Strand Theatre
Sixth Avenue and B Street,
San Diego,
CA
92101
Sixth Avenue and B Street,
San Diego,
CA
92101
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Sullivan & Considine
Architects: Henry Lord Gay
Previous Names: Garrick Theatre, Empress Theatre
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The Garrick Theatre was opened on Friday, October 18, 1907 with the musical comedy play “The Vanderbilt Cup”. It was operated by Col. D. C. Collier. Designed by Henry Lord Gay. The builders were Hughes and Keasley of Los Angeles. In 1911, the name was changed to Empress Theatre and in 1920, changed again, this time to Strand Theatre. It was demolished in 1923 for dwindling revenues and stiff competition.
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
The Garrick was one of a large number of theaters taken over by the Sullivan & Considine vaudeville circuit and renamed Empress in the early 1910s. Most Sullivan & Considine houses were equipped to show movies, and the San Diego operation was no exception. The 1911 San Diego directory has a listing for a Mr. F. Earl Nelson, giving his profession as moving picture operator (projectionist) at the Empress Theatre.
Among the acts that appeared on vaudeville bills at the Empress were Fred Karno’s London Comedians, with headliners Charles Chaplin and Stan Laurel. The troupe appeared at the San Diego Empress at least three times from 1911 to 1913, the last only a few weeks before Chaplin left the company to join Mack Sennett’s Keystone Film Company.
San Diego History Center link.
THREE INCARNATIONS OF THE GARRICK THEATRE
https://sandiegohistory.org/collection/photographs/garrick/?fbclid=IwAR0tMQ2kIjQcaKJN0w93JOkMUi70v2QPSiXs4cJSDyHsvQnCY5FB6izO6HE
Grand opening ad posted.