THE HISTORY OF THE CENTER

This theatre was previously known as the Strand before it opened as E.M. Loew's Center on October 6, 1950...according to an article in the New Bedford Standard-Times from that month. There is a MGM Theatre Photograph and Report form for the Strand in New Bedford with an exterior photo dated May 1941. The facade of the building had some fancy detail which is missing in the color photo posted above. The marquee proclaims "E.M. Loew's Strand" and the attraction is "Northwest Mounted Police". The Report states that the Strand is on "Asushnet" street, that it has been playing MGM product for over 5 years; that it is over 15 years old; is in Fair condition, and has 400 orchestra seats and 400 balcony seats. Posted by Ron Salters on Apr 12, 2007 at 7:46am

From the 1990s (?) booklet The Avenue - Memories of Acushnet Avenue, by Carmen Maiocco:

"The Strand Theater offered many different kinds of entertainment, under a variety of names, during its 85 years of existence. Vaudeville, silent movies, Hollywood blockbusters, foreign films, and finally X-rated movies. Cordelia Vien built the theater just north of Coggeshall Street in 1905, and named it after herself - The Vien Theater. It was live shows in that era - comedians, singers, acrobats, 'exotic dancers.' Many of the performers lodged across the Avenue at the notorious Waverly Hotel, later called the Touraine. The Viens sold the theater to the Marcus Loew chain in 1923. Loew renamed it the Strand, and for three decades or so the cinematic great ones lit up the screen: Bogart and Bacall, Tracy and Gable - you get the picture. In 1950 the theater was treated to a major renovation and given a new name, the Center. In the 1950s the Center tried a different format for a while, foreign films, kicking off the new approach with Gina Lollobrigida in Bread, Love and Dreams in 1956. During that period, class and culture were all the rage, with the New Bedford Art Group diusplaying paintings and sculpture in the lobby. By the mid 1960s, the Center took a different turn. One fellow reports he once visited the Center to see a well-endowed lady take a bubble bath in the middle of the stage. He says he stood in line to get her autograph. This lovely was probably 'Kitten Natividad,' a porn star who came to the Center in 1982 to promote her latest film Titillation. By the 1980s, the Center was strictly X-rated. In 1990, the theater was the victim of a major fire.

CVA~NB new (old) building on 1157 Acushnet Avenue New Bedford, MA,  on April 17, 1990, a group of volunteer members, who lend money to buy the building, purchased it to make it the Cape Verdean Cultural Center.
The former Theatre was built in 1896 contains 5400 square feet, having bricks exterior, and gravel roof cover. The building needs a lot of work to preserve the history behind it and to contribute for a better image of the City of New Bedford, plus for us to have a center that is attractive, modern and able to host all kinds of cultural activities, arts and music and general services for our community.

One of the goals of this project is to address general concerns expressed by the Capeverdean community and relative to the impacts of a non-existent community center to serve the community and its many needs. The community continues to express concerns about the lack of resources, information, and cultural competency in the services they receive in general.

It is the explicit intent of the CVA~NB Board Members to continue moving forward, and with the guiding principles of accountability, transparency, efficiency, collaboration, and high performance to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to the core values of integrity, respect, and responsibility to our community.

In raising funds from public and private sources, through grants and contracts, future sponsors and donors can trust that CVA~NB will carry out its missions, and its members are committed to be good stewards of their resources, and to uphold rigorous standards of conduct.

All of our current community-wide fundraising events and other programs will support our present mission and all who work and volunteer for, or on behalf of our CVA~NB organization, understand, and are loyal to that mission and purpose and must follow the proper protocols of our non-profit organization.

Donors:

We respect the privacy concerns of individual donors and expend funds consistent with donor intent. CVA~NB discloses important and relevant information to potential donors, our mission, and the way the resources will be used. CVA~NB will communicate the progress and status of the project (including redevelopment plans, funding strategies, and the general project timeline) to the community via email and our website. We consider all comments we receive and comments may be submitted via email, website contact form or in writing to our addresses. CVA~NB is committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations.

The mission is responsive to the community it serves, and of its value to the City of New Bedford. We welcome and rely on community input and especially from direct service providers to guide and inform our work. In our future mission, we wish to collaborate with community organizations to develop and improve services, to more effectively coordinate educational, cultural, and youth programs, prevention, care, and advocacy, basic life skills and civic information, and to champion effective, and compassionate programs and services that can serve our community and that demonstrate cultural competencies.  

CVA~NB continues to actively pursue new service models that will promote dignity, independence, and empowerment, with new goals and new strategies to better serve the community. It will facilitate discussions with and among private organizations and individuals, local agencies and community leaders on the current and future challenges facing CVA~NB. By actively engaging stakeholders to support our efforts and fund our projects, CVA~NB hopes to promote service delivery changes that ensure high-quality services, cultural and linguistic competency, and innovations to better meet the needs of citizens and all immigrants.  

The scope of the work is broad and the CVCC project will facilitate

four main objectives:

1. Leadership, Advocacy, and Civic Information

2. Educational, Cultural, and Youth programs

3. Basic living skills and preparing for the Future

4. Secure funding sources for support services   

PROPOSED PROJECT SCHEDULE

Cleanup activities are expected to have mostly positive impact on the inside of the building itself, preparing it for the real work that is ahead of us. In general, the clean-up work will just remediate present conditions and give space for the inside work of the re-building to start once we get the funds we need.

Roof

Inside building - stage area

Contact:  

VOLUNTEER COORDINATORS

Emanuel Dias (508) 971-1245

Vanila Silva (508) 287 3561

www.cvanb.org 

cvainfo@cvanb.org

Current regular Volunteers: Raquel Dias, Vanila Silva, Leda Lopes, Nicolau Dias, Emanuel Dias, Adonis Ferreira, and many more...

In order to comply with regulations the following repairs and improvements are needed:

Urgently roof replacement due to its poor condition. The outside walls need renovation, doors, and windows replacement and the fire escape needs to be repaired. Approximately one fourth of the ceiling needs to be restored to match the architectural design, and the entire ceiling needs to be painted.

The entire inside walls need to be repaired and painted. Stage frame needs some repair and painting. Upper balcony needs a structural repair due to fire damage plus an addition such as small projector room. The two DJ booths need small repairs and painting.

The entire building needs plumbing and electrical work including light fixtures and outlets. Lobby and Office needs walls repaired, painted, plastic glass to preserve the poster wall and the floor needs repairing. Female and Male bathrooms needs a full renovation and one additional handicap required by the state. Sprinkler and Fire alarm needs repair to bring it up to code.

The entire inside floor needs to be replaced. The back Stage needs a complete clean up and repair/painting.