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The History of the
Strand Theatre
Meet the Strand Preservation Society Board
Members
 The
Strand Theatre held its grand opening on Monday, November 15, 1920. The
first pictures featured were Norma Talmadge in "The Branded Woman" and
Fatty Arbuckle in "The Garage." Admission prices were 17 cents and 33
cents.
The Strand Theatre
was the first structure to be built on the corner of 5th Street and
Jefferson Avenue. It took eight months to construct and cost an
estimated $100,000. It was the first steel-framed structure in
Moundsville, M.A. Sybert, promoter, owner, and manager of the theatre,
and local contractor Thomas Shimp & Sons, made certain that the new
building was technologically up-to-date, and included many modern
amenities including central heat, Class "A" fire rating and the steel
beam reinforced walls and ceilings.
The Strand ran
first-run movies from 1920 until it closed in 1968. In its heyday, as
many as 5 different movies where shown each week. While not showing
films, Sybertís Strand hosted a variety of Vaudeville acts, minstrel
shows and thespian productions. Groups of performers visited Moundsville
on showboats that traveled the Ohio River.
The theatre operated
regularly until 1968. The Strand sat empty for eight years until it’s
reopening in 1976. The theatre ran first-rate movies for another 20
years until it closed in 1996. The curtain fell for what was to have
been the final closing of the historic part of Moundsville’s uptown.
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