The Strand (Providence theater)

Strand Theatre

Little is published on the history of the theatre. Designed by Thomas J. Hill Pierce, the venue opened June 1915, located behind the Biltmore Hotel. The Strand grew in popularity as a vaudevillian theatre. In 1929, the theatre changed management and opened a year later as the Paramount Theatre. The nearly 2,100 theatre become a movie cinema to build upon the emerging "talking pictures" scene, becoming one of eight cinemas in downtown Providence. Four short years later, the theatre returned to its former name.

Attendance began to die down in the early 1970s and the cinema shifted to showing adult films.^[3] The space was renovated in 1978 to convert the once prominent theatre in a mixed-use commercial space. Besides a couple of storefronts, the majority of the building remained vacant. In 1993, the former auditorium opened into a live music hall until 1997. By this time, the city considered converting the space into a parking lot.

Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel

Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel was the brainchild of Rich Lupo.^[4] The Boston native moved to Providence to attend Brown University.^[5] Lupo stated his dream to own a club where Bo Diddley would play (which came to fruition in 1977). He started out as a house painter and bartending. On September 5, 1975, he opened the first incarnation of Lupo's in the former Conrad building.^[6] Described as a "concert space that still had the fun of bar", the cozy 300-seat space hosted many prominent bands in the late 70s into the early 80s.

However, the reputation of the spot grew among musicians. Described as a "dumb" by Joey Ramone, the club was viewed as a primarily a bar than a concert venue.^[7] In 1988, when the property owners chose to convert the Conrad Building into condominiums, Lupo's were first to close. After a five-year break, Lupo opened the second incarnation within the Peerless building.^[8] This improved the capacity from 300 to over 1,500 and provided more of a concert atmosphere versus a dive bar.

In 2003, faced another property issue again. The owner of the Peerless building chose to convert the space into a 500-unit apartment building.^[9] Original negotiations saw the concert venue cutting down to performances three times a week, a solid 10:30 pm curfew and reducing the noise level significantly. When Lupo and property owner Arnold Chace could not reach an agreement, Lupo contemplated going to the press. However, he later expressed that was a poor idea. At the time, he felt residential growth was the newest trend in commercial areas.

Despite the venue bringing 300,000 visitors to the downtown area, Lupo lost his contract with the Peerless building. At the suggestion of the mayor, Lupo began looking into moving his venue into the abandoned Strand Theatre. At the time, the auditorium could only house 1,200, reducing the size of Lupo's II.^[10] However, the reopening of the balcony would push the capacity to nearly 1,700.

"Lupo's Last Stand" took place on December 3, 2003 in its Peerless building location. The venue opened in its third location on December 11, 2003. The larger capacity saw a variety of acts performing at the venue. Locally referred to as "Lupo's at The Strand" or "Lupo's III", the space was also shared with Roxy, a 400 capacity nightclub.

In 2016, it was released that Lupo sold a majority of his stake into the concert venue. In May 2017, Garry Williams and Frank Manfredi, Jr. were announced as the new owners.^[11] The theatre closed June of that year for a three month, $1 million renovation project. The renovations were set to provide more of a musical atmosphere to the over 100-year old building. Upgrades included: a wider stage, updated dressing rooms, sound systems, lights and restrooms. Two mobile LED screens were installed to provide more of concert hall vibe, stripping away the former club feel. The balcony seats were reupholstered and the bar on the main floor was removed.

The renovated theatre, now known as the Strand Ballroom and Theatre, opened on September 23, 2017.