Strand Theatre

Joe Vogel on July 2, 2014 at 9:04 pm

This notice appeared in the September 7, 1918, issue of The Moving Picture World:

“Herschel Thomas' Strand Theatre at Orange, Texas, opened August 28 with Rex Beach’s ‘Heart of the Sunset.’ This theatre cost $70,000.”

A somewhat belated item in the September 21 issue of the same publication revealed that Orange also had theaters called the Liberty and the Princess, neither of which is currently listed (under those names, at least) at Cinema Treasures:

“Orange, Tex.— The Liberty and Strand theatres will open very shortly, with a seating capacity of between 1,100 and 1,200 each. The Princess theatre of this city will be located in the New Holland building with double its former seating capacity.”

The same issue of the magazine has another item saying both the Strand and the Liberty were already open:

“Moving picture theatre congestion at Orange, Texas, has been relieved by the opening of the Strand and the Liberty theatres on Front near Sixth street in that city. Before these new play houses opened crowds would stand in line for an hour waiting to get a chance to see a show. The influx of population owing to ship building activity caused these conditions.”

Another item mentions the Airdome Theatre in Orange. Judging from Google’s Street and Satellite views, Orange has almost completely disemboweled itself, so it’s unlikely that any of its old theaters have survived.