Strand Theatre, Movie palace in Times Square, Manhattan, US
The Strand Theatre was a large movie theater at the corner of 47th Street and Broadway in Manhattan, designed by architect Thomas W. Lamb. Built from the start for cinema only, it stood apart from the variety houses and entertainment halls that were common at the time.
Brothers Mitchell and Moe Mark opened the Strand in 1914 with a one million dollar investment, making it one of the first large venues in the United States built for cinema alone. In the 1960s the building was divided into three smaller screens, and it was torn down in 1987 to make way for an office tower.
The name references the famous street in London, signaling that this was meant to be a venue of world standing. As one of the first large halls in New York built purely for film, it shaped how audiences thought about going to the movies.
The theater stood at a busy corner a short walk from Times Square, well served by public transit. Since the building was torn down in 1987, there is nothing left to visit on the spot, but the surrounding area along Broadway is easy to explore on foot.
When it opened in 1914, the Strand was the first movie theater in New York to feature a full orchestra during screenings, giving the experience a weight that most venues had not offered before. This practice was soon copied by other houses and helped establish live music as a standard part of going to the movies.
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