This is a new cache in the Belmont Walk series which has been placed here following the archiving of the longstanding Strand Cinema cache (GC5QYFE) - many thanks to cep99 for clearing the space for this new one!
The Strand Arts Centre at the junction of Holywood Road and Pims Avenue (aka Gelston's Corner) will forever be known to generations of locals as the Strand Cinema. Growing up in the area, it was my local fleapit in childhood, where Saturday morning kids' showings of cartoon classics were a regular treat (my first was Disney's The Aristocats).
The Strand opened as a one-screen cinema in 1935, with its distinctive art deco style making it stand out in the neighbourhood - as it still does. The mural on the side of the building shows James Dunn and Shirley Temple in a publicity shot from the 1934 film Bright Eyes, the first movie to be shown at the Strand.
During the 1980s, like many cinemas The Strand was hit by the rise in home video, and it closed to become a concert venue and bingo hall. But in 1989, it caught the new trend for multi-screen cinemas and reopened as a four-screen house. (Again, I was straight back, to see Tim Burton's Batman.)
The Strand was relaunched in 2013 as an arts venue, and now, alongside the blockbusters and classic movies it still shows, it offers live perfomances, children's workshops and adult education classes. With luck the Strand will continue to develop and thrive for another 90 years.
This cache is a magnetic micro, just beside the Strand. Happy hunting!