The primary tenant of the the O’Quinn Building, the Strand Theatre opened in 1924 with 894 seats. Theatre builders of this time typically rented space adjoining their theatres as it was considered prime real estate. The Strand was transformed into a two-screen theatre in 1988 and closed in 2009. Ralph and Jamie Hickox, who have done an exceptionally nice job of restoring and keeping viable the historic Jesup Drive-In, have recently purchased the Strand and are presently restoring it. The Strand is one of the few unaltered historic commercial structures still standing in Jesup and it’s preservation will be great.
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 
Cry room for babies.
The Strand is awesome. The new seats are amazing. Ralph and his wife have done an excellent job. We love visiting this place and watching movies.
Will you be opening soon? I was hoping to buy gift certificates for Christmas!
So…it seems that the outer building is brick & the inner facade is stucco…correct?
I hope so. The outer facade has to be brick.
My friends and I spent many Saturday afternoons at the Strand. We’d get our moms to drop us off, or just walk to town from the old High School area. Milk Duds, popcorn, coke were always bought. I remember paying $.25 to get into the ‘show’. My daddy, Curtis Coleman, had a barber shop across the street and I could always get a quarter from him to pay my way.So many happy memories.
Hi, I’m Ralph Hickox. The new owner. The current facade IS stucco. The beige colored siding you see in the pic is stucco. I’m looking for someone who does plaster and plan to replace the stucco with period correct plaster. The strand will be remodeled in 20s thru 40s look in mind. We will update projection, sound and seating to include recliners. The finished product will be a 20s diner cinema. The attached rental will become a third screen refered to a boutique cinema. The unique feature being when you sit down your looking at Cherry street when the movie starts a black out screen comes down a screen comes down and the movie comes on. When over the black out and screen rises and you again see cherry street. It will very comfortable seat 36 in recliners and also will be rented for training events or private groups. All three cinemas will have waitresses serve you in the cinema.
I would have never guessed that it’s stucco. Those look like bricks. As I’ve said numerous times, I’m just glad its being saved. My misunderstanding. And I’m glad to give it free publicity as I’ve always done the Drive-In.
I am beyond happy to hear the theatre is being restored. The only thing that I will be missing, I imagine, will be the “cry room”. That was such a unique feature that it would be a shame to lose it. Any plans for that space?
What is the cry room?
I remember seeing movies here when my parents lived in Jesup during the 1980s. I didn’t know the old place had closed…..how sad. Thanks, Brian, for everything you’re doing to document my beloved state.