Historic Name

Strand Theater

Address

13-15 W 10 Street

Municipality

City of Erie

Tax Parcel

16030004021200

Historic District

Classification

Class 1 (Definitions of Classes)

State Key Number

68909

Historic Function

Recreation and Culture - theater

Style

Other

Built

1948

Architect

Builder

Barn Type on property

Last Entry Update

8/8/2016

Erie’s first Strand Theater opened in 1915 at 922 State Street. The theater could accommodate 1,300 people, and exclusively showed Paramount and First National Pictures films. The theater was originally owned by the Rowland and Clark Company of Pittsburgh, but in the 1940s it was operated by the Warner Brothers Circuit Management Corporation. The theater was demolished in the 1940s, prompting the construction of a new theater in 1948.

In 1948, Stanley-Warner, who operated several movie theaters across the United States, commissioned the construction of the second Strand Theater at West 10th street. The theater was designed by Victor A. Rigaumont, and accommodated 980 seats. From 1962-1964, the Strand Theater was used as a Cinerama, which featured a large curved screen. The new theater was unable to live up to the grandness of the original theater. It remained vacant from the late 1960s until 1983, when it was purchased by the Erie Playhouse, a community theater company. The building was renamed the Erie Playhouse, and is host to various live performances.

Sources:

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Photo courtesy, Erie County Assessment Office