Strand Theatre
101 S. State Street,
Caro,
MI
48723
101 S. State Street,
Caro,
MI
48723
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The Strand Theatre is listed in the 1926 FDY with 416 seats, so it must have opened a bit earlier than we’d thought.
A May 6, 1935 item in Motion Picture Herald said that the 450-seat New Strand Theatre in Caro had recently been re-opened by Ashman Brothers.
So nice to see this art deco survivor theatre posted again with a recent comment on June 10, 2021. I love the art deco wood doors and art deco marquee. Would love to see interior photos. Is there a website that would feature photos? The folks of Caro Michigan can be very proud that this cinema treasure still exists in their community. My hometown art deco theatre was demolished in the 80s so there isn’t a time I don’t go through that intersection that I don’t think about the Grand Theatre in Westfield, New York along the shores of Lake Erie and about 70 miles from Buffalo.
The reason why the theater was remodeled in 1939 is because on the morning of June 13, 1939, the theater was gutted by a fire, estimating a loss between $35K and $40K. The fire cause was unknown, but most likely the roof.
Between the 1930s and 1950s my grandfather Albert S. “Al” Johnson built or remodeled at least sixty-four theater and drive-in jobs in Michigan. Family records show that the Strand Theatre in Caro was a 1939 remodeling project.
In the accompanying Kodachrome slide taken by my grandfather in June 1948, the red and cream exterior porcelain-like tiles, entrance doors and marquee are similar to other Johnson remodeling jobs completed in the mid to late-1930s.
Remarkably, a current Google Maps image from today shows the exterior of the theater pretty much identical to how it looked over seventy years ago.
pnelson: amen
A wonderful art deco classic marquee that should never be changed. Lovely theatre.
The July 15, 1929, issue of The Film Daily said that the Strand Theatre in Caro had been sold to John E. Handy by E. J. Chapman.
There were a couple of other Chapmans associated with the theater business in Caro. The September 24, 1918, issue of Michigan Film Review mentioned a C. Chapman associated with the Temple Theatre at Caro, and another item in the same issue mentioned a Paul Chapman of Caro.
Great news as this art deco is a “cinema treasure”!
Theatre Historical Society will be visiting this theater during our 2011 Conclave – “The Michigan Roads Less Traveled” June 21-25. See the website for details www.historictheatres.org
So nice to find this art deco theatre with its beautiful art deco style facade intact and its original marquee with illuminated neon and lightbulbs. I applaud the folks of Caro for keeping their little town theatre looking great after all of these years!
Here is a photo from summer 2005:
http://www.agilitynut.com/05/6/strandthe2.jpg
This one in Popcorn Palaces on page 83 is most like my hometown theatre as it sits on a corner and not between store fronts..the big difference is that this one is still open and was remodeled!