Strand Theatre
NE 9th Street & Spring Street,
Reading,
PA
19604
NE 9th Street & Spring Street,
Reading,
PA
19604
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Carr & Schad Circuit launched the Strand Theatre on February 21, 1920 with “The Valley of the Giants” along with Charlie Chaplin’s “A Day’s Pleasure.” Audiences were wowed by the 3-manual Mohler pipe organ. In July of 1928, the Arcadia’s Vitaphone sound system was moved to the Strand to accommodate the larger than anticipated crowds for talkies.
The Gettysburg Times was probably using the word “recently” rather loosely. I’ve found references to the Strand Theatre dating back to 1919. The January 24 issue of The Film Daily noted that Carr & Schad had purchased a lot at Ninth and Spring Streets in Reading on which they expected to begin construction of a new theater by April 1. The earliest listings I’ve found for the Strand in the Reading newspaper appeared in late March, 1920, so the project might have suffered some delays, but the Strand was definitely open by 1920.
A January 9, 1926, article in the Gettysburg Times listed a number of theaters recently completed, under construction, or under contract that had been designed in the office of Philadelphia architect William Harold Lee. Three houses were listed at Reading: the Colonial, the Strand, and a house called the Penn Street Theatre. All three projects were for Carr & Schad. I don’t see a Penn Street Theatre listed, so maybe it’s missing or it operated under a different name.