Strand Theatre

The Crystal Theatre opened its doors on September 24, 1907 as the “then-oranament” of George Street as a competitor against the two other very early houses: the Penny Arcade & Colosseum, and the Wonderland.

It was renamed the Red Mill Theatre on February 16, 1912 following renovation, and was renamed against the Strand Theatre on October 7, 1916. However, it went in a more misandry-leaning turn as the Strand Theatre was obviously taking aim at the female audience; and men were somewhat more scarce during World War I. In December 1917, it was suggesting that, “Ladies shopping down town will find ‘The Strand’ as a nice cozy place in which to spend an entertaining hour or two.”

The Strand Theatre closed on May 31, 1920 with William Desmond in “The Blue Bandanna” along with the short comedy “The Tamale Army” starring Chester Conklin, an “O'Henry Story” serial, and Gaumont Pictorial. But advertisements that day and the next also advised patrons to “watch” for the opening of a “new and up-to-date” theatre. This never happened that the following day, a notice advised patrons that the theatre was being “closed for removal to new premises.”

It became a short-lived billiards hall between 1925 and 1926, before the Liquor Control Board of Ontario took over in 1928. After that, for some three decades, the storefront housed a couple of paint stores, such as Lowe Brothers (1946–72) and Sherwin Williams Company of Canada (1973–77). Around 1980, Caryn’s Bath Boutique moved in for a few years. During the following decades, a succession of small businesses moved in and out, including the Melting Pot, a photocopying shop, and the Peace Pipe. The rooms above the stores were occupied by dentist offices and various clubs, such as the Forresters Hall and Belmont Club, along with residential space open to boarders, merchants, or owners of the stores below. The ghost of the little storefront movie theatre that had opened in 1907 no longer lingered in the James T. Henthorn Building.

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