Strand Theater

The Strand Theater was a cinema in Allentown, Pennsylvania, opened on 8 October 1917 as an exclusive full-time movie house. It was conceived by Oliver "Ollie" Gernert, treasurer of the Lyric Theater, who observed that films filled the Lyric while stage shows and vaudeville left seats empty. Construction was financed by local businessmen, including dentist Dr. Benjamin Stuckert, who became Gernert's business partner. The first film shown was Betsy Ross, starring Alice Brady, John Bowers and Lillian Cook. The theater was equipped with a large organ and a full-time organist to accompany silent films, and it adapted to sound pictures around 1929–30. It also developed an automatic curtain control system using electric motors controlled from the projection booth; the technology was patented by the Allentown Devices Company and sold to cinemas around the country. In 1930 the property was leased to A.R. Boyd Enterprises and renamed "The Cinema", under which name it operated for the next 23 years. After World War II, television eroded attendance, and by 1953 the Cinema was showing films to largely empty auditoriums. The last film shown was The Royal African Rifles, opening in September 1953 with Louis Hayward, Veronica Hurst and Michael Pate, after which the theater closed. In early 1954 the property was sold by the Gernert and Stuckert estates to the Farr Brothers Company, a shoe manufacturing and retail firm. The lobby became a shoe repair shop and the auditorium a warehouse and shipping facility; later the lobby housed various retail stores. In 1986 the property was sold for $140,000 to Donald P. Miller, owner of the Park & Shop parking company, who combined it with adjacent properties, demolished the auditorium in 1987 to expand a parking lot, and retained the front lobby section as retail space with offices above. In 2005 the remaining building was purchased by mortgage broker Steve Stelzman for $165,000 and renovated into office space; the deteriorated "The Cinema" marquee, dating to the late 1940s, was removed. Today the remains of the 1917 building are fully renovated inside with a new glass facade.

During World War I, Allentown, Pennsylvania hosted a large Army training camp, Camp Crane, where thousands of recruits were trained as ambulance drivers before being sent to France. The Lyric Theater at 23 North 6th Street was primarily a stage theater but was adapted to show silent films to entertain troops visiting the city for recreation. Oliver "Ollie" Gernert, treasurer of the Lyric, noticed that when the Lyric showed a movie it was packed with soldiers, but when it presented a play or vaudeville show many seats were empty. Gernert believed a cinema-only theater would be extremely profitable, and if owned by someone who worked for the Lyric there would be no conflict of interest, as the Lyric could continue to present stage shows. Named "The Strand", construction was financed by local businessmen, including dentist Dr. Benjamin Stuckert, who became Gernert's business partner. The cinema was erected during the summer of 1917 and opened to a full auditorium on 8 October 1917. The first film shown was Betsy Ross, with Alice Brady, John Bowers and Lillian Cook. A headline in the local newspaper The Morning Call stated that "Strand, Beautiful Play-House, Open." It was noted that the Strand would be an exclusive modern full-time movie theater, like those in New York and Philadelphia; unlike the Lyric, it would not present vaudeville stage shows or plays. It was reported that "... The interior decorations of the theater are everything that has been claimed for them... the lighting system is unique for a playhouse in this city, the screen is exceptionally large and the picture areas as clear as life." To accompany the silent films, the theater had a large organ with a full-time organist. Gernert's beliefs proved correct, as the Strand was a popular theater after World War I when the city returned to a peacetime economy. It adapted to sound movies about 1929/30, showing the popular films of the day. It also developed an automatic curtain control system which raised the curtain in front of the screen using electric motors, controlled from the projection booth; prior to that it was done manually by stagehands. The Allentown Devices Company patented the technology and it was sold to cinemas around the country. In 1930 the property was leased to A.R. Boyd Enterprises and renamed "The Cinema", which operated the theater for the next 23 years. After World War II, the advent of television affected the movie theater industry, and by 1953 the Cinema was showing films to a largely empty auditorium. The Royal African Rifles opened in September 1953 with Louis Hayward, Veronica Hurst and Michael Pate. It was the last film shown in the theater, and it closed. In early 1954 the property was sold by the Gernert and Stuckert estates to the Farr Brothers Company. The Farr family had been in the shoe manufacturing and retail business in Allentown since June 1862 and owned a large retail and office building across the street. The Farr company converted the theater lobby into a shoe repair shop and the auditorium into a large warehouse, shipping and receiving facility for the shoes manufactured by the company. Later, the shoe repair shop was converted into various retail stores in the lobby section which operated separately from the Farr warehouse operations in the former auditorium. In the late 1980s the Farr family was getting out of the shoe business, and the Strand property was sold in 1986 for $140,000 to Donald P. Miller, owner of the "Park & Shop" company that operated a series of parking lots in the downtown Allentown central business district. Miller had previously purchased the adjacent property at 18 North 8th and the former Earle Theater at 20 North 8th, which had been operated as a Park & Shop parking lot since 1961. Miller combined the three properties and tore down the auditorium portion of the Strand Theater building to expand the parking lot. However, the front lobby section of the Strand building was retained as retail space (it was, at the time, a book store), and the two upper stories were rented as professional offices. Miller also stated that he would eventually sell the building and retain the parking area. When the auditorium section was being torn down in 1987, photos taken at the time show that the seats were removed in 1954 to accommodate the warehouse space, however the interior walls with ornate plaster remained until the demolition. Also the entrance from the lobby was only walled off with some plywood, and a single steel door remained between the lobby and auditorium. The Earle Theater opened on 15 December 1927 at 20 North 8th Street, two doors north of the Strand. It was notable as the Earle was the first cinema in Allentown equipped with the first synchronized sound system for films. In 2005 the remaining building, now reduced in size, was purchased by Steve Stelzman, a mortgage broker. It was purchased for $165,000 and plans were made to renovate the property and turn it into office space. The interior of the building was completely gutted and rebuilt. "The Cinema" marquee, dating to the late 1940s, formerly having red letters with white interior lights along its top edges, was used afterwards for advertising the various retail stores located in the former theater lobby and was still attached to the front of the building. Unfortunately by 2005 it had deteriorated to the point that it had to be removed. Today the remains of the 1917 building are fully renovated inside and with a new glass facade on the outside.

• 2005

  Remaining building purchased by Steve Stelzman for $165,000 and renovated into office space.

• 1987

  Auditorium portion demolished to expand parking lot.

• 1986

  Property sold for $140,000 to Donald P. Miller of Park & Shop.

• 1954

  Property sold to Farr Brothers Company; lobby becomes shoe repair shop, auditorium becomes warehouse.

• 1953

  The Cinema closes after the last film, The Royal African Rifles, in September 1953.

• 1930

  Property leased to A.R. Boyd Enterprises and renamed "The Cinema".

• 1929

  The theater adapts to sound movies around 1929/30.

• 1917

  The Strand opens on 8 October 1917 with the film Betsy Ross.

An exclusive modern full-time movie theater, comparable to those in New York and Philadelphia, without vaudeville or stage plays.

• Silent film screenings

• Sound film screenings

• Automatic curtain control system

1. 1Strand/Cinema Theater - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Strand Theater (Allentown, Pennsylvania) - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org