PHOTO | EDD COTE
Strand Theatre owner Justin Barrett (left) and Clinton Community & Economic Development Director Phil Duffy, seen here in 2024, have found the next tenant for the venue.
3 hours ago
Historic theater in Clinton to be brought back to life by NH firm
PHOTO | Courtesy of Town of Clinton
The interior of The Strand Theatre in Clinton shows the unique architectural designs from a century ago.
The Strand Theatre in Downtown Clinton, a historic venue constructed in 1923, has been leased to an operating group which runs The Strand Dover in New Hampshire.
Sitting at 58 High St., Strand Theatre will be up and running again following its vacant status for the last few years, according to a press release issued by Worcester-based Kelleher & Sadowsky Associates on Wednesday.
This project is led by Daniel Demers, owner of The Strand Dover, and his partner Rob Sisti, owner of Boston-based Sisti Marketing Group.
Demers and Sisti look to bring Strand Theatre back to life fulfilling its original purpose of entertainment in downtown Clinton.
“Not many towns can say they have a still essentially intact 1920s vertical theatre that, up until COVID, was in daily operation,” Duffy told WBJ in June 2024.
What started as a venue for cinema and vaudeville was later renovated into a cinema draft house to show second-run films. This was in full swing up until the COVID-19 pandemic presented struggles; the final movie night was held in Dec. 2021.
News of the new tenant was first reported by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
At 102-years-old, the historic Strand Theatre holds a unique architecture, and up until now had awaited the right tenant to occupy the space.
Live theater, concerts, movies, and other events will be held at Strand Theatre, similar to the space in Dover.
Evan Koogler and Thomas Bodden of Kelleher & Sadowsky Associates coordinated the lease transaction on behalf of Concord-based Barrett Properties and in alliance with the Town of Clinton, involving Lee Abdella, Clinton's downtown consultant, and Philip Duffy, Clinton’s director of economic development.
It remains to be seen if this a sign of momentum for other underutilized entertainment spaces attempting to reopen in Central Massachusetts. The Foothills Theatre in Downtown Worcester’s Mercantile Center continues to look for a new tenant, while the owners of the long-closed Olympia Theatre a few blocks away are still working on a game plan to bring the facility back to life.
Jill McSorley is an editorial intern for the Worcester Business Journal. She is a student at Assumption University studying communications and media, writing, and marketing.
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