Gilson Cafe & Cinema
354 Main Street,
Winsted,
CT
06098
354 Main Street,
Winsted,
CT
06098
3 people
favorited this theater
Related Websites
Gilson Cafe Cinema (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Lockwood & Gordon Enterprises
Architects: Loomis J. Thompson
Functions: Movies (First Run)
Styles: Art Deco
Previous Names: Strand Theatre
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
860.379.5108
Nearby Theaters
Originally a vaudeville theatre, then called the Strand Theatre on August 11, 1926, and later an arcade. It was closed on April 30, 1967, reopened on January 3, 1968 and closed again in late-1973.
This old theatre has been known as the Gilson Cafe & Cinema from 1986. You can have a filling meal and then catch a movie. The balcony was recently made into a lounge theatre giving the Gilson Café & Cinema two screens.
Contributed by
Roger Katz
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
As a single screen theatre the Strand seated 888 people.
My above summary is wrong. I have seen a few movies at the Gilson recently as well as taken extensive photographs of the interior. The upstairs theatre was NOT a former balcony. Rather it is former office space above the lobby converted into a tiny 50 seat theatre. One door to it still has a sign for the Attorney at Law who used to work in that office on the window!
I was passing through here last week on a cycling trip and loved the art deco touches of the marquee.
I was in Torrington on a bike trip yesterday and I stopped to sightsee at a cool inn downtown, across from the Warner. I was snapping pics inside by the restored carriage and on the wall was a framed poster of movies being shown at the Strand in Winsted. A nice find.
The poster said Roger Williams, Strand Winsted, Thurs-Sat, June 15-17, Tyrone Power, Alice Fay, Al Jolson in “Rose of Washington Square (1939)” / “Boyfriend (1939)” w/Jane Withers, (free prizes to lucky children), Cary Grant and Jean Arthur in “Only Angels Have Wings (1939)”, “The Jones Family in Hollywood (1939)”, Bobby Breen, Henry Armetta, Leo Carrillo in “Fisherman’s Wharf (1939)” and Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper in “Treasure Island (1934).” Also showing at the bottom is “It’s a Wonderful World (1939)” and “Ex-Champ” (1939).
Cool idea.
Tiny mention of it within a dining review in Sunday’s NYTimes.
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My father-in-law was the manager at the Strand both before and after World War II. Does anyone remember him or have any photos. He recently passed away at age 95. He did remember his work at the Strand fondly.
By the way, my father-in-law was Paul Purdy
Big Screen Cinema Guide says the Strand opened in 1926. This item from Motion Picture News of October 10, 1925 was probably about it: “Winsted— L. J. Thompson of New Britain is drawing plans for the erection of theatre bldg. on Main St. Owner, John E. Panara.”
The $125,000 Strand Theatre wapparance as announced in March of 1925 by John E. Panora and was built in the rear of the deposed Winsted Opera House. It reportedly opened August 11,1926. It received sound to remain viable and widescreen to present CinemaScope titles. Danny Kaye made a live appearance in support of “The Man from the Diners Club” in 1963.
It initially cosed under independent ownership as the Strand Cinema on April 30, 1967. It reopened again onJanuary 3, 1968 as the Strand Cinema closing late in 1973.
It reopened under new operators and closed in 1972. It opened a year later on Christmas Day 1973 by Cannavo Enterprises as the Strand Theatre. It operated as the Gilson Cafe & Cinema from 1986 to 2026. It closed on May 24, 2026. As the Winsted Opera House had opened on the lot next door on April 2, 1873, the general Main Street address provided more than 150 years of entertainment. Not bad!