Strand Theater Gets New Life as BRIC House

The historic Strand Theater at 647 Fulton in Fort Greene will re-open tomorrow as the BRIC Arts/Media House, a 40,000-square-foot multi-disciplinary arts and media center. Architect Thomas Leeser, who also designed the expansion of the Museum of the Moving Image in Long Island City, supervised the $35,000,000 renovation of the 94-year-old theater. The new space includes a 3,000-square foot contemporary art gallery, a flexible performance space that can accommodate 240 to 400 people, a glass-walled television studio visible from the lobby, an artist work studio, a public lobby with a café and a state-of-the-art TV broadcasting center. The lobby cafe is an outpost of Park Slope’s Hungry Ghost, and the lobby opens onto a series of cement steps furnished with cushions called The Stoop, which will feature free programming for all ages. And Urban Glass, an organization dedicated to giving artists access to glass-making facilities, has a 17,000-square-foot glass-making studio inside the BRIC House. Strand Theater was originally built in 1919 and has gone through various incarnations as a bowling alley, movie theater and a print shop.

Click through to see more pictures of the ultra-modern interior and the new art exhibitions inside!

Building of the Day: 647 Fulton Street [Brownstoner]
Progress on BRIC Arts Center Near BAM [Brownstoner]
Transformation of the Strand Theatre Coming Soon [Brownstoner]
Photos two, five, six, eight, 11, 12 and 13 by Jenna Salvagin for BRIC