I’m heading back to the Strand Theatre in Clinton, Massachusetts for another photography workshop on Saturday, September 19.
The Strand opened in 1924 as the Philbin Theater and spent most of its life showing movies. It closed in the late 1970s, then reopened in 1995 as a cinema draft house and stayed open until the end of 2021.
For a while, it looked like the building had finally found its next use. A new operator signed a four year lease last year with plans to turn the Strand into a performing arts and entertainment venue.
That did not work out.
The lease fell through, the Strand is back on the market, and for the moment the building is sitting empty again.
Which means I get another chance to bring a group of photographers inside.
The workshop is Saturday, September 19. We’ll have the day to photograph the auditorium, balcony, lobby, projection booth, stage area, and the other parts of the building we have access to.
I have photographed the Strand a number of times now, and it has changed surprisingly little. A lot of the 1995 cinema draft house conversion is still there, along with older details from the theater’s original life.
I have no idea what happens to the building next. Hopefully somebody takes it on and does something useful with it. Until then, this is another chance to photograph the Strand while it is still sitting in roughly the same condition.
September 19, 2026
Clinton, Massachusetts
Tickets and more information: