Strand Theater
93 Main Street,
Brockport,
NY
14420
93 Main Street,
Brockport,
NY
14420
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September 23, 2008
News release
For immediate release
For further information contact:
Bill Andrews, 727-1748 or
Brockport is celebrating the centennial of the second oldest motion picture venue in America. The Strand Theater and its predecessor, the Lyric, in downtown Brockportâ€\s Winslow Block have been projecting movies continuously since August 15, 1908.
To celebrate this event, the Greater Brockport Development Corp. has organized a two-day vintage movie festival, Friday and Saturday, October 17-18. Films from 1910-1916 and 1946 will be projected with leading experts as hosts and commentators. A Champagne Gala will conclude the festivities Saturday evening. All activities will take place in the Strand, 89 Main Street.
Patrick Loughney, head motion picture curator at the George Eastman House, will host the Friday session, 7-9 pm, showing selected films and discussing the early movie industry. The 10-12 am session Saturday will be devoted to the history of movie theaters in upstate New York. Norman O. Keim, co-author of “Our Movie Houses: A History of Film and Cinematic Innovation in Central New Yorkâ€, will host the first hour and Karen Colizzi Noonan, President of the Theater Historical Society of America, the second half.
Dr. George J. Grella, Professor of Film History at the University of Rochester and film critic for City Magazine, will host the 2-4 session Saturday afternoon, presenting and commenting on selected early films.
The Champagne Gala is scheduled for 5-10 pm, Saturday, and will feature two films closely associated with the history of the Strand. Mary Pickfordâ€\s “Cinderella†was the first movie shown when the Strand replaced the Lyric in 1916 and Maureen Oâ€\Haraâ€\s “Do You Love Me?†inaugurated the greatly-enlarged Strand in 1946. Hosts for the Gala will be Dr. Kenneth Oâ€\Brien, specialist on film history in Brockportâ€\s History Department, and Dr. Sidney Rosenzweig, lecturer on film criticism in its English Department. The other commentators will join them in discussing the films and their contexts.
Admission to the Friday evening and Saturday daytime sessions will be $5, payable at the door. Participation in the Gala will cost $25.
Tickets are available at the Strand, Express Mart in Brockport, the Lift Bridge Book Shop, the Red Bird Tea Shoppe, State Farm Insurance at 59 Main Street, Ryanâ€\s Big M, and at the door. A substantial portion of the proceeds will be used to subsidize repair and restoration of the marquee and façade of the Strand.
Sponsors for the Gala are the Brockport Downtown Merchants Assn., Express Mart, Lift Bridge Book Shop, Mahan Discount Liquor, Northside Service Center, Red Bird Tea Shoppe, Ryanâ€\s Big M, State Farm Insurance, and Brockport Wegmanâ€\s
The building was errected in 1907 and since 1916 has housed the Strand Theatre. In 1946 it was modernised and re-furbished to the design of architect Michael J. DeAngelis. The Streamline Moderne style facade with black Carrara glass comes from this period of time.
Nice to read that it has a nice art deco (see photo on website), but sorry to read that it “was carved up into 3 small screening auditoriums” and that it “doesn’t have a balcony”.
I saw this theatre for the first time in February of 2004. It has a nice art deco exterior and was carved up into 3 small screening auditoriums. The theatre doesn’t have a balcony. It’s owned by the same businessman who ownes the multiplex in Geneseo, N.Y.
The Strand Theater has a website at http://www.strandtheater.com/ . It has 3 screens and is located at 93 Main St.