Studded in bright lights, the Strand Theatre marquee heralded first- run showings of such movie classics as From Here to Eternity and The Sound of Music. Hundreds of Class B Western double features starring Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and Buck Jones (from the Flash Gordon serials) found their place in history here on the big screen.

For almost seventy years the Strand was the grand dame of motion picture entertainment in Hastings. The Strand's conception began August 27, 1915, when William Brach commissioned famed Hastings architect C.W. Way to draw up plans for a two story, moving picture theatre and office building. Ground was broken March 18, 1916.

The exterior was finished in white enameled terra cotta, and the lobby exuded a luminescent white emanating from beautifully tiled floors and richly veined marble walls. The spacious interior was highlighted in old ivory and French gray. The adornment of blue velvet stage curtains and carpeting accented the warm oak woodwork. Seating capacity in the auditorium was seven hundred.

During the Depression years, the price of admission was fifteen cents on Saturday. The Strand allowed patrons to escape temporarily the reality of tough economic conditions and war times and, instead, live vicariously through the on-screen adventures of Chaplin, Gable, Bogart and Monroe.

The Strand turned down its movie hall lights for the last time on March 30, 1984.