The Strand Theatre was built in 1920 with a grand opening a year later. This theatre premiered The Wizard Of Oz in 1939 on one screen seating 150 movie goers. According to the American Film Institute there is debate on which city first premiered the movie. Green Bay, Wisconsin supposedly was the first on August 10th, 1939. Hollywood premiered it on the 15th and New York City on the 17th. Regardless, Oconomowoc celebrates the fact that they premiered it on August 12th, 1939.

 

The Strand closed under Harry Melcher Enterprises' Unity Theatres Circuit in the 1950s. Unfortunately, the bank next door purchased the theatre and bulldozed it to the ground for a parking lot in 1968. The only remnants that the famous movie ever appeared is a plaque dedicating the first premiere of the movie in the nearby Oz Plaza.