19, 2022 at 2:11 pm

Closed on June 15, 1970 with “The Liberation Of L.B. Jones”.

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