Strand Theatre
206 S. Federal Avenue,
Mason City,
IA
50401
206 S. Federal Avenue,
Mason City,
IA
50401
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Central States Theatres Corp
Previous Names: Princess Theatre, Casino Theatre
Nearby Theaters
Originally opened as the Princess Theatre around 1911. By 1918 it had been renamed Casino Theatre. it was renamed Strand Theatre on August 23, 1930. It was another of the theatres in downtown Mason City operated by Central States Theatres. The theatre closed in 1975.
Contributed by
Chuck
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Recent comments (view all 13 comments)
According to the obituary of John McKee Heffner, long time Mason City theater man, published in the April 7, 1956, issue of Boxoffice Magazine, the Strand Theatre had earlier been called the Princess Theatre.
When was this Theatre originally built?
The Princess Theatre was in operation at least as early as 1908. It was listed in the 1913-1914 Cahn guide as having 485 seats on the main floor, 180 in the balcony, and a gallery seating 49.
Why was the theatre closed?
This opened on August 23rd, 1930 as Strand. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
Going to The Strand was a step back in time to the earliest days of commercial cinema because it was built in 1906-1908. In the early 1970s it had an unsavory reputation for uncleanliness, but it held its own as a second-run cinema until it was closed in 1975 to make way for downtown redevelopment in Mason City. Next door to it was The Golden Rule clothing store, which sold work wear and Western wear. On its other side, to the south, was an old-fashioned soda fountain that managed to persist despite nicer things elsewhere. Upstairs were apartments. This place was one large building on South Federal as can be seen the photo.
An item datelined Mason City in the March 11, 1911 issue of Moving Picture World said “Mesers. Arthur and Heffner are making arrangements to open a new vaudeville and moving picture theater here. It will be known as the Princess.” The Princess Theatre operating at Mason City in 1908 must have been a different house.
In Polk’s 1912 Iowa business directory, the Princess was the only Mason City theater listed among both the picture houses (along with the Orpheum, Bijou and Star) and among regular theaters (along with the Wilson Theatre and Parker’s Opera House.)
This can’t have been built in 1908, since it’s not on the 1909 map. That corner’s just an empty lot, although the Lamb Lumber Co. had been there in 1901. Need to update the description.
The 1918 Sanborn calls this the Casino, so it wasn’t the Princess very long.
My August 29 comment provides a source for 1911 opening of this Princess Theater. The Princess listed in the 1908 Cahn guide is, for now, a mystery theater. The 1911 Princess must be the one listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory, though it is listed without an address.
The earliest mention I’ve found of a house called the Casino in Mason City is this item from the December 4, 1915 issue of Moving Picture World, but either the claim that it was a newly-erected theater was mistaken or this was a different Casino theater: “MASON CITY, IA.—A. Frankel has erected a new moving picture theater which he has named the New Casino.”