Main Street, Loch Sheldrake

The once popular Hippodrome Theater, previously known as The Strand, originally opened in the 1920s and for much of its history was a Main Street focal point for the small Loch Sheldrake community. Having over 200 seats and low prices, the Hippodrome was a beehive of family activity, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights. Unfortunately, this historic theater, like most of its peers, have closed over the years leaving only distant memories. High costs associated with a single screen theater, competing technologies such as online movie streaming, and few movie goers have all but doomed the industry in the region. During a recent visit, while photographing the façade, several people jokingly, but with an element of hope, asked if I was interested in buying the theater. One local fire fighter who had lived in the area all her life told me that the nearest movie theater is now over a 45 minutes drive away in either Middletown or Callicoon. That is a long drive for a movie.