Stasburg Upstairs Bookstore and "Documentary Theatre"

joecomer · **Posted:** Wed Feb 11, 2015 11:28 am

I apologize for the possibly foamy questions, but I wanted to ask the people that would definitely know:

1) When did the "upstairs" portion of the Strasburg bookstore close?
2) When did the "Documentary Theatre"... at the loss of a better term... turn into the Thomas toy store?

It seems that the film is now available on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmfqy0hFP1k

thanks very much,
Joe

Frisco1522 · **Posted:** Wed Feb 11, 2015 12:32 pm

That young redheaded guy with the red beard looks sorta familiar. Nice piece of work!

Bobharbison · **Joined:** Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:42 pm **Posts:** 3011

I have to wonder how much use the "documentary theater" really got? With all the stuff there is to do at Strasburg, it seems like one of the last things you'd want to do is sit there and watch a movie for 1/2 hour. Not that it's not a good movie, it looks great, but there's so many things to see and do, and often your time there is limited.

PaulWWoodring · **Posted:** Wed Feb 11, 2015 3:32 pm

Tell you what, on a hot Summer day, 30 minutes in an air conditioned theater might sound like a great mid-afternoon break to a lot of visitors, especially if you could bring a cold beverage in with you.

Kelly Anderson · **Joined:** Tue Sep 14, 2004 7:52 am **Posts:** 2477

joecomer · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2015 10:41 am

Kelly,

Thanks very much for the info. I remember seeing the documentary a few times... and yes, it was a great air-conditioned respite from the hot-sticky mid-Atlantic summers!

(My family lived just across the border in Havre de Grace, MD... we took 2-3 trips up to Strasburg every season, beginning in the mid-80's to mid-90's... I remember that time period well.)

Also recall the theater building was closed for awhile before anything else moved in, which I assume was the now-present Thomas shop.

Thanks again!
-Joe