You may have
forgotten that the Mark Strand Theatre opened in New York City 101 years ago.
It was the first
mega-theater to be opened in the U. S., at a time when “movies” were hitting
their stride as a social and artistic success.
Silent movies, that
is. The first "talkies" weren't offered to the movie-going public until the
late 1920s.
The Strand was a
colossus, and a beautiful one. Before sensational theaters like this one opened
for business, the silent films were shown in quite modest venues, often
storefront “nickelodeons” named for the first Nickelodeon that debuted in
Pittsburgh in 1905. The Strand seated about 3,000 people (!), offered high-rent
boxes and a luxurious second-floor balcony, with a two-story lobby for
high-class socializing before and after the show.
Within two years,
there were more than 21,000 “movie palaces” throughout the United States, some
of which exceeded the amenities of the Strand.
Contrast the Strand’s
concept and architecture with the boutique “screens” offered today in our
grindingly commercial multiplex theaters.
A hundred years ago,
folks got dressed up—coat and tie for gents, classy dress for ladies—to go to
the movies.
And they didn’t eat
popcorn and slurp Coke during the show.
Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2015 movie theater
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