Strand Theatre
315 Market Street,
Sunbury,
PA
17801
315 Market Street,
Sunbury,
PA
17801
5 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 54 of 54 comments
I just had a “Tour” of the Strand with Movietime and a friend from Sunbury. Phase One Marketing who owns the building have expanded several times including the buildings on either side of the Strand building in October. It was interesting to see what they’d done with the theatre; unfortunately, there isn’t much semblance to the theatre anymore. The balcony is still intact; it is now used as meeting space. The lobby has been partitioned into offices and cubicles; the old manager’s office is now a Men’s Room ! The old Ladies Room is now a pass-thru to the building next door which was The “Steinhaus” years ago. They do have a “Wall of Fame” which has TONS of old photos going back all the way to the early 1900’s. We may get some copies; if so I will post them. If any members of Cinema Treasures are curious and want to see the photos I took, contact me and I’ll see what I can do.
In 1970 the Strand was part of ABC Theaters of Pennsylvania.
Here’s an outside shot from early 1978 (sorry about the quality)
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I was involved with the Strand for a period of almost two years in the late 1970’s. What most people know of the Strand is the massive marquee that extended for 120 feet around two sides of the building (try changing that on a January night,hey Jeff) and the 40 foot waterfall chasing neon upright sign with 3 foot tall STRAND letters stacked vertically all adorned in stainless steel trim. This marquee and the expansive lobby with etched plate glass doors were added to the front of the theater in 1952 as a modernization. When built the Strand had only 20 feet of street frontage at the inside corner of the square. The entrance lobby when built was only 15 x 15 feet and the mezzanine served as public space. The auditorium was less than 45 feet wide and 250 feet long, so deep that in the 60’s the screen was moved forward 100 feet. The Strand was theestablished first-run movie venue for 30 miles and did well until Fox Theaters opened a four screen shoe box deal in the new mall across the river and the rest was academic. The Strand was sold to a subrun operation out of Phila. who closed it a year later. I will supply pictures and more historical data later.