Strand Theater

The original Strand Theatre was erected in 1915 at a cost of $250,000 at 922 State Street. It had a seating capacity of 1,300. Paramount and First National Pictures were shown exclusively, and their Conductor Mr. Fordham had an excellent orchestra of nine pieces. Earl E. Lawrence joined the Strand Theatre Orchestra near the close of the first World War as their Guest Conductor. Mr. Lawrence was a well-known local African-American musician, conductor and music teacher. The theatre was owned by the Rowland and Clark Company of Pittsburgh. In the early-1940s it was operated by Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp. The theatre was demolished in the late 1940s.

In 1948 Stanley-Warner built a new 980 seat Strand Theatre on West 10th Street. The Theatre was designed by Victor A. Rigaumont. It was a Cinerama theatre for a time from around 1962-1964. The Strand was operated for many years and was managed by Milford Parker. The new theatre, though nice, was never the grand palace that the old Strand was. Over the years the theatre declined into neglect along with downtown Erie and stood empty until 1983 when the Erie Playhouse took over the building, which they now used for live performances.