The Historic Theater of the Year is the Strand Theater in Delaware.
The Strand is a first-run theater that instead of giving up in the midst of a global pandemic persevered and found a way to survive. The theater is 107 years old and one of the 10 oldest continuously-operated movie theaters in the country showing first-run films.
In January of 2020, The Strand started taking precautions to protect guests from COVID-19, but in March, they had to close. Instead of giving up, they launched a virtual movie campaign that allowed viewers to see new independent films while supporting The Strand. They also started offering curbside popcorn on Fridays and Saturdays. In May, they were even able to launch a GoFundMe that raised a total of $54,735 for the nonprofit. In addition, they started the marquee rental program and were able to sell t-shirts with movie quotes on them. Now The Strand is back to showing first-run movies again while balancing these new programs that have all been well received.