The Strand Theater is a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

theater located at 400 Clifton Avenue in Lakewood Township,

Ocean County, New Jersey Ocean County is a List of counties in New Jersey, county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the southernmost county in the New York metropolitan area. The county borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east and in terms of total area is the ...

. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on April 22, 1982, for its significance in architecture, art, and theater. With

History

The theater was designed by

Thomas W. Lamb Thomas White Lamb (May 5, 1870 – February 26, 1942) was a Scottish-born, American architect. He was one of the foremost designers of theaters and cinemas of the 20th century. Career Born in Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom, Thomas W. Lamb ca ...

, and built for the Ferber Amusement Company in 1922 as a place for pre-Broadway runs of shows. The first event at the theater was a showing of a silent film, '' Peacock Alley'' starring

Mae Murray Mae Murray (born Marie Adrienne Koenig; May 10, 1885 – March 23, 1965) was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. Murray rose to fame during the silent film era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "Th ...

.Blay, Joyce
"Revitalized octogenarian still going strong"
CentralJersey.com, October 31, 2002. Accessed December 2, 2022. "Silent screen star Mae Murray inaugurated the Strand with her performance in the movie ''Peacock Alley'', followed by a series of five vaudeville acts." The next show was a pre-Broadway run of "The Devine Cook" starring

Florence Reed Florence Reed (January 10, 1883 – November 21, 1967) was an American stage and film actress. She is remembered for several outstanding stage productions, including ''The Shanghai Gesture'', ''The Lullaby'', '' The Yellow Ticket'' and ''Th ...

. Within a few years of its opening, the Strand began to host

shows and silent films. Among the stars who appeared on the Strand's stage early in their careers included

Burns and Allen Burns and Allen were an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen. They worked together as a successful comedy team that entertained vaudeville, film, radio, and television audiences for over forty years. The ...

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over eight decades, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and ...

, and

Ray Bolger Raymond Wallace Bolger (; January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American actor, dancer, singer, vaudevillian, and stage performer (particularly musical theater) who started his movie career in the silent-film era. Bolger was a major B ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the theater became a cinema house, and omitted the vaudeville acts. As suburban multiplex

movie theaters A movie theater (American English) or cinema (Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business that contains auditoriums for viewing fi ...

were built, the single screen theater lost its audience. During its economic decline it became an

adult movie theater An adult movie theater is a euphemistic term for a movie theater dedicated to the exhibition of pornographic films. Adult movie theaters show pornographic films primarily for either a respectively heterosexual or homosexual audience. For the pat ...

in the 1970s. In 1981 the theater was added to the

List of Registered Historic Places in New Jersey Image:New Jersey counties map.png, 180px, New Jersey counties (clickable map) poly 181 634 243 566 259 577 263 584 263 597 266 600 273 600 281 605 283 606 285 608 288 609 290 609 292 612 293 616 297 617 299 616 302 618 305 621 310 622 311 621 ...

. The theater received a $2.4 million grant from the

New Jersey Economic Development Authority The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) is an independent government entity in the U.S. state of New Jersey dedicated to broadening and expanding the state's economic base. The EDA creates public-private partnerships to provide acce ...

in 1994 for restoration of its Neo-classical and

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

interiors. The theater serves as the Ocean County Center for the Arts.Music & Performance
Township of Lakewood. Accessed December 2, 2022. "Total renovation of the theater began in 1993 and was completed in 2003. The Strand is on the NJ Register and National Register of Historic Places and serves as the Ocean County Center for the Arts."

References

External links

Official website
{{NRHP in Ocean County, New Jersey 1922 establishments in New Jersey Art Deco cinemas and movie theaters Buildings and structures in Ocean County, New Jersey Cinemas and movie theaters in New Jersey Former cinemas in the United States Lakewood Township, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Ocean County, New Jersey Theatres completed in 1922 Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Thomas W. Lamb buildings New Jersey Register of Historic Places