STRAND THEATRE

The Strand Theatre is a historic movie house and live performance venue at 345 Main Street in Rockland, Maine. The theater currently seats 344 (250 on the main floor, 92 in the balcony, plus 2 wheelchair spaces) and operates as a nonprofit community cinema and arts venue. It serves as a cultural anchor for Rockland's downtown Main Street.

Programming includes independent and art-house films, Met Opera HD broadcasts, National Theatre Live screenings, live music concerts, comedy, and family events. Live music acts range from folk and Celtic to jazz and rock. The venue also serves as a satellite location for the Camden Conference.

The Strand was opened on February 22, 1923 by Joseph Dondis with a screening of the silent film "My Wild Irish Rose." It was the first building constructed in an area devastated by a 1920 fire that swept through southern downtown Rockland. The original auditorium seated 626. The theater underwent an extensive renovation in 2005 that included new sound and projection equipment, a restored interior and exterior, and a new marquee, reducing capacity to its current 344 seats.