STRAND THEATRE

The Strand Theatre is a 1,400-seat performance venue at 543 Columbia Road in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood. The theater is owned and managed by the City of Boston through its Office of Arts and Culture. It serves as the primary large-capacity performing arts venue for the Dorchester community.

The Strand hosts concerts, dance performances, community events, comedy shows, and cultural programming. The theater features a proscenium stage, orchestra pit, and professionally equipped sound and lighting systems. It functions as both a rental venue for outside presenters and a city-programmed community space.

The Strand opened on November 11, 1918 (Armistice Day) as a 2,200-seat movie and vaudeville house, billed as Dorchester's million-dollar movie palace. Designed by Funk and Wilcox, it housed the first theater organ in New England. The theater closed in 1974 due to disrepair and reopened in 1979 after the City of Boston made extensive renovations, reducing capacity to 1,400 seats. A $6 million capital investment from the city in the 2000s funded additional upgrades including new seats, stage floor, orchestra pit, and facade repairs.