Strand Theatre
114 N. Land Avenue,
Oil City,
LA
71061
114 N. Land Avenue,
Oil City,
LA
71061
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Joe I saw those images too and have uploaded them. Although the photos of the facade of the building already on CT and those in the site to which you refer are different, the size and shape of the rest of the building seem the same. The captions on the Oil City site mention railroad tracks. The images on CT certainly seem to be in an industrial area. Interesting to know when those photo were actually taken.
This web page has two small, early 1940s photos (about halfway down the long page) showing the Strand Theatre in the background. It was a two-story building with a trapezoidal marquee. After a few more illustrations, the page has the line “[t]he theater ceased operations in the 1960s and was subsequently demolished.” The single-story building in the photos we currently display, with what looks to have been two large show windows flanking a rather narrow two-door entrance, was not the Strand.
Came upon a site called Notable People, Lost Tales and Forgotten Facts of Oil City, LA. Apparently there was a rich history of short lived theaters in town which succumbed to fire. The Strand which this replaced burnt down in December 1936 (see photo) and the new opened in March 1937 (see photo). Among the theaters of the past were the Cozy (circa 1912), Victory (1922), and the Star. I could not verify whether the Bijou Dream actually screened films. It was also unclear whether the original Strand theater had been a rebranding of the Dixie.