Designed and managed by Samuel F. "Roxy" Rothapfel, the Strand Theater in New York City was the grandest of the many fancy vaudeville theaters built during the 1910s to showcase feature films. On its opening night, 1 April. 1914, patrons were greeted by uniformed ushers who escorted them through the ornate lobby to cushioned seats inside the theater, which was built to Tesemble a temple and topped by a lighted dome. The openingnight audience saw quite a show — not just a movie but a wide variety of entertainment typical of the upscale vaudeville theaters of the day. After playing the national anthem, the orchestra performed Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. Next the audience enjoyed a newsreel, a traveldocumentary film, the performance of a quartet from the Verdi opera Rigoletto, and a Keystone Comedy film. Then came the main event: a ninereel movie, The...